Get to know Lafawndah

Lafawndah’s new EP ‘Tan’ began life as what she’s described as a ‘gay summer dance’ record. “I was on a street in Zurich, the party street where all the clubs were. Every kind of music was represented by a club,” she recalls. “It was a sample of how I wanted to party and make music.”

It was also a sample of how she creates. Raised primarily in Paris, Lafawndah has also lived in Tehran, Iran and now resides in New York. Her pan-continental style attracted the attention of Warp Records, which releases ‘Tan’ next month. “The first email I got from the label said, ‘We’re in the studio with HudMo and playing your music.’” For an artist who describes the music of Hudson Mohawke as “life changing”, this was a huge moment.

Having teamed up with L-Vis 1990, Nick Weiss of Teengirl Fantasy and Tamer Fahri, ‘Tan’ isn’t quite the global party record she intended to make, but a tough yet sensual workout. One song, ‘Town Crier’, even tackles the Arab Spring uprising of 2011. “It’s the sound of a failed revolution,” she says.

Currently spending “every second” recording her debut album, Lafawndah is adamant the only thing she’ll ever be is undefinable. “My goal is to never sit somewhere that is expected. If you can pinpoint it, then it’s not for me.” Get used to expecting the unexpected. 

'Tan' is out now on Warp