With his second album Skyboy, the now 29-year-old Duncan Laurence has taken a giant step. Small Town Boy from 2020, but on Skyboy you can hear the transition he has made. Duncan Laurence proves himself to be an artist of international stature. Together with his husband Jordan Garfield, he created a completely unique musical universe on the new piece.
A man who considers Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Stockholm his home, is ready for a new episode in his already impressive musical career. Skyboy will be released tomorrow and Laurence hopes to destroy the Dutch stages in 2024. Soundz spoke to him on the eve of the worldwide release of Skyboy.
Duncan, you open Skyboy in a remarkably subdued way with Life on the Moon. A conscious choice?
“It’s a small nod to Arcade in which I also sing a little bit low in the beginning. I think it’s great to show that, especially because I sing quite high on the rest of the album. The songs on Skyboy are often very showy and massive, but I wanted to open dreamy and very small. In addition, I used to listen to Elvis Presley a lot and that low voice can also be traced back to that.”
How did that love for Elvis come about?
,You know, ,Elvis goes way further than anyone else. He is much more than just an icon. I had divorced parents and on Wednesday afternoons I was always with my grandparents. They listened to Elvis a lot. Ultimately, Skyboy was also very influenced by my desire for nostalgia. When I heard his songs in my youth, I was captivated by the atmosphere and that sound. A sound you don’t hear on the radio. I often put an Elvis record on the turntable. I stole it from my grandfather and grandmother at the time. Haha, I didn’t even ask for them, I just took them. They were in the attic and they did nothing with them. Fortunately, because I still play those records every week. That’s wonderful because Elvis’ voice makes me feel at home.”
Did your life in Los Angeles influence the songs on the album?
,,Absolute! When I listened to Skyboy in its entirety for the first time, I immediately noticed that living in America had a great impact on me as a musician. I mainly wrote the songs on my debut Small Town Boy during the lockdown in Amsterdam. That first album is much darker and full of melancholy. But I notice that on Skyboy the sun breaks through much more often. Daring to think and dream big is much more evident here. It was a personal journey and it made sense that the atmosphere of California, Los Angeles and the letters of Hollywood resonate.”
What was Jordan’s role?
“A lot of Jordan’s taste in music can be found. We also told each other that we would really make it together. We sketch our own world and Jordan is one of the few people around me who doesn’t think in South Holland the way I do. That of: ‘just act normal, then you’ll be crazy enough.’ He encouraged me to dream bigger and take risks. He also made sure that I dared to step out of my comfort zone. I didn’t have to make something that resonates in the here and now. That freed me enormously. You also hear the theater performance side of me much more. The Duncan Laurence who dares to dream and has the Hollywood sign in his eyes.”
That longing for the past is important to you.
“I really come from that emotional, nostalgic and dark ballad music. But on this record I wanted to mix it with the analogue music from the 70s that I listened to so often in my youth. Elton John, Freddie Mercury…you name it. I often hear references from the 70s in today’s music, but I never hear those mega voices and those booming bombastic choruses anymore. I missed that enormously and I have now really looked it up. I really see Skyboy as an extension of myself. I pushed the boundaries.”
David Bowie’s name also comes up when you listen to the songs.
“I really like artists like David Bowie. I once heard him say in an interview: ‘I am not inspired by others, but I am guided by what feels good. Of course, that’s really crazy to be able to live and create like that. I really took back creative control. This record is ready, but I am still writing new songs every day.”
Bowie once told us that when he started recording a new record, he never went back to ideas he had lying around.
“Look, that’s very nice. When Skyboy was finished, I thought: ‘and what now?’ That causes some discomfort. In a Lady Gaga documentary she says at one point: ‘That uncomfortable feeling is now something that I find very comfortable. Simply because I know something new is coming.’ That’s absolutely right. I also just want to sit blankly behind the piano in the studio and hope that one note will emerge and a whole new world will emerge. Shining through my own identity was very important to me after the success of Arcade.”
I don’t think you made Skyboy to score hits. You completely went your own way.
“Of course there is a risk, but I really think that if you remain authentic, people will eventually no longer be able to ignore you. I also worked on Skyboy very piecemeal. Many artists go into the studio for three months and then record an entire album in one period. I work very differently. We have a piano in our living room that Ilse DeLange gave me and all the ideas for the new songs were created on that piano. That piano is also tuned to the sound of Arcade. Ilse had that instrument completely adjusted to the sound of that song. That’s typical Ilse. Very nice. This initially created many songs that sounded similar to Arcade. But we took them to Los Angeles and developed them further with a producer.”
Would you like to work differently in the future? Perhaps a bit more compact.
“I would just like to work with a permanent club for a long time, so that you can all disappear into a world. I have now worked with the two New Zealand producers Sam de Jong and Leroy Clampitt. Sam is very pop-oriented, while Leroy is much more nostalgic in his approach. Both producers are multi-instrumentalists and I quickly noticed that they wanted to work with me to create that old sound that is placed in the here and now. That was also my mission: to bring old music into the present. Prince, David Bowie and the aforementioned Elton John and Freddie Mercury are really the influences that trickle through.”
Give an example of that.
“I told them that the song Rest in Peace, my last single, had to be a combination of: Duncan Laurence, Queen, Living Color and Frank Ocean. That is of course a big challenge. In America everyone always shouts: ‘Go on, sing it!’ They are very direct, but that makes you dare to step beyond your own boundaries. I’m also very curious to see how people will react to it. In addition, I can’t wait to perform these songs live with a great band. I really hope that the festivals realize that I am much more than a singer of ballads. Fans should be able to listen to my music with a beer in their hand.”
