Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with laur
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
When I was six years old, I played my first concert of original music on a Fisher-Price piano. With my family piled on my bed, I sang my heart out to “Eight Times I Cried” and other dramatic originals as I plunked out keys in no particular key.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Music has always felt like a natural form of expression for me, along with dance and theater. Our bodies are designed to make sound, to move, to mimic. I’ve been enthralled by these practices since I was small. As I’ve grown, I’ve discovered more ways to bring visions from my imagination to life.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
I recently released my single “Smoke,” which is about finding clarity in the midst of chaos. It explores cycles of fog and lucidity, the beauty of not-knowing, and the sacredness of letting go.
I build a world around every piece I create, and for “Smoke,” this included a music video that merges my body with natural elements (smoke, water, stardust) in a trippy, extra-celestial experience. To achieve this, I taught myself video compositing and how to work in DaVinci Resolve Fusion. I actually spent more time on the visual than on the song! I’m a multidisciplinary artist with a background in fine arts, and that way of thinking naturally shapes my process.
I also hosted a Laurland Immersive event in Brooklyn, where my community entered the world of Smoke through a multi-sensory landscape of visual projections, live performances, and interactive elements.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I call it ethereal dark pop; moody, dreamy music with lush sub-bass and haunting vocals. It’s soothing and mysterious, a portal to another realm where listeners can rest, dream, and feel.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I learn one thing at a time. How to make a certain sound, how to use a specific plugin. It’s incremental, it’s experimental, and if I’m doing it right, it’s enjoyable.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
My Nord keyboard, first and foremost. It’s versatile and has so many sounds, which is great for creating and performing. My AKAI MIDI keyboard comes in handy for beat-making and is easy to travel with. I use Logic Pro for demos and also work in Pro Tools with my producers.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I’ve been listening to BRONCHO’s Natural Pleasures a lot; it’s such a beautiful piece of work. kwn popped off this year and is just insane: the talent, the mystique, the lore. If you’re not going crazy over kwn’s album yet, go check that.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
My personal experiences are the emotional root. From there, I build a world, a realm, where I explore those emotions on a different plane, with lyrics as poetry and visuals as transformative, liminal space.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I hope my work opens a door in the mind of my listeners that they can reach up and crawl through to experience a soft, magical space. Mysterious, curious, sensual, and carefully crafted for them.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
There’s always more to learn; more levels, more expressions. Stay dedicated, pace yourself, and enjoy the process.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I’ve always dreamed of playing at Red Rocks in Colorado. Any opportunity to perform in nature sounds divine.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
James Blake! His music goes straight to the heart and is so interesting and unique. I would love to weave my voice into his world.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links, also add a Youtube link that will appear below the interview)
Website
Instagram
Spotify
Bandcamp
YouTube
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical
journey?
A few years ago, I started hosting immersive events that combine music, art, and experience. The most recent one, where I premiered my single and music video “Smoke”, featured a sound bath artist, interactive installations, an ambient guitarist, a kora player, a tattoo artist, curated drinks and bites, tarot cards, and more.
My art is more than music; it’s visuals, it’s community, it’s experience. As I continue to build my next sonic world, I’m also dreaming of how to bring people together in unique and meaningful ways.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way? That I’m layered and multifaceted, and always evolving.
