CONFUSED TIMES, CREATIVE REVIVAL.
Interview with Jesse Hartman from Laptop
por Benjamín York.
Photographs: Emmanuel Abreau, David Nicholas and Thomas Krause.
Laptop released three albums with Island Records during a pivotal time for alternative pop. Looking back, what did that major-label experience teach you about balancing artistic identity with industry expectations?
Nice to be talking with you. First thing – I have to set the record straight. After I stopped my band Sammy, I started Laptop in my friends basement, recording an EP called “End Credits” and released it on a tiny label called God Bless Records. After another couple singles, I got signed to Island. At first it was a dream because they were the label with the coolest artist friendly history (Tom Waits, Marley, PJ Harvey, etc.). But right after they put me in the studio, a terrible thing happened, a corporate merger - Island got bought by Universal. The next day, everyone at the label got fired and I was stranded. Universal wanted me to be a boy band! Soon, I was off the label and released the three Laptop albums on smalled indies. So, I didn’t realease three albums with Island.
Now, was is a pivotal time for alternative pop? I don’t know. But it was a pivotal time for me. I made three albums that I felt were legendary. At least in my mind. Maybe now they will become legendary. And because my major label experience was so fractured I didn’t really have to balance artistic identity. I was able to keep that in tact.
Laptop is now a multi-generational project with you and your son Charlie. How has working together reshaped the band’s sound, collaborative process, or overall creative energy since the reformation? Is Charlie becoming involved in the songwriting process as well?
I’m glad you asked this. This 4th Laptop album “On This Planet” has been generally more collaborative that the others. Laptop started out as a kind of solo project after Sammy. I played most of the instruments. It really was the Jesse show. On this album, my son Charlie sings with me on every song and four of the songs were written with him. Those songs have a playful, childlike energy that didn’t exist on my older tracks. But he’s not the only collaborator on this album. My daughter Lulu sings on Confused and other tracks. Half the island of Nevis is on this record. A quarter of Spain. Some UK. Some NYC. The horns come from Ukraine. The strings from Greece. Just look at the performer credits on the album. It’s quite something. This is like the UN of albums. It’s awesome. Speaking of which….you’re about to ask about one of my favorite collaborations….
You describe your new single ‘Xanadu’ as capturing the moment when the art dream runs into the desire for stability. How do you personally navigate the tension between creative ambition and real-world responsibilities?
I sang Xanadu with a young singer from Nevis named Anna Hadeed. And the song is stragely a love song to a place, a house. Imagine, you’re young and in love and you find a dilapidated but dreamy house that you want to turn into your own paradise. But then after you jump in, it becomes a nightmare – financially, emotionally…this is kind of metaphor for my art/music career. You jump in because of passion but the realities kind of knock you down. And isn’t this true about so many aspects of the the real-world you mentioned? So this song is about a house but so much more. It’s the American dream gone wrong.
The single before that – ‘Confused’ – seems to explore a world where information, performance, and power blur. How does that theme resonate personally, and do you see music as a tool to process or reflect societal confusion? ‘Confused’ was written in response to January 6. How did witnessing such an extraordinary moment in American history shape your approach to songwriting, rhythm, and mood for the track?”
Speaking of the world going wrong. Confused is the song about that. It was written after Jan 6 and reflects on the chaos of that day. My family and I were in DC on Jan 4 just touring around. We noticed weirdness in the air but we had no idea that two days later all hell was going to break loose. So, Confused is certainly about the societal confusion we are seeing right now. Old Laptop used to be about chaos in our personal relationships. Between me and an ex-girlfriend let’s say. But new Laptop is about the chaos in our relationship with the natural world, the tech world, the political world – even imagined alien worlds. Laptop has gone big – big themes, big sound, big chaos…
"Laptop - Confused"
Your daughter Lulu contributes vocals and artwork for ‘Confused’. What role does her perspective as part of a younger generation play in shaping the song’s sense of ambiguity and unease?
Lulu is a unique girl. I needed her on this track. She did vocals that rival the kids on Another Brick in the Wall. There she is…commenting on her father’s insanity as he is consumed with the tragic news. I wanted to get across this point: the kids of today are witnessing all of this horror and failure of democracy in real time. And while it’s very difficult for us – it’s even harder for them. They’ve never experienced normal like we have. Lulu also did the artwork, the painting of the Confused single art. And that is brilliant as well. A self-portrait of sorts. A sad confused girl face.
Laptop has always threaded irony into serious subjects. How do you approach maintaining that wry, unsettling humor when dealing with politically intense material?
Well, this is just a natural instinct. I grew up in New York, learning humor from mentors like Larry David, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen….and I always loved comedy in my music – Lou Reed, Jonathan Richmond, Devo…so, this is just part of my fabric. I like to be funny first and foremost even when writing about dark themes.
Rewinding in history a bit, with praise from outlets like NME and The Guardian during the Island years, did critical acclaim create momentum, pressure, or both — and how did that affect Laptop’s trajectory at the time?
I always have had pretty good success with critics and writers. Better success with them than fans I think. That’s strange, isn’t it? And critical acclaim feels good of course. It does give you a little jolt and inspiration. If you feel like curators and writers are “getting you”, it definitely gives you confidence to keep being who are you are.
Your music mixes synth-pop, irony, and emotional precision, continuing Laptop’s signature style. How do you balance honoring your musical past with exploring new sonic territories?”
Well, that’s interesting. On this record, I certainly wanted to do what Laptop always does – be funny, be groovy, be synthy, be post-new wave/punk at times….BUT I did want to explore some new territory – so I mixed in the island sounds, even did a little reggae which was really out of character, used some African elements like the Talking Heads did, added horns which I hadn’t really done much of in the past. So this is definitely a classic Laptop album but it definitely pushes the envelope and explores some new territory.
In this current chapter of Laptop, what feels most vital to communicate — and what does the road to your new album “On This Planet” look like over the coming months?
Well, one thing is I did a single or am doing a single for every song on the album. And we’re doing a music video for every song on the album. We have about 4 left. The next two – Squirrel-A-Bug and Always Something come before the album release on June 5 (“Always Something”) and the final two come after “Thirst” and “The Piano”. This method has been super fun because each song, to me, is like a little movie, and it’s been nice to give each song its moment. So, we have three more months of road leading up to this album release and we’re excited.
Other highlights are – in March a book called “Sammy” come out on J-Card Press written by Jeff Gomez about my childhood and my band Sammy. In April, we play in NYC with Art Brut.
Then the album. Later in the year, there’s talk of a Sammy rerelease and a Laptop’s Greatest Hits. And then guess what, we actually have 15 songs ready to go for Laptop album 5 which even has a name – “Accentuate The Positive” – so stay tuned. It’s going to be an exciting few years in Laptopia.
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