Emerging from the Edinburgh music scene, LAW, or Lauren Holt, is not a singer in the traditional sense of the word. While others climb high notes, LAW holds back. Her new EP Cowboys and Hustlers is a short explosion of wide expressions, “a burst of something happening,” she says, that toys with different genres and turns a range of references into one distinctive style. Contrasting soft and aggressive arrangements, her mellow soul vocals float across a jagged soundscape of noisy, minimalistic beats. LAW is hard to define. In a good way.
We spoke to the experimental musician about the craft of singing and why she keeps moving with music.
You come from a jazz band background and have collaborated with alternative hip hop group Young Fathers. Have you experimented with different music styles throughout your life?
When I started singing at 16, I tried to do as many different kinds of singing as possible. I did jazz, ska, blues and was in three or four different bands. After that I started writing my own stuff with Young Fathers. I learned to measure my voice and use it properly.
It feels like you could release this immense, powerful voice and just beat the crap out of any song, but instead you keep it subtle.
That kind of singing is a bit old fashioned now, isn't it? The craft of singing has been somewhat trivialised recently through reality shows. People think singing is about doing mad runs and silly high notes, when it’s actually about communicating with people. Doing all the Mariah Carey stuff is fair enough, but it doesn't really say anything. It doesn't make you feel any certain way, and you don't remember what the song was about.
Where do you look for inspiration?
You get the hunger from doing different things. I do music on the side of work and try to pick something beautiful out of my day to day life. The studio is a great place. There are books and pictures everywhere and instruments to touch. I like to read a lot on the bus and get a different perspective on life and people. Since I work in a charity shop I get to meet interesting people and have those conversations where you think “I’m taking that!”. Your mind is like a sponge, so when you write it just comes out. It’s important to keep listening to music, it freshens everything up. If you're always moving with music, your ideas change all the time. It means you can move as well, not just stagnate on your own, and make sure it's coherent for what you want to achieve.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Dr John and Jonwayne. I'm interested in white men with beards at the moment! And long hair, preferably.
What’s the story behind your stage name?
My grandma could never remember all the kids’ names, so my name got shortened. She was Jamaican and used to scream “Laaaau!” [instead of Lauren]. I was also looking for something strong and simple, and I think the name sums up our goals and aims with the music. A strong and fierce thing, yet a real person with different layers under the surface. There’s an aggressive side to the music, as well as lots of soul and emotion.
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