Video: Laufey Premieres Video for Hit Single 'From The Start'

Acclaimed Los Angeles-based Icelandic-Chinese artist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Laufey premieres the new music video for her hit single, “From The Start,” off her highly-anticipated album Bewitched, due September 8 via AWAL.

The video was directed by Jason Lester (Hozier, Phoebe Bridgers), with concept and creative direction by Laufey’s identical twin Junia Lin. It is a mid-century fantasia, drawing inspiration from the minimalism, shapes, and colors of Piet Mondrian, Bauhaus architecture, modernist design and Golden Age Hollywood movie musicals.

Filmed on 16mm film, the visual centers around a charismatic performance from Laufey, choreographed by Molly Long (founder of the acclaimed dance studio, Project 21). 

Since its release in May, “From The Start” has seen a meteoric rise. The track topped 1 million streams in less than 24 hours upon release and continues to garner 1.75 million streams per day across DSPs, with 90 million global streams to date. Moreover, “From The Start” is the most streamed jazz song in the world, and has reached U.S. and Global Top 50, as well as Top 10 on Spotify Viral charts around the world.

Bewitched follows Laufey’s 2022 debut full-length, Everything I Know About Love, which reached #1 on Billboard’s Alternative New Artist Album chart and featured hit single, “Valentine,” that rose to at #1 on the Spotify Jazz Chart. While Everything I Know About Love shows what Laufey calls her “hopeless romantic” side, Bewitched has a more mature outlook, although it’s still in love with love. Laufey notes, “This is a love album, whether it be a love towards a friend or a lover or life. The first album also touched a lot on things like moving out of my childhood home and moving into a new city for the first time—being an adult. With this one, I’ve experienced a little bit more of that, and I’m writing about the magic in the love of being young.”

Bewitched was co-produced by Laufey and Spencer Stewart, with all songs written by Laufey, apart from “Promise” which was co-written with Dan Wilson (Taylor Swift, Adele), “Must Be Love” co-written with Max Wolfgang and Freddy Wexler, and jazz standard “Misty.” Additionally, the London-based Philharmonia Orchestra played on tracks “Bewitched” and “California and Me.” See full track list below.

Laufey will celebrate the new album on the road this fall with ‘The Bewitched Tour,’ which sold out in minutes. The tour will make stops at iconic venues throughout North America including two nights at San Francisco’s Fillmore, Chicago’s Thalia Hall, New York City’s Town Hall, and Los Angeles’ Theatre at the Ace Hotel. Laufey’s performance at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra on release day and at The Ford with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on September 16 are both sold out as well. Full tour routing below.

Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy) is looking to bridge the gap between the past and the present, the history books and social media, the Reykjavik concert hall Harpa and the Los Angeles rock dive Troubadour, by writing, recording, and performing songs that are truly timeless, inspired by jazz greats and classical masters while possessing a point of view that could only be conveyed by a 21st-century twentysomething. Laufey explains, “As a musician, my goal is to bring jazz and classical music to my generation through a more accessible road.” 

Raised between Reykjavík and Washington, D.C. with annual visits to Beijing, the Icelandic-Chinese artist grew up playing cello as well as piano and became hooked on the jazz standards of Ella Fitzgerald after digging through her father’s record collection. In 2020, while still a student at Berklee College of Music, Laufey released her debut single “Street by Street,” which went on to top the Icelandic radio charts.

Following the release of her 2021 Typical of Me EP, Laufey was named Best New Artist in Jazz and Blues at the Icelandic Music Awards and hosted her own show on BBC Radio 3/BBC Sounds. By 2022 Laufey was the most streamed jazz artist on Spotify. Today, she has over half a billion streams across all platforms and is the biggest streaming artist from Iceland in the world. 

Bewitched is available for pre-order now.

LAUFEY LIVE

August 26, 2023—Port Townsend, WA—THING
September 8, 2023—Washington, DC—Kennedy Center Concert Hall* SOLD OUT
September 16, 2023—Los Angeles, CA—The Ford† SOLD OUT
September 20, 2023—Hong Kong—KITEC MusicZone SOLD OUT
September 21, 2023—Hong Kong—KITEC MusicZone SOLD OUT
October 8, 2023—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore SOLD OUT
October 9, 2023—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore SOLD OUT
October 11, 2023—Portland, OR—Revolution Hall SOLD OUT
October 13, 2023—Vancouver, BC—Hollywood Theatre SOLD OUT
October 14, 2023—Vancouver, BC—Hollywood Theatre SOLD OUT
October 17, 2023—Salt Lake City, UT—The Depot SOLD OUT
October 18, 2023—Englewood, CO—Gothic Theatre SOLD OUT
October 20, 2023—St. Paul, MN—The Fitzgerald Theater SOLD OUT
October 21, 2023—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall SOLD OUT
October 22, 2023—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall SOLD OUT
October 24, 2023—Cleveland, OH—House of Blues SOLD OUT
October 25, 2023—Detroit, MI—Majestic Theatre SOLD OUT
October 27, 2023—Toronto, ON—Danforth Music Hall SOLD OUT
October 28, 2023—Montreal, QC—Théâtre Beanfield SOLD OUT
October 29, 2023—Boston, MA—The Wilbur SOLD OUT
November 1, 2023—New York, NY—The Town Hall SOLD OUT
November 2, 2023—New York, NY—The Town Hall SOLD OUT
November 3, 2023—Philadelphia, PA—Theatre of the Living Arts SOLD OUT
November 4, 2023—Washington, DC—Lincoln Theatre SOLD OUT
November 6, 2023—Nashville, TN—Riverside Revival Nashville SOLD OUT
November 7, 2023—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse SOLD OUT
November 9, 2023—Houston, TX—White Oak Music Hall SOLD OUT
November 10, 2023—Austin, TX—The Paramount Theatre SOLD OUT
November 11, 2023—Dallas, TX—The Echo Lounge & Music Hall SOLD OUT
November 13, 2023—Phoenix, AZ—The Van Buren SOLD OUT
November 15, 2023—San Diego, CA—The Magnolia SOLD OUT
November 17, 2023—Santa Ana, CA—The Observatory SOLD OUT
November 18, 2023—Los Angeles, CA—The Theatre at The Ace Hotel SOLD OUT 
November 19, 2023—Los Angeles, CA—The Theatre at The Ace Hotel SOLD OUT  
*with National Symphony Orchestra
†with Los Angeles Philharmonic 

Photographer credit: Jason Lester

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