NEW YORK- It’s too easy to put ourselves in a bubble when it comes to listening to music. We often stick to the same sounds, similar artists to what we know. It doesn’t help that streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music rarely recommend artists that aren’t within your own continent. It helps to have underground music festivals that focus and provide space for talented artists across the globe to play and show what they are capable of. At The New Colossus, the music festival located in the lower east of Manhattan focused on exhibiting underground artists.  

On Saturday March 8th, I interviewed the leading woman, Laura of Laura Lee and the Jettes outside of Pianos. Hailing all the way from Berlin, Germany, Laura is passionate about making it known that women can, in fact, do it all. The group recently released their new EP, “Unsolicited Advice,” with themes addressing the obstacles that Laura experienced as a mother in the music industry. 

KBVR: You recently released a song called “Unsolicited Advice”, and I know that you’ve spoken about how that song was a way to address all the “advice” you were given during your pregnancy and now with your daughter. Has the song helped that at all? 

Laura: I am still wondering how many people– because the verse is directly verbatim, it’s exactly what people have said to me. But I also think it’s because these people follow me and they’re in my close contact and I don’t think– at least they haven’t had the talk yet, you know. I’m not sure, they lack the self-awareness and I’m not pointing them out in particular, I’m just kind of showing a larger issue, of course. It’s what you do as a songwriter, you put experiences you’re having in music and that is just something that’s now frustrating me or that is on my mind so yeah obviously i’m gonna put it into music. 

KBVR: Did you receive a lot of pressure when you first announced you were pregnant with your label?

Laura: I think yeah, the first thing that a lot of people say is “Oh okay so you are going to take off at least a year off now.” That shouldn’t be suggested. I think it should be a question more like “Okay, so you are going to do that?” I just know so many dads, they never get that question. They are always back on the road like 6 weeks after or sometimes, I even know dads that their children were born while they were on tour. They are not asked that question, and I’m just all about equality. I think that we should treat every human the same and that’s why I got frustrated that there would be a suggestion in that question already. I was not the kind of mom who wanted to be at home, so I had a really easy pregnancy and I still played a lot of shows while I was pregnant. I don’t think women should be forced to work until that time but I think you should just do whatever you want. That was my experience. 

Now that I am here, I’m gone for 10 days and so many people immediately asked “Oh, so you are going to take your daughter?”. And I said “No, I am not going to take her.” Like do you ask that same question to a male musician and no they are not going to their child. Like how many dads do you know take their kids on tour, c’mon. 

KBVR: You’ve mentioned in the past that your first album is more about young adulthood and this new album is going to be about more complex themes within your life, like motherhood and raising a child. How has that process been for you, writing wise? 

Laura:  If you look at the first album cover it’s pretty dark and I think in your 20’s, you’re going through alot, you have periods of darkness. This album is a lot brighter actually, it’s made me– becoming a mother and  I think the 30’s are the best time ever if anyones wondering. I’m excited about the 40’s. Maybe they’re even greater– I’ve heard that they are. But, yeah, just the 30’s for me have been a little bit more– I’m not that insecure anymore, I’m not so concerned about what other people think about me and I can now shake off those feelings and concern myself with other topics. I definitely would say it’s a brighter record. 

KBVR: For “Tough Love Paradigm” can you go into the meaning behind that song?

Laura: Yeah, the song is called Tough Love Paradigm, it’s tricky because the hook is more (about) breaking our tough love paradigm. Cause I know tough love is a concept in parenthood and also the song is partially about parenthood but also about friends of mind dealing with addiction and giving them tough love. But, I don’t think tough love is the method to use either with a child or with an addict. So it’s about breaking that cycle. I think that is one of the rarer darker songs on the album and I really wanted to– now that I have been teaching music so much– wanted to put so many songwriting techniques into my songs like doing different time signatures and now do thai crazy chord change. Now, we had so much on the record and I just sat down with the boys like “Hey, I’m just going to write a really straightforward grungey song,” And that song just came out within 15 minutes and our label really loved it. I think sometimes you actually need to over complicate things like sometimes the easier route is the best in songwriting.. 

KBVR: In three words, can you explain your music to a new listener? 

Laura: On Instagram, I called it “maternity crowd rock” and so make of that what you’d like. Or millennial crowd rock or millennial grunge rock. 

KBVR: What song do you think people should start with when they are discovering you? 

Laura: I think Caterpillar is a good one, because that’s the rockiest of them all. Had the most– I thought it was such a weird song and now it has almost a million plays on Spotify now, so go with the masses I think and start with that one. 

KBVR: What song off your new album is your favorite? 

Laura: I think the last song on the album “Heartbreak” is my favorite because it has this cellist from Manchester– reached out to me on Instagram and said “Hey, do you need any cello on the song and I really like your music.” So she recorded the cello for that song remotely and that was just– I’ve always wanted to have a string section on an album and that came about with her, that was so wonderful. We got to work with Reece Edwards to mix it who’s in a really cool band Rico Space. So that song is really, it’s kind of “My Day In The Life” by The Beatles. It’s as epic as I could go. 

Our last interview of the night was with Yndling, a dream pop, shoegaze artist from Norway. Yndling has a light and ethereal sound. Her soft voice is layered with synth and shoegaze instrumentals. I saw her perform at Nublu Classic, she had been the last artist in the Norwegian line up for the night. The venue was dimly lit (I know I say this about all of them but I could barely see) the only lit area of the bar was the stage, glowing under amber and orange lighting. There Yndling began her performance, captivating the audience with her light voice and her soft strums of her baby pink guitar littered with her name, all contrasted by melodies increasing with intensity as the songs progressed.  After her performance, we had a brief interview, in a graffiti covered restroom (very grunge) where we could get away from all the noise. 

KBVR: Your sound is shoegaze but it’s also very dreamy. Are there any influential artists that you take from within your music? 

Yndling: For me it’s been Beach House, my kind of gateway drug into dream pop and shoegaze. So it’s Beach House, Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins and also some of the heavier stuff from my co-producer, who played guitar tonight, like My Bloody Valentine a bit heavier shoegaze as well. 

KBVR: You just released a single, can you talk a little bit about that? 

Yndling: Yeah, we just released a song, “It’s Almost Like You’re Here”, I would call that between poppy shoegaze, it’s about that feeling that when you are with someone and you know you’re not on the same page. You feel like it could be really good but you’re not quite there yet. So it’s almost like you’re here, you know? It’s almost like you’re here with me but not quite. I think that’s kind of the sound that I want to do for my project as well, it’s coming later this year, that kind of like a dreamy shoegazey sound . I think my favorite part of making shoegaze is you can be quiet but still make a lot of noise. 

KBVR: For new listeners, what song would you want them to start with? 

Yndling: Maybe, either “It’s Almost Like You’re Here” or “Love Is Real”. Then I have some more dream poppy or cleaner songs as well. And I think of those “Mood Booster” is my favorite.

KBVR: What is the music scene like in Norway or where you are from? 

Yndling: I think it’s quite healthy… It’s quite jazzy because we have the main music school in Oslo. So its very jazz influenced and also Norwegian music is Norwegian is quite huge. So it’s kind of like mumbly Norwegian rap. 

This is your sign to broaden your horizons and not depend on your streaming services to provide you with sounds that aren’t within your backyard. Whether it’s indie rock or dreamy shoegaze there’s a plethora of artists that can exceed your experience of the audible journey based upon what is closest to you in proximity.