lay low

Could Lovísa be cuter? No. She couldn't.

I love chill, laid-back, songs with dreamy lyrics. And super cool gurls who front rock bands? Don’t even get me started. So when I discovered Lay Low, a cool indie band out of Iceland, I nearly freaked.

The front-gurl, Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir, not only has the coolest name ever, but she’s also wicked talented and definitely going places. Her fourth solo album, “Brostinn Strengur”, is about to come out in the U.S., and we can’t wait to hear it. She was awesome enough to chat with me the other day (I’m such a fan-gurl!) and answer my most burning questions:

gURL: You played piano when you were little but switched to electric bass and guitar when you got a little older. How did that happen, and how did you get started in music so young?

It's hard to resist pretty ivories like these.

Lovísa: My mother was eager to have me take piano lessons, even though my family didn’t have a lot of money. I’m very thankful to her for that. She saved up and bought a piano and got me lessons. She also played a little piano herself. As a teenager, I got bored with piano, so I decided to learn guitar and bass. My mother kept supporting my lessons in whatever I wanted to learn. I wish I didn’t stop taking piano lessons, though; I still love playing the piano when I can!

gURL: What instruments do you play now?

Lovísa: My main instrument these days would be guitar, but I can play the keyboard, bass, and banjo. I’m an awful drummer.

gURL: A lot of your songs are about breaking hearts, or getting yours broken. Do you remember the first time someone broke your heart? How old were you? How did you recover?

Lovísa: I think I was probably eight or nine; the boy dumped me for my stepsister! I got over it the next day.

gURL: You just played a huge music festival—the Iceland Airwaves Music Fest in Iceland’s capitol, Reykjavik, last month. What was that like?

Lovísa: This was my fourth time, and it’s always so fun! Reykjavík turns into a big pot of good music, with bands running around doing a few shows a day. I think I played about seven times over the weekend! It was amazing.

Patsy Cline--an awesome gurl to listen to when you wanna wallow (and uh, who doesn't?!)

gURL: Who are your biggest influences? What records are you listening to now?

Lovísa: For each and every album I’ve recorded, I have been listening to different kinds of things. For “Farewell Good Night’s Sleep” I listened to a lot of old country records like Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline.

gURL: You recently acted in a movie. How is that different from singing? Does your experience on stage make it easier to be in front of a camera?

Lovísa: It was very strange to be asked to play one of the leading roles in a film. I wanted to say no when the director asked me to do it, but I also was very curious about that whole film scene, and curious to see if I could really do it. So for me it was a great experience and a wonderful time, even though I know I’m not the strongest of actors. It felt so weird watching my own face on the big screen!

gURL: You’re working on a new album that’s slated to be released this fall. Tell us about it. What’s it called?

Lovísa: The album has been released in Iceland already and has received great feedback so far. It is called Brostinn Strengur, and is my first native language album. I wrote songs to poems that other women wrote; the oldest one is from 1882 and the newest is from 2009.

gURL: What advice would you give to gurls who want to be musicians?

Lovísa: Just do it. Don’t give up if it starts out rough, and remember to enjoy every step of the way. Also, the awkward and hard moments? They only make you stronger.

Do you like Lay Low’s sound? Tell us about new band’s you’re into in the comments!
lay low