Laufey clarifies she's not pretentious about audio quality, contenting herself with voice memos and not being overly picky about microphones she uses.
In the world of music, the debate between the importance of equipment and creative ideas has been a long-standing one. For Icelandic jazz-adjacent pop star Laufey, the answer is clear: ideas come first.
Laufey's recording philosophy has been shaped by her experiences and the advice of those around her. One such piece of advice came from Steve, the engineer who mixed all three of her albums. He suggested that Laufey needed a better vocal chain, leading to an upgrade in her recording setup.
However, Laufey's producer, Spencer Stewart, has a different perspective. He is happy to work with whatever equipment is available and believes that the quality of the performer matters most. He suggests that obsessing over gear can be a distraction from focusing on the quality of ideas.
This philosophy is evident in Laufey's recent single, Tough Luck, from her new album A Matter Of Time. Initially, the single was recorded with a Neumann TLM103 microphone, but the upgraded recording setup for the album includes a Neumann U67 microphone, some preamps, and a compressor.
Yet, Laufey does not remember the names of the microphones used in her recordings, demonstrating that she places more emphasis on the ideas behind the music than the tools used to create it.
Stewart echoes this sentiment, believing that making good note selections is harder than having the right microphone. He even suggests that they could have produced the whole thing on a Shure SM7 microphone and it would have been fine.
Laufey herself does not consider herself an audio snob. She believes that a high-quality vocal chain is not necessary for good recordings, and she has even recorded clean versions of her songs on a voice memo. In fact, she thinks the phone can sound great for recordings.
This approach to recording has served Laufey well. Her experiences demonstrate that good recordings can be made with minimal equipment. However, she has also faced challenges while recording in different countries and needed to alter lyrics for her recordings.
Despite these challenges, Laufey remains steadfast in her belief that the quality of her ideas is more important than the quality of her recording equipment. Different microphones have different frequency responses, but Stewart believes that Laufey's specific frequency response in her playing far outweighs the importance of the microphone used.
As Laufey continues to make music, her philosophy of ideas over equipment will undoubtedly continue to shape her approach to recording and her unique sound.
