Interviews

A Quick Chat With Laura Jansen

• 5th Jul 2013

Laura Jansen is a Dutch-American songwriter who lives between LA and Amsterdam – alright for some eh? Her new album, ‘Elba’ has been produced by Matt Hales (who produced Lianne La Havas’s Mercury nominated debut) and includes duets with Ed Harcourt and Keane’s Tom Chaplin, due for release here in the UK through Decca on July 15. We caught up with her for a quick chat recently:

When I first started playing music…
I was doing it for cheap therapy and was playing the songs to my dog. Somehow I’ve ended up years later with a passport full of stamps and second record about to come out. I’m just trying to stay out of the way and let it happen. It’s way too wonderful a journey to worry about how it’s all going to end up.

I chose to use my real name instead of a stage name because…
I never really considered changing my name. My music comes from such an autobiographical place that singing those songs under a different name would feel insincere. I have considered releasing music through side projects just to have the license of anonymity to really explore some crazy stuff. We’ll see if that pans out!

I knew I was on to something when…
People on Myspace (remember Myspace?) who I didn’t know found their way to my simple demos. I would get emails from people around the world with their stories and it felt like I’d been caught in the act. Up until that time I had only been writing for myself and suddenly people I didn’t know were listening along. The numbers kept growing and I started to figure out that I might be on to something.

My biggest influences are…
Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, James Blake, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Imogen Heap, Elbow, Sigur Rós, the list goes on and on.

I’m most proud of …
Having toured in China. I think being able to travel across the world for music and to play without having any language skills and still be able to connect on a human level with new fans over there was my proudest moment. It reminded me that music is a magical medium that opens hearts up in a way nothing else can. It was exhilarating.

My ideal support slot would be with…
So many come to mind! I’d love to open for Keane or Elbow or Gotye. Anyone who will have us really!

One item I can’t live without on tour is…
My laptop. It keeps me totally connected to my friends and family but also connected to the fans as we travel. It’s my source of entertainment, my writing station for new musical ideas and my portable collection of memories.

I can’t stop listening to…
Stromae right now. His two new singles, Formidable and Papaoutai really gripped me and I wanted to know as much as I could about this guy. He’s just a mad scientist really, but a very very cool one.

I’m not ashamed to admit that…
I watch reality television. I watch it knowing fully how much I actually judge it but it sets my mind to zero for an hour and that can be a real treat after a long work day.

Catch me next…
at St. Pancras Old Church on August 8th.