Laura Fares, known as LAU or Lau Fares (born February 14, 1978, Buenos Aires) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer from Argentina, and currently based in Barcelona (Spain), after 21 years in the United Kingdom. She is also the founder of

Aztec Records Aztec Records is an independent British record label. It is specializes in electronic and pop music, in the subgenres of Synthpop, Synthwave and Retrowave following the 80's. It was founded in 2010 by Laura Fares and Ariel Amejeiras. Label D ...

with Ariel Amejeiras.

Biography

Self taught as a drummer and guitarist from the age of 17, she formed her first music band in Argentina, called Isis. Based in the UK between 1999 and 2020, LAU studied music at City & Islington College and got a degree in Popular Music Performance at the London College of Music & Media, through Thames Valley University and Drumtech. Soon after finishing her degree, LAU went off on tour as a session drummer for different pop stars like Jont,

Sam Sparro Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

Taio Cruz Jacob Taio Cruz (; born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere, 23 April 1980), better known professionally as Taio Cruz (stylized TΛIO CRUZ), is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from London, England, currently based in Los Angeles. In 200 ...

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

Clean Bandit Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...

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and others, opening for artists like

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

The Presets The Presets are an Australian electronic music duo of Julian Hamilton (vocals, keyboards) and Kim Moyes (drums, keyboards). Formed in 2003 and signed to Modular Recordings, Modular Records, The Presets released two EPs (''Blow Up (EP), Blow Up ...

and

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the gr ...

. She became a songwriter simultaneously and was first published by Oval Music, funded by legendary BBC Radio

Charlie Gillett Charles Thomas Gillett (; 20 February 1942 – 17 March 2010) was a British radio presenter, musicologist, and writer, mainly on rock and roll and other forms of popular music. He was particularly noted for his influential book ''The Sound of t ...

and mentored by BBC music composer David Lowe. She was co-founder of Disco Damage in 2007, and professional DJ since 2008. She set up independent Synthpop/synthwave record label

in 2010 with her friend Ariel Amejeiras, where she is the Creative Director. Synthpop/synthwave is a sub-genre determined by modern electronic music and nostalgia for the pop culture of the 80s. The label has developed and released artists such as

Bright Light Bright Light Rod Thomas (stage name Bright Light Bright Light) is a Welsh independent singer-songwriter, based in New York. Bright Light Bright Light incorporates many elements of nu-disco into his music, also branching into synthpop, dance and house music. T ...

NINA Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms *National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq * Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology *No income, ...

, Sunglasses Kid, Bunny X and many others. In 2010 LAU teamed up with

to write two albums: ''Sleepwalking'' and ''Synthian'', which took them on several tours around the world, including opening for

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

in 2014 on their Violet Flame Tour in the United States. The duo also co-wrote a song called "The Wire", which was remixed by

Ricky Wilde Ricky may refer to: Places *Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic *Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic *Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky" ...

and had

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...

featuring on it. The writing duo also remixed five tracks from the ''Drive'' soundtrack by

Cliff Martinez Cliff Martinez (born February 5, 1954) is an American musician and composer. Early in his career, Martinez was known as a drummer notably with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Captain Beefheart. Since the 1990s, he has worked primarily as a film sc ...

, released by

Lakeshore Records Lakeshore Entertainment Group, LLC is an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum (1933–2002). Lakeshore Entertainment is headquart ...

in 2020. The duo also appeared in the London movie premiere for ''

The Rise of the Synths ''The Rise of the Synths'' ( es, La rebelión de los sintes) is a 2019 documentary film written and directed by Iván Castell and narrated by filmmaker and composer John Carpenter. The film explores the origins and growth of the electronic mus ...

'', where their songs were used.

