Laufey

Laufey has captivated a generation with virtuosic songs of love and self-discovery by manifesting her vision of jazz- and classical-infused pop music. The GRAMMY-winning composer, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has become a bridge for the older music she adores, from Chet Baker to Carole King to Ravel, by offering her bold interpretation to a younger crop of listeners who have become deeply connected over time. This was all by design — Laufey’s self-assigned raison d’être — and it worked, allowing her to bring to life the whimsical universe known as “Laufey Land” to instantly sold-out arenas worldwide. But now, with her third album, A Matter of Time, the Los Angeles-based Icelandic-Chinese artist breaks the singular set of expectations that she herself set, serving up a transcendent sound and honest songwriting that cuts straight to the heart.

When Laufey’s 2023 record, Bewitched, made her the youngest ever recipient of the GRAMMY for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album — and she earned plaudits from veterans of the category, many of her musical heroes — she felt her dreams had been validated. As she began to craft A Matter of Time, Laufey felt freer than ever. “Every new album for me is a blank book of stories to write,” she says, and it’s true. An artist who pours her life experiences into her work, she infused 2022’s Everything I Know About Love with coming-of-age tales revolving around leaving home, and for Bewitched she dove headlong into young love. Brought to life with sweeping orchestral arrangements, interwoven strains of bossa nova and jazz, and Laufey’s honeyed alto, those albums cemented Laufey as a star who can make sounds from bygone eras feel timeless.

But on A Matter of Time, Laufey forges her singular version of pop music — one still rooted in her beloved influences, but which forgoes any strict standards or rules. “I’m constantly thinking about classical and jazz, how to properly preserve them and pay homage. For this album,” says Laufey, “I just wanted to let my heart wander.” To that end, she teamed with a pair of producers, one comforting and familiar — Spencer Stewart who worked with Laufey on her first two albums — and one new to her but deeply attuned to artists looking to open up: Aaron Dessner (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran). Feeling sonically unrestrained gave Laufey the space to share new sides of herself while exploring sometimes heavier themes. The result is gripping.

“People expect a pretty façade of girly clothes, fantastical stories, and romantic music,” she says. “This time, I was interested in seeing how I could draw out the most flawed parts of myself and look at them directly in the mirror. As the album progresses, each song gets a little more honest. It’s like falling in love — you can only keep up appearances for so long and then they start to know every single part of you in order to love every single part of you. It’s terrifying.”

A Matter of Time finds Laufey at her most daring — and also playful — as she captures the experience of “real love” in its many forms and what it means to observe as it strips you down to your most vulnerable and anxious. Songs like the smoldering “Silver Lining” capture a palpable intensity as she lets loose with cathartic vocal runs and sings of finding solace in a loved one as the world is burning. “I wanted to show this sexier side of myself that I haven’t before,” she says. Others transmit a sheer intensity, like “Tough Luck,” which devolves into utter madness as she calls out an ex over turbulent strings. “I wanted the prettiest rage that I could put out,” she says. “I wanted the world to know I’m not always so polite.” Across the album, she holds nothing back.

It wouldn’t be a Laufey release, though, without a bit of magic. On “Lover Girl,” a mischievous bossa-blessed track, she compares the giddy daze of love to vertigo atop a skyscraper. But as the LP deepens, in comes fairytale-like imagery — black cats, whirling carousels, abandoned castles — to depict the brutal crash of fantasy meeting reality. On the ballad “A Cautionary Tale,” the recurring titular theme of time (and the limitations that it places on us) suddenly comes into sharp focus as she sings of smashing an hourglass as if to break a curse. “Every relationship I’ve had has felt like a ticking clock,” she explains. “It’s just a matter of time until it runs out and we’re done. I loved this idea of not waiting it out — you just toss it against a wall and it shatters.”

Laufey’s heart wandered to warm places as well. She penned her first Icelandic lyrics for “Forget Me Not,” an orchestral ballad born of homesickness and recorded with the Iceland Symphony — whom she performed with for the first time at age 15 as a cellist and reunited with for 2023’s live album, A Night at the Symphony. An homage to moving forward without abandoning your roots, the song’s strings were arranged by longtime collaborator Iain Farrington. “I was thinking about leaving your country and family behind for opportunity, and how you balance honoring your past with thriving in your new environment,” she says. “I truly feel like I’m growing up with my music.”

Indeed, Laufey’s music has propelled her down an incredible path. Raised between Reykjavik and Washington, D.C., she learned piano and cello as a child, later studying at Berklee College of Music. There, she wrote her debut EP, 2021’s Typical of Me, whose striking single “Street by Street” debuted at No. 1 on Icelandic Radio — the first of many achievements that have grown to include 4.25 billion global streams, a social media audience of 23 million, the biggest jazz LP debut in Spotify history and an album in Billboard’s Top 20 (both for Bewitched), a growing pile of Platinum plaques, a Forbes 30 Under 30 designation, and, now, being named one of TIME’s 2025 Women of the Year. She’s also: sold out the Hollywood Bowl, Radio City Music Hall, and London’s Royal Albert Hall; performed backed by the LA Phil, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the China Philharmonic Orchestra; shared the stage with the likes of Jon Batiste and Raye; and collaborated on record with artists ranging from Beabadoobee to Norah Jones.

Moreover, we’ve had the joy of watching Laufey grow in real time. With her heart-on-her-sleeve music, she has cultivated a widespread community of listeners who’ve coined a style around her aesthetic (“Laufey-core”) and who read every handpicked selection that she highlights on her Laufey Book Club. “There are fans who’ve been listening to my music since the very beginning. Time is the most valuable resource, and the fact that they should give me any of theirs is such a gift,” says Laufey. “A Matter of Time is about learning to allow people to know me more deeply.”