Laufey: Gen-Z's Gateway to the Realm of Jazz

Bursting onto the music scene in the early 2020s, Icelandic-Chinese singer songwriter Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir found herself in a unique niche. Trained as a classical musician and heavily influenced by her father's stacks of jazz records, Laufey's take on popular music was fresh and inspired, popping against the industry's typical backdrop of heavy auto-tune and tired I-vi-IV-V chord progressions. Her rich, velvety vocals and confident musicianship quickly drew listeners, providing her with a base from which to soar.

The Magic of Laufey Land

But it was not just her music that attracted an audience. With the pandemic placing constraints on the ability to record an album, Laufey set her sights on expanding her presence on social media as much as possible. Laufey's wider aesthetic presence (which came to be known as "Laufey Land") ensured her a deeply personal, almost tangible place within her listener's hearts. A blend of coquettish bows and dark academia, Laufey's world is filled with trips to frozen yogurt stands, the farmer's market, and snapshots of her breakfasts from Germany to Thailand.

On tour, she fills her followers in with the softer details—the strength of the coffee in Australia or the hole she burned in her stomach downing spicy pad thai in Southeast Asia. Snapshots of her bright red cello case and bewitching tour outfits, courtesy of her twin sister and creative director Junia, dot her profile. She invites members of her book club to visit pop-up libraries with recommendations like Hannah Kent's Burial Rites or Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen. In Laufeyland, Sundays are for markets, ballet flats are a must, and classical music is the coolest. Laufey's interests become her follower's interests, and suddenly, a bow adorned army of "Lauvers" finds themselves amidst a forest of previously inaccessible doors.

But Is Laufey Jazz?

As a heavily jazz-inspired artist herself, many of Laufey's songs feature scatting, ii-V-I jazz chords, and classical inspiration. She grew up steeped in her father's jazz records and names icons Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday as her musical inspiration. However, her influences also extend beyond jazz. More contemporary inspiration like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Norah Jones infuse Laufey's style with splashes of pop and a "Swifterian" lyrical storytelling.

Outside of inspiration, Laufey defies jazz cliches through her age, style, songwriting, and experience. At only 25 years old, Laufey achieved explosive international fame and success, bringing home her first Grammy this past February. And unlike traditional jazz artists, she did not work her way through jazz clubs and small-time shows to get to where she is now. In an interview on "The Zack Sang Show," Laufey admits she'd never been to a jazz club, saying "They are scary places to enter into. It's like this big room and you don't know how to dress, when to clap…"

Laufey

Though there is much debate surrounding whether or not Laufey is jazz, the genre of her music itself plays just a minor role in determining her influence. Her intersection of musical excellence and preppy personality makes for a compelling combo, an army of Gen Z Lauvers attesting to her gravitational pull. And perhaps for many of her generation, Laufey's fear and inexperience reflect their own. During an interview with Billboard, Laufey muses on her desire to draw younger people into jazz. "I think there are a lot of barriers to entry to listening to jazz… I'm lucky I was born in that world, but I'm aware of how scary it can seem." This, she says, is one of the main reasons why she hopes her personal fusion opens doors into the worlds of jazz and classical music.

Through the influence of Laufey Land and the singer's own jazzy musicianship, followers find themselves drawn into a wider musical world, one without quite so many borders. Laufey's world acts as a bridge between jazz, classical, and pop realms, creating a safe space for Gen Z to encounter new genres for themselves, on their own terms. She gently invites the listener to sit down in a space between old and new—an amalgamation of various styles, musicianship, and personality—and broaden their horizons.

Other Jazz-Inspired Artists

Fortunately, Laufey isn't alone in her endeavors. Other young artists, including the English pop group Wasia Project, London-based singer/songwriter Ella Hohnen-Ford, and American Jazz singer Samara Joy, utilize their own personal fusions of contemporary jazz and pop to bridge the genre divide.

Wasia Project performed in a support slot during Laufey's North America tour this past year, drawing new listeners and fans. Their latest EP Isotope made waves this summer as an evocative blend of jazz influence and potent indie-pop, complete with a 20 minute short film. Much like Laufey, the sibling duo, Olivia Hardy and Will Gao, embrace themes of love, longing, and growing up, capturing the hearts of a loyal digital audience.

The pair explore numerous outlets, from the blues-y ballad "Takes Me Back Home" to the anxiously driven and classically inspired masterpiece "Is This What Love Is?". The EP also features critical vocal pauses in the almost techno-jazz "Isotope (Interlude)" and the swelling orchestral finale "Tell Me Lies (fin)".

Ella Hohnen-Ford, a graduate of London's Royal Academy of Music, takes a more traditional approach to blending modern jazz and pop. Outside of her own music, she composes and arranges music for a string quartet and writes lyrics for various collaborators. She is also a member of a band that regularly livestreams jazz performances in the hopes of "bringing Jazz to the masses!"

The artist, who records under the name Hohnen Ford, lists Björk, Joni Mitchell, and Stevie Wonder as her musical inspiration and regularly listens to Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, and Billie Holiday. Her latest EP I Wish I Had a God features breathless vocals entwined with minimalistic guitar, flowing piano, and an occasional splash of drumset. While her original music is certainly more on the ballad and atmospheric end of the spectrum, Hohnen Ford's music is undeniably entangled in both jazz and pop. Loyal listeners of her original work will no doubt find themselves swept up into the artist's other musical outlets, including her jazz group and classical projects.

Samara Joy

Samara Joy, an American Jazz singer from the Bronx, is set to release her much anticipated third album Portrait this October on Spotify. Like Laufey, Joy's silky vocals meld beautifully into the jazz genre, earning her international acclaim. Her second album Linger Awhile snagged the artist two grammys, including Best Jazz Vocal Album, and the number one spot on Billboard's Jazz Album chart.

Many of Joy's albums center on vintage jazz and pop standards, including "Everything Happens to Me" and "Lush Life", as well as originals like "Why I'm Here" which featured in Netflix's Shirley. She lists prominent jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday as her primary inspiration.

Through up-and-coming jazz-inspired artists like Laufey and her contemporaries, younger generations find themselves slowly enveloped in the sounds of jazz. Repeated exposure, especially through social media, allows artists to express themselves across musical boundaries as well as draw their audience into both their musical and personal lives. This intimacy between singer and audience functions as a personal invitation, welcoming listeners beyond an artist's albums and into their own interests, quirks, and communities. And for stars like Laufey—a self-proclaimed orchestra nerd—genres like classical and jazz have begun to feel much more approachable, enjoyable, and on-trend for younger music fans, a shift which shows no signs of slowing down.