Taste of Iceland in Seattle: Reykjavík Calling

Artist Laufey performs at the Osberg Hall, Nordic Museum. By fusing sophisticated jazz melodies and slow-burning R&B grooves, Laufey has been raising well-deserved attention for her mesmerizing style.

Half Chinese and half Icelandic, Laufey spent much of her childhood traveling between Reykjavík and Washington, DC, where she learned to speak English with barely a trace of an accent. Inspired in part by her mother, a classical violinist, she took up piano and cello early on, but it was her father's collection of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday albums that spoke to her on a deeper level. "I'm definitely very influenced by composers like Ravel and Chopin," Laufey explains, "but when I discovered the Great American Songbook and the music of George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers, it felt like this middle ground between jazz and classical that suited me perfectly."

Laufey recently released her debut EP, Typical of Me, now available on streaming services.