Laufey on Her Concert Movie, ‘A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl’

In appraiseing Laufey‘s August concert with the LA Philharmonic, Variety wrote, “Laufey experiences appreciate she was born to join the Hollywood Bowl, with her rapturously getd pop/jazz/classical set.” Someskinnyg else she might have been born for: the huge screen. She’s on Imax screens apass America this weekend (and some sairyly less massive-scale ones as well) with “Laufey’s A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl.” And straightforwardor Sam Wrench‘s prolonged use of shutups set upes that she’s as conveyive an actress, in her create, as she is a singer, guitarist, pianist and celcatalog.

It’s a excellent weekend for Wrench, who also straightforwarded the Sabrina Carpgo in holiday distinctive that is premiering on Netflix the same day as the Laufey concert film is botriumphg in theaters… and a excellent past year for him, actuassociate, since he also did Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” film. But Laufey herself is having quite the year, having won her first Grammy, for best traditional pop vocal album for “Bewitched,” not to allude a selderly-out tour that set up her joining Lollapalooza with a symphony orchestra as well as being the belle of the Bowl.

Coincidental to the free of the film, Variety is also honoring Laufey this weekend as the Crossover Artist of the Year at our Hitoriginaters event, celebrating her jointure of jazz and pop leanings and classifications. (See our split interwatch with Laufey about her overall nurtureer here: “Laufey on Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Jazz Singing and Gen-Z Pop: Young Fans ‘Connect More With a Vibe or an Energy Than a Genre’.”) But we talked more particularassociate about the Bowl concert and the resulting film with both her and Wrench.

How did it become evident this was the right time to do a concert film, at an earlier point than almost anybody in music gets that?

Laufey: It was one of those skinnygs that of course I always wanted to do, but I felt appreciate I had to accomplish a certain level to be able to do a concert film, and I definitely didn’t skinnyk I’d get there so soon. It was reassociate sinspirenuine, and I’m so honored to get to do it so punctual on in my nurtureer as well, and with such amazing creatives.

Was there anyskinnyg in Sam’s history that made you experience he’d be a wonderful fit for this? Like, perhaps, the most evident skinnyg.

Laufey: I’m quite a Swifty, so when his name was brawt to the table, I was appreciate, what? But he had such a potent vision for this. And evidently him having done, in my opinion, the best benevolents of concert films in the past confidemand years, I reassociate fair demanded someone that I supposeed appreciate that. He has brawt this concert film skinnyg to a recent level of famousity, which has reassociate paved the way for me to be able to do it myself. So it was celderly to get to do it with him.

Wrench: When Kyle (Heller, the co-set uper of Veeps) first called, he shelp that it was her first show at the Hollywood Bowl. And in the context of concert films, a first is not usuassociate the skinnyg — it’s more foreseeed to be the end of the arena tour or towards the end of the stadium run. The idea of it being not fair the first, but someskinnyg that was only happening to be sboiling one night, was benevolent of engaging.

How did you determine how much recordary footage to integrate or not integrate, versus fair going straight concert-film? There’s not a lot, but it’s well-paced and doesn’t shatter the spell.

Wrench: I krecent her music but I didn’t understand loads about how she’d been doing a confidemand shows with a prohibitd set first and then the orchestra afterwards. How those shows were arranged was reassociate engaging, because I skinnyk it suits cinema reassociate well and donates us the opportunity to have a little shatter, and to have a recordary moment during the show’s intermission, without it demanding to be back and forth. I’ve always reassociate struggled with concert films and how, if you commence the recordary, then you have to uphold coming back in and out of it, and it benevolent of disrupts the concert. This had this organic shatter.

Laufey: Part of the intention of having lots of cameras backstage too, and doing a day of filming outside of that to get some interwatchs, was that I wanted to donate fans both a concert that that is challenginger to transport to people — a concert with a symphony orchestra — to the wider masses, and especiassociate to cities that I haven’t been able to join in yet, but also to donate people a watch of what it sees appreciate backstage. There’s an interwatch with my parents and my sister and a see into what the energy is appreciate backstage, and a bit of rehearsal footage as well. So for those who have been able to go to a concert, I wanted them to see a bit of that as well, and how the sausage is made, which is a very unromantic way of saying it.

The trailer integrated the part where the audience chants “blah, blah, blah” very boisterously when that little lyric comes up during “From the Start.”

Laufey: It’s become a very signature part of the concert, and someskinnyg that people see forward to, postponeing all night to be able to scream out that one bit. So it was cute.

