lauv WRITTEN BY MADDI COLE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELLIOTT DESAI
In less than three years, LAUV has gone from a college student at NYU to an uprising artist that has recognition around the globe. So, how does one musician go from mixing music with his friends in New York City to having almost 100 million streams of his single, “The Other” on Spotify? Simple. Lauv has created music that is not only infectious, but breaking the norm of the pop world. His fans have fallen in love with a multitalented singer who cannot be contained in one single genre. With a sold out tour, multiple festival appearances, and his single “I Like Me Better” entering the Billboard Top 200, you are going to want to keep a close eye on this musician. Blink and you might miss the journey of Lauv. Music has always been a common thread in Lauv’s life. As a young kid, his parents put him into guitar and piano classes, giving Lauv not only the love of music, but the talents to create his own. The style of music he listened to when he was younger gave way to the music he writes today. “In high school, I was really into John Mayer and more acoustic stuff. I’m not into that stuff so much anymore, but it definitely impacted my music.” The style of music Lauv makes doesn’t sound much like John Mayer, but there is definitely a connection in the way he writes
36
his lyrics. Love songs dominate Lauv’s music, and his sweet and meaningful lyrics really resonate with his fans. Although the traditional singer-songwriter route is not for Lauv, the music he listened to growing up has touched the way in which write he writes his lyrics. On the topic of inspiration, Lauv expressed his love of SoundCloud and how he finds inspiration for his music through the music platform. “I want to make music that mixes sort of weird sounds with more classic sounds,” Lauv expressed when discussing his particular style. Remixes have been dominating SoundCloud these days, giving artists a platform to share their interpretations of classic songs. Lauv described his taste in music as “minimalistic soul trap,” a genre that has obviously had impact on his own music. Soul trap combines modern electronic beats with the sounds of soul music and rap from the nineties, creating a fusion of styles that incorporates a variety of sounds. Lauv creates beats that incorporate sounds in a catchy and simple way, not overwhelming his listeners with too much mixing. Although Lauv loves to work on the production side of music, he finds a certain satisfaction in making music that is completely his from start to finish.
