Moderating Laufey’s Keynote at Iceland Airwaves Conference

The highlight of Iceland Airwaves 2022 for me personally was moderating a fireside chat with Laufey and her manager, Max Gredinger, about her rapid rise as one of Iceland’s most exciting new artists.

The session focused on how Laufey and her team executed a clear, compelling artistic vision: “Bringing jazz to Gen Z with transportative songs about young love and self-discovery.”

Topics:

• Laufey’s creative vision and jazz-rooted storytelling

• Strategic planning behind her sold-out tour

• Artist development in the age of TikTok and streaming

• Cross-cultural identity and global resonance

• The artist–manager relationship and collaborative branding

We dove into the journey behind her chart-topping debut album Everything I Know About Love, her sold-out world tour, and the strategies that helped her build a global fanbase—blending timeless jazz sensibilities with a modern, highly engaged audience.

Photo by Mummi Lú

From the 2022 programme

The latest hit-maker from Iceland is the 23-year-old Laufey who first caught the eyes of contemporaries like Billie Eilish and V of BTS and now has the #1 Jazz song on Spotify with her debut album debuting at #10 in the US and UK on Spotify and a sold out North American and UK/European tour.

In this fireside chat Habbi from Iceland Music will have a conversation with Laufey and her manager, Max Gredinger, about how they translated Laufey’s vision of transportative jazz songs about young love and self-discovery into one of the brightest stars coming out of Iceland, ever.