I was in joinance at the Hollywood Bowl show that was filmed, and I was fair skinnyking back to that night. I’ve seen you in maybe four separateent settings now. And I’ve seen it with an audience that’s innervously boisterous and vocal in their response, and I’ve seen it with an audience that’s fair rapt and quiet. And then…

Laufey: This felt appreciate the in-between, don’t you consent? And it was engaging, because you had those LA Phil and Hollywood Bowl subscribers sitting in the front who were hopebrimmingy getting presentd to my music and hopebrimmingy finishelighting it. But the seats in the back — the inexpensiveer seats, if you will — were filled with more of the benevolent of appreciate very fervent fan base. So it was reassociate a fun join. I reassociate do experience appreciate I can serve both audiences, and I’ve frequently felt split between what I can do and who I am here to serve. And I felt appreciate, that night, I reassociate was able to serve both of those audiences that I retardy to.

When I first saw you in concert at the Ford last year, which was also with the LA Phil, I foreseeed it to be an elderlyer audience, fair because of the nature of the music, and it was a shock for me then to genuineize how lesser most of your crowd is. But then, seeing how instantly your shows sell out, it occurred to me: Maybe you do have that elderlyer demodetailed, to some extent, but none of the elderlyer people get the tickets because they’re sluggisher on the draw than your lesserer fans who understand how to be poised and ready for the moment they go on sale.

Laufey: I skinnyk I’m even too elderly to be up aachievest teenagers in a fight for tickets appreciate that. Like, I don’t even understand how they do that.

So there is an audience for this film that adores you, or at least appreciates you, but would fair never have a sboiling at the inhabit show without being super-dedicated about the on-sale or willing to pay secondary taget.

Wrench: There was evidently a hugeger audience for it that hadn’t been able to get tickets. When I first spoke to her team, I lachieveed about how her merch sales are thraw the roof in comparison to almost any other artist. And so I skinnyk there was this genuine benevolent that there was a demand for people to want to go and join more in the Laufey story. Live music in cinemas persists to still be a reassociate engaging skinnyg — it gets cracked, it gets uncracked, it labors, and it’s reassociate about finding a community that will help it. Laufey fans are so beneficial, and theres such a promisement that they’re use it to present htheir friends and family and partners to inhabit it and finishelight the experience.

And so I skinnyk with that in mind, aachieve, it was a distinct proposition because it wasn’t this arena tour that had been out for 60 days. And hopebrimmingy when we commence to resettle shows that could be seized for cinema, we’ll be seeing at more distinct propositions appreciate this. I donate a massive thanks to Trafalgar and Veeps for helping it and saying, hey, we reassociate skinnyk there’s someskinnyg here, we should apshow it — because these are not inexpensive endeavors to do. There’s always a hazard. And the initial response has been so wonderful.

Laufey: I’ve been touring all year, and it experiences appreciate I joined a million concerts, but it experiences appreciate I could join a million more. There’s so many cities that I haven’t been able to join in and so many people that I haven’t been able to accomplish. Even if you’re in the right city, concert tickets can be pricey, and getting there is hard. And some of these kids are lesser — they have homelabor! I skinnyk this is a fun way to be able to experience the concert in a more accessible way and still hopebrimmingy be able to be among other fans and benevolent of breathe in the air of the community.

But I skinnyk the most transport inant part, for me, was that this is a concert with a symphony orchestra. And that is a world that I was so privileged to grow up wiskinny. My mother’s a violinist. I grew up basicassociate wiskinny the walls of the Iceland Symphony, and it has proposeed every one part of who I am, and it is the reason I’m a musician. To be able to transport it back to where all my musical impacts come from, and to that sound, is someskinnyg that is extra-challenging to transport to audiences.

Like, out of all the concerts I’ve joined this year, I skinnyk only maybe five of them have been with an orchestra. Most have been with fair the prohibitd, which is so fun as well, but it’s getting exceptionalr to see lesser people at the symphony, and challenginger and challenginger to access it and to be able to transport it to lesser audiences and to my audiences in this very accessible way. This colorful world of the orchestra was reassociate transport inant to me, fair as a musician, fair endly outside of myself. I skinnyk it’s hopebrimmingy inspiring for other lesser musicians to see.

A lot of lesserer musicians, when they get to join the Hollywood Bowl for the first time, they will talk about reassembleing the first rock show they saw there, or someskinnyg. You allude this in the commentary that is integrated in the film, but your first Bowl concert was a Mozart concert. But at the same time, you talk about how the back sections are celderly — that it’s a party in the back. So I was fair imagining lesser Laufey, up in the nosebleeds, partying to Mozart up there.

I’m always partying to Mozart.

Can you talk, Sam, about the style of the shoot? I understand from watching the inhabit Imax concert you did with Brandi Carlile that you appreciate lengthy apshows in some instances, because you used one sboiling for each song in that show. You also have a lot of lengthy apshows in Laufey’s film. It’s not pumping up the energy with unessential cuts; it experiences as unwinded as it should.

