Laur Elle Interview

I’ve been fan girling over this woman from day one…

I remember laying in my bed when I stumbled across Laur Elle’s song ‘Leave This Town’. “I know you wanna/know you wanna…” echos in my mind countless times a day. Such a catchy tune! Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside this lady at one of #yeg’s classic pubs, and supporting her through her latest releases; B.E.S.T and now, July.

I haven’t been able to stop listening to her newest single since it’s been released. The lyrics that get to me are, “it’s getting late now/that’s when I can’t stop my mind” and “I just want to prove that I’m worth/more than my heads tell me that I am”. I love how raw and honest these words are. For someone that deals with anxiety on a daily basis, and is constantly trying to grow and change, her words are definitely relatable. We all know the feeling of laying awake at night, stressing over our lives, and making a game plan in our heads of how we can turn this around (no? just me?). Laur Elle hits the nail on the head with this one!

Since the whole province has been instructed to stay indoors, we decided to do an interview over email and Instagram to brighten our follower’s news feed! Make sure to follow Laur Elle on Instagram, Apple Music and/or Spotify, and listen to her newest track, July.

What made you decide to pursue a career as a musician?

It's funny I don't exactly remember deciding. I started learning how to play and sing when I was around 18. I started by posting on YouTube, and doing small events and shows with friends. I was always wanted to learn and write more, so it just kinda snowballed into me doing it as a career. I think it was last year when I had one of those "so I guess I'm doing this, huh?" moments.

What artists are you currently listening to? Current fave song?

I have fallen into a bad habit of listening to singles & not full projects. So I find myself listening to so many new songs all the time by so many different artists. (I blame streaming haha) I have always loved Halsey though. I think her ‘Manic’ album is a work of art. I am also a huge Banks fan!

What is your creative process like?

With July, I didn't know what I wanted to write about till I sat down. I usually start with melodies before lyrics, and then I'll mould the lyrics to fit the melodies. I sat down with Robbie Townsend, who is my producer and good friend, and we started playing some chords. Then the lyrics just came pouring out of me. I was feeling really stuck at the time. I felt like I was putting all this effort into different areas of my life, and not getting anywhere. Like I was running in circles without any control. I don't know that I understood I felt that way till I wrote July. So it's an important song for me.

What is your fave lyric(s) from ‘July’?

I don't know if I have a favourite. I think it changes based on how I'm feeling in a day. I know I was a little teary-eyed when I wrote: "maybe it's just not my time, a change of the seasons, ill be better by next July." I felt completely defeated and stupidly hopeful at the same time. Which is really what I wanted the song to feel like overall. So maybe that one. I like the simplicity of it.

What has been your fave performance so far?

K Days for sure! It was my first ever festival stage, and I was opening for Aqua, which was super cool. It was the first time I played for all my friends and family at the same time. It was one of those first-time experiences I will never forget.

Tell me about the ‘20 Day Challenge’. What inspired you to do it? What did you learn from it?

So the 20-day challenge was inspired by my song, July, & feeling like I wasn't accomplishing anything, as well as a YouTube channel I watch called Yes Theory! A while ago they did their own version of challenges, and I remember thinking I would love to do something like that. But it felt like I didn't have a reason to get myself to do it. Then came the single!

I learned that I had no idea how to edit video, and that was a learning curve in itself haha! But in all honesty, it was a really positive experience that pushed me out of my shell a bit more. I think the biggest challenge for me was being active on social media every day. I've had a love-hate relationship with it for so long, and I was able to get rid of some of those fears I had which was really cool for me. I am definitely going to keep doing these on my own time. It reminded me how much I love trying new things

Finally, what is your favourite part about being a musician?

I honestly love the way that music brings people together. I think to me getting to be a part of creating those moments is really special to me.