Duncan Laurence got to know his fiancé well during the writing process | NOW

Duncan Laurence will release his first album this week. The singer pre-wrote the songs Small Town Boy largely himself, but also collaborated a lot with others. Among those writers is his fiancé Jordan Garfield, whom he got to know very well through the process.

“When you start a relationship, there are always the burning questions: who did you have before, how was that, what have you been through? We can write about it together,” said the 26-year-old singer in conversation with NU.nl.

“You write about what you want to know from each other: how someone became the person they are now. That includes the exes, the bullying from the past or a violent event from the past. way with each other and also incorporating it into music. I got to know him in the songs, also because you dare to talk about your past faster. As a result, you get to the core more quickly and you know earlier: this is someone who is with me suits.”

Laurence sings on the album about love, his personal demons and the past. Listeners get to know him through the lyrics. Something that the singer, who produced some of the songs himself, considers essential in making music. “Listening back to my own songs is almost like watching youth videos and reliving that moment. If I don’t have that feeling with my own music, I can never convey it convincingly to the audience.”

Writing about personal experiences

The singer is very open towards his listener and is not afraid to mention spicy subjects such as loss or inner demons. So he sings in Figure It Out about ‘forest fires’ in his head. “That feeling that you are totally in your own head and start worrying about everything, I think everyone recognizes that. By writing, I find a way in it. Then I can write it off and give it a place. I did that. when I was bullied as a child and I still do now. And because I do that, I also see my fans talking about their emotions and with each other.

Laurence never writes directly about one person or one event, but combines the feelings of several moments. An ex will never recognize himself in the things he describes. “If it gets too specific, I’ll drop out. I could never describe the situation or the space word for word, then people wouldn’t recognize that either. It also helps that in real life I’m not that poetic. The things that I Really, my lyrics don’t make it. Then at home I think: oh I should have said that! But at such a moment really not. So there is little chance that a direct conversation will come back in a song. “

Writing about and with his fiancé

The singer wrote among other things with Garfield, who proposed to Laurence this year Sleeping On The Phone. In it he sings about a long-distance relationship. Jordan is American and he lived in Los Angeles. Sleeping On The Phone was the first song we wrote together because we knew we would miss each other if we weren’t together. We wanted to write a song to listen to when we couldn’t speak to each other for a while because we weren’t awake at the same time due to the nine-hour time difference. That was a really tough time. Fortunately he now lives here. “

The idea that writing songs together sounds so intimate that it’s nearly impossible not to fall in love with the person you’re working with makes Laurence laugh. “I wrote songs with a lot of people and yet I fell in love with Jordan alone. But I do understand what you mean. You get to know each other so well, you grow closer together. You can’t be closed when you’re together. Then it won’t be a personal song and you want to. That’s why it works so well with Jordan and me, on all fronts. We dare to be vulnerable and open towards each other. We’ve already written eleven new songs in the past two weeks. So a second album will be out soon, haha. “

– .