Solo career

In 2020 LAU launched her solo project as a retrowave/synthpop singer and songwriter and released four singles, ahead of her debut album 'Believer' released in February 2021. LAU's debut album includes

Synthwave Synthwave (also called outrun, retrowave, or futuresynth) is an electronic music microgenre that is based predominantly on the music associated with action, science-fiction, and horror film soundtracks of the 1980s. Other influences are drawn fr ...

, Retrowave and

Synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

tracks with a heavy 80s influence, and talks about a bad breakup, moving on from a past relationship and believing in herself after so many years behind other artists, as mentioned on ''Billboard''. LAU's second studio album 'Circumstance' was released on February 14, 2022, and includes tracks produced by Brian Skeel, Ends 84, TAKTA, Popcorn Kid, Saint Innocent and her own version of the

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

classic 'True Colors', produced by Zak Vortex. The album talks about the uncertainty of a distant relationship and falling in love in the times of pandemic, as she explained on

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

. The album includes

, Retrowave and Nu-Disco songs. In 2022 LAU's track 'Stunning' was used on the "Frozen Flowers"

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ret ...

ad campaign, featuring

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. That same year LAU was selected by industry experts as one of the 76 artists chosen for Keychange, a European programme that promotes and empowers women and gender minorities in the music industry. That same year, LAU's album 'Believer' was nominated for the Spanish MIN awards in these categories: Best Album, Best Artist, Song of the Year, Best Producer and Best Graphic Design.

Awards

BIME Equity Awards 2022 (Best Song)- Finalist

MIN Awards 2021 and 2022 (Best Song and Best Album) - Nominated

Give Her Your Love (Best Music Video)

2022 Winner: International Queer Film Festival

2022 Winner: PARAI Musical International Awards

2022 Winner: Bluez Dolphins International Short Film Fest

2022 Official Selection: Black Panther International Short Film Festival

2022 Official Selection: Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Festival

2022 Official Selection: Madrid Indie Film Festival

2022 Official Selection: Brighton Rocks Film Festival

2022 Official Selection: Buenos Aires International Film Festival

2022 Official Selection: Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival

2022 Official Selection: Prague International Film Awards

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

* 2020: "Stunning" * 2020: "We Had Magic" * 2020: "Recognise" * 2020: "True" * 2021: "The Cards" * 2021: "True Colors" (with Zak Vortex) * 2021: "Undecided" * 2021: "Give Her Your Love" * 2021: "What To Do" * 2022: "Instant Sunshine" * 2022: “Shout” (with LLUVA)

As featured artist

* 2020: "Get Up" (Jordan F feat. NINA and LAU) * 2020: "Free Forever" (Popcorn Kid & LAU) * 2021: "Bad Thing" (Sight Telma Club & LAU) * 2021: "Drown Your Sorrow" (Maxx Parker & LAU) * 2021: "Never" (Syntronix & LAU) * 2021: "The Waves" (LLUVA & LAU) * 2021: “We Gave It A Try” (Popcorn Kid & LAU) * 2022: “Impossible Love” (LLUVA & LAU) * 2022: “Galaxy” (EhRah & LAU) * 2022: “Give Me A Sign” (EhRah & LAU) * 2022: “Find Love” (Jessy Mach & LAU) * 2022: “Irracional” (The Broken Flowers Project & LAU) - in Spanish * 2022: "Walk Away" (Space Tourist & LAU)

Albums

As lead artist

*2021: ''Believer'' *2021: ''Believer (Deluxe)'' *2022: ''Circumstance'' *2022: ''Circumstance (The Remixes)''

As featured artist

* 2018: ''Sleepwalking'' (NINA feat. LAU) * 2020: ''Synthian'' (NINA feat. LAU) * 2020: ''Synthian (The Remixes)'' (NINA feat. LAU) * 2020: ''Control'' EP (NINA feat. LAU)

References

External links

Interview Forgedinneon

Interview Vents Magazine

Aztec Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fares, Laura Synthwave musicians Argentine women singer-songwriters Argentine singer-songwriters 1978 births Living people Argentine drummers