UKNY for September 25
Laufey (photo by Gemma Warren, PR)
In March of 2020, Reykjavík's Laufey Lin Jónsdóttir was a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, frantically packing up her dorm room to return to Iceland as the pandemic lockdown commenced. While her mother and twin sister gathered her things, Laufey and another student recorded one of her songs, called "Street by Street." Releasing that single in April 2020, and uploading it to social media, not only did that track take off, but so did Laufey's career. She released her debut EP, Typical of Me, in 2021 — another viral hit — and by January of 2022, she had made her television debut on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!." By July of this year, debuted at the Newport Jazz Festival debut, and this past August, Laufey released her first album, Everything I Know About Love, selling out her entire North American fall tour (and most of her European and UK dates too).
It's a dizzying ascent, but Laufey, just 23, is handling things with surprising aplomb, secure in her unique sound, a Gen Z spin on the classic era of jazz and pop — her smooth alto recalls not only early influences such as Norah Jones, but Judy Garland too. But it's Laufey's wit and warmth that makes her sound so appealing to a multigenerational fan base.
On "UKNY" tonight at 11 p.m., an "FUV Live" session with Laufey, which includes three songs from her debut album: "Valentine," "Fragile," and the title track.
Also, new releases from Easy Life, SpaceAcre, Connie Constance, and Dry Cleaning, who send out an ode to a pet tortoise.
That's "UKNY," Sundays 11 p.m.-midnight, on 90.7 FM, streaming online, and in the Weekend Archives after broadcast.
Songs played:
1. (Reykjavík, IS) Laufey, “Falling Behind,” Everything I Know About Love
2. FUV Live session with Laufey (includes live performances of “Valentine,” “Fragile,” and “Everything I Know About Love.”
3. Dry Cleaning, “Gary Ashby,” Stumpwork
4. Connie Constance, “Mood Hoover,” Miss Power
5. Easy Life feat. Gus Dapperton, “Antifreeze,” Maybe in Another Life
6. SpaceAcre, “Chemicals,” single
7. (Kinshasa, CD-Montréal, CA) Pierre Kwenders, “Papa Wemba,” José Louis and the Paradox of Love
8. Blood Orange, “Something You Know,” Four Songs EP
