| Lau Noah | |
| Birth Date: | 11 February 1994 |
| Birth Place: | Reus, Spain |
| Genre: | Folk, Classical, Songwriter, Jazz, Spanish folklore |
| Occupation: | Musician, composer |
| Instrument: | Guitar, Vocals, Piano |
| Years Active: | 2014–present |
| Website: | https://www.launoahmusic.com |
Lau Noah (born February 11, 1994) is a Spanish self taught multi-instrumentalist and composer. Noah has received international recognition for her way of playing guitar and singing in virtuosic counterpoint, with the Recording Academy describing her as "a musical polymath"[1] She became the first Catalan artist to ever perform on NPR Tiny Desk Concert.[2] Her first LP[3] contains collaborations with artists such as Jacob Collier, Jorge Drexler, Chris Thile, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and many others.
Lau Noah was born in Reus, Catalonia, to a family of teachers. Even though she took music lessons as a kid, she quit as a pre-teen and continued to teach herself to write songs on voice and piano. She cites the soundtracks of Disney movies as a major influence on her music at that time. In her adolescence she played the organ at church and performed her songs in several small cities in Catalonia.
When she was 17 years old she moved to a musicians commune on a mountain overlooking the city of Barcelona, where she was exposed to jazz music for the first time. She recorded a never released demo entitled Wolves (2013) which was her introduction to recording and producing, collaborating with drummer Jorge Rossy.
At 19 years old, Noah moved to New York with $100 in her pocket after finding a nanny job through an online website. She worked several jobs while performing monthly in local NYC venues like The Bitter End and Rockwood Music Hall. In February 2016 while in Montréal she discovered the guitar.
Over the next years Noah would start posting videos on Facebook, of herself playing her songs on guitar, catching the attention of celebrated underground musicians like pianist Larry Goldings, who put together a soirée in his Los Angeles home for her to perform, inviting Maroon 5's Jesse Carmichael, famed producer Blake Mills and other influential artists. This would grant Lau a reputation among underground musicians.
In February 2019 Lau performed a solo set for NPR's Tiny Desk Concert,[4] making her the first Catalan artist to ever perform in the prestigious series. Billboard Magazine wrote about the performance: "Lau Noah enchants music lovers one song at a time."[5] Bob Boilen, the creator of the series said: "There's a magical aura that surrounds Lau Noah. She writes these thought-provoking song-stories that captured my heart."[6]
Later that year Noah played piano and guitar for the TV show Little Voice created by Sara Bareilles.[7]
During the COVID pandemic of 2020, Lau garnered the attention of music superstars like Jacob Collier, Gavin Degraw, Phoebe Bridgers and Moses Sumney among others, thanks to the videos she posted on Instagram performing her songs.
Lau self released her first EP, entitled 3, in June 2021. It was a compilation of original songs on guitar and voice.
In July 2021 Noah was invited to perform with Jacob Collier at the Blue Note in NYC. Later that year, Noah performed a successful solo tour in Spain, France, Germany and Switzerland. In 2022 Lau performed alongside pop star Gavin Degraw in Bethel Woods, the grounds of the legendary Woodstock festival of 1969.
Lau went on tour with Macarthur Grant awardee Chris Thile in the fall of 2022 opening his shows in Europe, and in early 2023 opened for Americana superband Nickel Creek in the UK.[8]
On May 19, 2023, Noah released the first single of her album, featuring Jacob Collier. The song called "If a tree falls in love with a river" amassed over 400.000 streams on Spotify the first week after release.
In the fall of 2023 she opened for Ben Folds in the UK,[9] performing at the Royal Albert Hall and other legendary venues, receiving standing ovations and making audiences of around 5000 people sing in perfect two-part harmony. When the tour was suddenly cancelled due to Folds health issues, Noah took to social media and turned to her fans, who helped put a headliner tour together in three days, spanning over 10 dates in several locations in Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain.
Noah released her first LP, A DOS[10] on January 12 of 2024 to much praise, featuring Grammy winning Latin star Gaby Moreno, virtuoso mandolinist Chris Thile, Goya awards winner Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Pop sensation Jacob Collier, prominent flamenco singer Ángeles Toledano, ECM favorite Shai Maestro, Academy Award recipient Jorge Drexler, Eurovision winner Salvador Sobral and Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz first prize Cécile McLorin Salvant.
Throughout January and February 2024 Noah was on the cover of Performer Magazine[11] and was featured in several music publications and podcasts including NPR's New Sounds,[12] WBGO's Third Story podcast[13] and Recording Academy's Global Spin.[14] Album of the Year, the user run music review website gave Noah's duet with Collier a 100% rating,[15] and the full record a rating of 86%.
In March 2024 Noah became a finalist in the American Songwriter song contest.[16]
Award winning Jamie Cullum spoke about Lau's record and played it on his BBC radio show in March of 2024.[17]
Lau Noah has given several conferences about creativity in Ivy League universities[18] (Brown University 2023) and music festivals and conservatories worldwide (Cork international guitar festival 2019, Connecticut Guitar festival 2018, St Louis Classical guitar conservatory 2020, Escuela Superior de Musica creativa de Madrid 2020, Taller de Musics de Barcelona 2024)