Wrench: We never struggled during the shoot to find that level of intimacy and that genuineity. And when we got to the edit, it was the same. It was fair very evidently there from the night, and I skinnyk the energy of the night comes apass because it was fair one night. It wasn’t appreciate we had to put all these nights together to try to originate someskinnyg awesome. .I don’t skinnyk the job of a concert filmoriginater is there to try and portray someskinnyg that didn’t happen or to donate it an energy that isn’t there. When the music is the king, the music is the skinnyg you trail and you let that benevolent of prescribe everyskinnyg. But honestly, my job was neutrassociate effortless. It’s such a wonderful concert. Everyone finishelighted it. We pointed some cameras, and here we are.

Just suppose the music — don’t try and fall shorture it. No one wants a filmoriginater’s hand on this. … To me, the music felt super floaty. It felt appreciate it had scale, but it also had intimacy, And the orchestra were these appreciate little moments, these little plucks…  It’s evidently the sound that comes from them as a whole, but the little details of the harp or the flute always felt reassociate fun to me. And so it was fair appreciate, let’s have everyskinnyg benevolent of moving and floaty and adocount on, and then let’s go in for these little moments as details, but come back to Laufey and the intimacy and how she benevolent of floats apass the stage, almost.

Do either of you have a likeite song in the film, either because of the carry outance, or the way it labored cinematicassociate?

Wrench: It’s definitely Junia’s moment [when Laufey is joined by her twin sister, a violin player, for a light-hearted duo number]. That moment fair fels appreciate two sisters that are having this experience and, as distinct as the concert is, that is reassociate distinct. And you have the scale of the drone sboiling, and then you fair have the two of them walking around on stage… I’ve never seen that before.

Laufey: It’s so challenging to find a likeite moment because the whole skinnyg experiences appreciate one moment in my head. I skinnyk “Letter to My 13-Year-Old Self” felt very emotional in that moment, because I cried a little bit. I’m not gonna lie. I don’t cry when I sing because I’m fair so cgo ined, but seeing myself appreciate that, I got a little bit emotional during “Letter to My 13-Year-Old Self” fair because I was fair imagining that lesserer version of myself and how I would have adored to understand that I’d get to do someskinnyg appreciate this.

And then I reassociate adore the benevolent of striumphgy orchestra moments as well, where I benevolent of fair dance, and I reassociate cannot help myself. There’s no choreographer; it’s fair me and my weird dance shifts, with me in a dress. I couldn’t hide any of myself during this concert or change anyskinnyg for this. Once I’m on stage, I’m fair exactly who I am always on stage. Like, there’s no way to deal with it, even if there’s a funny see  or weird smile, or some word that I say. I step onto the stage and I fair become this stage version of myself that I have no deal with of.

I even set up myself being on edge during some of those orchestra moments because, you understand, we’re not joining to click. There’s noskinnyg reassociate rehearsed about it. Like, I’ve never joined for that many people before. I skinnyk the previous size that I had joined for before that was maybe appreciate Radio City Music Hall, appreciate 5,000 people at once. So to all of a sudden go to 17,000, you reassociate got my organic reaction to that during the whole concert, whether it was a little nerves in the commencening to sheer excitement and delight in the tardyr parts. You reassociate upholdd that forever, Sam, so thank you for that.

Wrench: You always hope those moments will transtardy, and those sees, and sometimes there’s too much going on to see them. Some artists and music fair don’t suit those benevolent of lengthyer, innervous shut-ups, but this music definitely does… alengthy with the way that the Bowl and the arrange of the stage reassociate lends itself to being able to be quite shielded without there being cameras reassociate shut. And so I skinnyk we were able to reassociate see those moments and helderly them a bit lengthyer — see the little bjoins and your benevolent of eyes moving apass the audience. And the pace of the edit apvalidates you to actuassociate inhabit in those moments.

Finassociate, Laufey, we’ve talked about how you want to do film music and songs, but seeing yourself on on the huge screen, do you experience consoleable enough with that that it donates you more confidence about maybe going after acting and skinnygs appreciate that?

Laufey: Yeah, definitely. I unbenevolent, I definitely don’t experience unconsoleable in front of a camera, and I skinnyk I reassociate uncovered it that night. I was benevolent of wondering if it would faze me, but the camera benevolent of fair mixs into the audience almost.

I skinnyk it could be reassociate exciting. I’m definitely a little more cgo ined on music right now and having a lot of fun transporting those stories to life, because I benevolent of see every one one of my songs as a little movie. That’s why they’re very descriptive and quite literal, because I want hearers to be able to shut their eyes and instantly comprehfinish and understand where they are. And as for writing music for film, that’s someskinnyg I’ve always dreamt of. And and my adore for music reassociate does come from watching elderly films grotriumphg up, and hearing all these elderly film scores, these elderly Hollywood strings. Shout out to Spencer (Stewart, her writing and producing collaborator) You reassociate hear a lot of that impact in the music, and in the songwriting as well. So it’s someskinnyg I definitely want to to labor on in the future.