Łaszewo: The Organic Window-Knock That Sparked A Dynamic Electronic-Pop Trio

As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Łaszewo.

In 2018, Łaszewo’s Matthew Ehrlich, Keeva Bouley, and Justin De La Fuente came together in Santa Barbara, California under unexpected circumstances. When Justin overheard Keeva singing through her open apartment window, he immediately knocked on her door and the rest was history. Since then, they have continued to rise and grow into one of the most exciting and dynamic electronic pop acts. With the recent release of their debut album, In Color, Łaszewo is embarking on their largest headline tour yet spanning across North America, ŁASZEWO: LIVE IN COLOR.

Łaszewo’s two producer and female lead vocalist setup is unique to the electronic landscape, and the trio continues to make waves with their upbeat, melodic sound and euphoric live performances. Their diverse talent and charismatic stage presence continues to allow them to be a rising force in the electronic-pop scene and captivate audiences globally along the way.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how the group came to be?

We came together in Santa Barbara, California in 2018. We formed our trio Łaszewo (pronounced “La-zay-woah”), composed of two DJs and producers myself, Matthew Ehrlich and Justin De La Fuente, and our wonderful singer and songwriter Keeva Bouley (kiki). Justin happened to overhear Keeva singing through her open apartment window with her sorority sisters when he decided to knock on her door… the rest was history.

Justin: It was as organic as that, I was just blown away and knew I wanted to hear more.

What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did your journey begin?

We’ve all had a passion for music since we were kids but never imagined we’d be doing it professionally. Once we all met, our chemistry was instantaneous and we had so much fun creating together that we all kind of knew this would now be the direction our lives would go. Our first song that we released together was called “Up In Flames” and has gone on to be one of our most successful songs. We knew we had something special from that moment.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you all since you solidified as a trio?

There’s been so many interesting and crazy things that have happened for us in the last couple years but probably the most interesting was the collaboration we did with Candy Crush for their music week. We got the news they wanted to work with us and almost right away we wrote a song for them and got to film a music video for it. We flew down to Mexico City and had the most incredible experience with an incredible team on set. We will always look back fondly on that video and shoot

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

This is a great question! We’d have to say our funniest mistake was one of our shows opening up for Two Friends in 2022. Granted, it wasn’t super funny at the time but looking back on it we laugh now. Some technical fault caused the sound to cut out in the middle of our set for about 2 minutes. Luckily the microphones were still working so while the boys got to work troubleshooting the problem, I had to improvise some crowd interaction to pass the time. We were still in the early stages of live performances so it was definitely a shock, but the crowd honestly loved the honesty and humor coming from us addressing the lack of sound. I felt like it actually brought us a closer and more intimate relationship with that particular crowd.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

It would truly be hard to list just how many people have been a monumental help and inspiration to get to where we are. Firstly, we are all incredibly lucky to all have supportive families who are excited for us, and understand our slightly alternative career path. Secondly, we have to mention our manager Kamran Khan who came on board with us as someone who just loved the music and saw the vision. He has absolutely shaped us into the band we are today, and he continues to have our backs throughout it all. We ️ you Kam!

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Kiki: Well, we just released our debut album In Color which is the first full length project we’ve done together! In support of the album, we’re currently headlining our second North American tour, ŁASZEWO: LIVE IN COLOR, and will be touring through mid December. It’s incredible to be playing so many incredible venues in cities we’ve never been to before and having fans scream our song lyrics back at us. It’s why we do what we do! Of course, we never stop our creative pursuits, touring or not! So, we may have some little surprises along the way too.

As successful music stars, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated? How do you overcome obstacles in your career?

We’re fortunate to be such a tight knit trio and we’ve already overcome a lot together. I think being able to confide in one another and share our excitements, fears and plans is very precious. We get to share the stage with each other so we all see the same crowd and same energy and we get to bond over that after our shows. We pride ourselves on holding each other accountable and pushing each other to be our best selves and in that way we’ve fostered a friendship that is pretty unbreakable.

