August 21, 2023 — Today, acclaimed Los Angeles-based Icelandic-Chinese artist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Laufey premieres the new music video for her hit single, “From The Start,” off her highly-anticipated album Bewitched, due September 8 via AWAL.
The video was directed by Jason Lester (Hozier, Phoebe Bridgers), with concept and creative direction by Laufey’s identical twin Junia Lin. It is a mid-century fantasia, drawing inspiration from the minimalism, shapes, and colors of Piet Mondrian, Bauhaus architecture, modernist design and Golden Age Hollywood movie musicals. Filmed on 16mm film, the visual centers around a charismatic performance from Laufey, choreographed by Molly Long (founder of the acclaimed dance studio, Project 21).
Since its release in May, “From The Start” has seen a meteoric rise. The track topped 1 million streams in less than 24 hours upon release and continues to garner 1.75 million streams per day across DSPs, with 90 million global streams to date. Moreover, “From The Start” is the most streamed jazz song in the world, and has reached U.S. and Global Top 50, as well as Top 10 on Spotify Viral charts around the world.
Bewitched follows Laufey’s 2022 debut full-length, Everything I Know About Love, which reached #1 on Billboard’s Alternative New Artist Album chart and featured hit single, “Valentine,” that rose to at #1 on the Spotify Jazz Chart. While Everything I Know About Love shows what Laufey calls her “hopeless romantic” side, Bewitched has a more mature outlook, although it’s still in love with love. Laufey notes, “This is a love album, whether it be a love towards a friend or a lover or life. The first album also touched a lot on things like moving out of my childhood home and moving into a new city for the first time—being an adult. With this one, I’ve experienced a little bit more of that, and I’m writing about the magic in the love of being young.”
Bewitched was co-produced by Laufey and Spencer Stewart, with all songs written by Laufey, apart from “Promise” which was co-written with Dan Wilson (Taylor Swift, Adele), “Must Be Love” co-written with Max Wolfgang and Freddy Wexler, and jazz standard “Misty.” Additionally, the London-based Philharmonia Orchestra played on tracks “Bewitched” and “California and Me.” See full track list below.
Laufey will celebrate the new album on the road this fall with ‘The Bewitched Tour,’ which sold out in minutes. The tour will make stops at iconic venues throughout North America including two nights at San Francisco’s Fillmore, Chicago’s Thalia Hall, New York City’s Town Hall, and Los Angeles’ Theatre at the Ace Hotel. Laufey’s performance at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra on release day and at The Ford with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on September 16 are both sold out as well. Full tour routing below.
Bewitched is available for pre-order now.