During lockdown, it was tough to stay creatively motivated but during COVID we actually all lived together in a house so we were able to make music pretty often…although we will say living together was a one and done kind of experience haha! We definitely work better having our own spaces, that way we really treasure the time we create and spend together.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1 . If you have any musical ideas WRITE IT DOWN! I wonder how many great ideas have been lost to the abyss because of distraction or forgetfulness!

2 . Stay the course! Musical trends are shifting all the time, especially with the ever powerful social media platforms. It can be tempting to try to fit into those musical trends/genres but it’s far more gratifying to stick to the music you truly want to make

3 . While there’s always a next step and a next goal to achieve, make sure to celebrate the wins and how far you’ve come. Always strive for more but always be grateful for where you are at.

4 . Take constructive criticism on board, but never let straight up hate get to your head. There are way more positive people than there are negative.

5 . Comparing your music or career to other artists (either ahead or behind you) will never be productive and will only set you back. As they say “comparison is the thief of joy”.

Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you approach songwriting? How do you approach musical collaborations?

There honestly isn’t really one set way that we write our songs. Put simply, the boys handle the production and kiki handles the songwriting. But the whole thing is collaborative, the boys are always throwing out lyrical and melody ideas and Kiki gives her input on the production. Sometimes, the boys will start an instrumental and Kiki will write to it, other times Kiki will write a song on the piano and the boys will produce it out, it really just depends on the day/what we have all been working on during our brief moments apart! Ultimately, we all contribute to each part of the process by playing off each other’s strengths and always deciding what’s best for the song.

Your music has resonated with so many fans worldwide. What do you believe sets your music apart?

Justin: There’s not really any other electro-pop music group doing what we do. We have an incredible singer and lyricist, Keeva who already is so unique with her stylistic word choices and melodies. Then we have the duo producer/DJ combo that is a bit different than a typical solo DJ act. Add in our live shows in which we all play instruments, and you have something pretty unique that we’re very proud of. Between Matt and I, we’re able to bounce sounds off one another and experiment. We’re not trying to play into a mold, we’re really focused on paving our own lane.

How do you connect with your audience?

Matt: We feel like our fans are our friends! We’re all on this crazy journey together and they are a massive part of this experience with us. Social media has been great to achieve this and makes it so easy to bring our community through our different tour stops and give them a glance of who we are as people aside from the music. We made a pact a couple years ago that we would respond to every DM on social media to ensure people know how much we treasure their support and love.

With your busy schedule and demanding performances, how do you prioritize self-care and maintain a balance between your personal life and career in the music industry?

I think as our schedule is always changing and there’s almost never time for a consistent routine, prioritizing self-care is always a challenge. Luckily though, because we’re always trying to be our best selves and push all our team members to do so, we kind of feed off each other’s energy. We’re all members of the same gym in LA so it’s fun to see eachother there and know that we’re all getting our blood pumping and bodies moving! Finding calm amongst the chaos is a skill we’ve all honed in over the past couple of years that also helps with self-care. But a balance between personal life and a career in the music industry? Never heard of her

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you all would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? They might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Matt: I saw The Killers live recently and was blown away by their frontman, Brandon Flower’s performance. It made me realize just how much I love them and how much their music means to me. I’d love to pick his brain about his career and just hear his musical takes.

Justin: I’d pick Billy Joel so I can ask him how he wrote Vienna

Kiki: For me, it’s got to be Chris Martin. I’ve been listening to Coldplay since I was a child and I’ve always admired Chris Martin’s song writing and lyricism. I’d like to pull up a few chairs for the whole Coldplay band too and pick their brains about the experiences they’ve had throughout their career.

How can our readers continue to follow your work online?

They can follow us on Instagram or check out our website https://www.laszewo.com/ for our tour dates and other news! Our handle is @Łaszewo on Instagram and @Laszewooo on Tik Tok. As we mentioned, we’ll be sharing a lot from our tour so if you’re unable to make it out to a show, you can stay posted online.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.

Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold.