Lauren Duffus is a London-based producer, vocalist, and DJ. Since 2020, she has been cooking up her own brand of skewed, haunting electronic music, pulling from a variety of sonic sources and histories to make something that reflects her background while at the same time floating above it. Duffus recently put out a new single, which was a good excuse for us to ask the artist about some of her Best Songs for hyper-specific situations. Read the article and listen to her new single “N.U.M.T.E” below.

Best song that makes you a little scared?

“I Love You” by Boards of Canada

I first heard this song when I was super anxious after a big night out at a Boiler Room. I was hungover at my friend’s house chatting to her mum’s boyfriend and he put it on after I told him I needed some music to calm me down—it certainly did not calm me down LOL but I definitely fell in love with it! It’s so unique and creates an eerie soundscape perfectly. The voice repeating “I love you” sounds like a children’s toy doll, layered on top of sinister bass notes and creepy xylophone (??) instruments that sound like the start of an airport announcement. They conjure up endless ideas for a backstory. It’s like a dystopian horror film.

Best song that’s old?

“Genesis” by Dreams After Death

Funeral doom metal. I love this song immensely. I’m a slowed/chopped and screwed girl ‘til the end and this is the organic equivalent. I love music that feels hypnotic and trancelike. It lures you in with beautiful and haunting synths that feel reflective, classical, angelic, and vulnerable, and then plunges into pure cathartic screaming. I love the BPM of doom metal, the slow labored pace, it’s so emotive and the vocals/growls are such a release. The breakdown is so emo—the guitar solo in the middle is super sad and gut-wrenching.

Best Song by a drill artist?

"PCD On The Mains" by ST (67)

Nothing more needs to be said—Carns Hill ily.

Best song that gets you inspired to make music?

“Sick” by Wench 

Probably one of my favorite songs ever by Arca and Shayne Oliver’s duo, Wench—it’s so emotive and melancholic. It feels classic and vintage whilst being futuristic and experimental. I love how it sounds cold, metallic, and detuned. The broken chords sound so sluggish and full of emotional weight—it really just makes me rock back and forth almost in a trancelike state.

Best song by Chief Keef?

“Voodoo” by Chief Keef 

Chief Keef is just amazing and one of my favorite artists ever—this was a difficult question and my answer would probably differ on different days. I love this track because it’s so hypnotic and feels spiritual even without the title. The rhythmic patterns he speaks in don’t really feel like rap, they feel like incantations/a singing witch. Paired with the unsettling instrumental, it’s one of his songs that encapsulates what I love in music—just a weird feeling. I think “I Don’t Know Dem” would come second.

Best song for walking around the streets of London?

“666” by Salem

I love setting a sombre mood to my outings, and music like this makes you see everything you pass through a cinematic/documentary lens (feel so pretentious ha ha). It’s a very simple repetitive song, nothing really happens, but it’s a perfect blank canvas to interpret stuff in front of you. It’s very hypnotic—you could listen to it on loop for an hour and not notice.

Best song that has a therapeutic function?

“Electric Relaxation” by A Tribe Called Quest 

This track became the soundtrack to the mourning of my dad in 2018—it was just on repeat in my ears, I was in zombie mode. Now that I’m out of that initial shellshocked state I return to it in moments of grief and it helps me to reflect. It’s important to note that I would listen to it with the video on YouTube—the nostalgic feel of the video reminded me of him; even though I wasn’t even born when it would have been on the airwaves, it created a weird sense of longing for my dad in an era of his youth and happiness, watching images of styles and fashions I’d seen he was influenced by in his youth. Perhaps because we lost him to mental health struggles. I hope that makes sense.

Best song to play out of your phone?

“High Fashion” by Addison Rae 

No real reason other than the fact that I’m obsessed with it currently and can’t stop listening to it slowed down LOL. I think the production is just so good and the chords—just perfect.

Best song to start off a radio show?

“U A Ho” by Rose Geller 

It starts with dark brooding synths layered on top of a field recording that almost feels like you’re preparing for battle and jumps into a medieval sounding trap beat with mystical bells layered with sword sounds and the acapella of “Drop It” by Ebony Eyez. It’s just such a cool track and sets the tone for what I like in a mix—playfulness, darkness, experimentation, and the mixture of classical music with rap.

Best song that makes you think about your childhood?

“Humming” by Portishead 

When I was young my mum gave me a burned CD of their Roseland Ballroom NYC performance—the theremin sounds captured my attention and I remember really loving how on edge and haunted certain sounds made me feel—the main qualities in music that have been what I appreciate to this day. Anything from Hybrid Theory or Meteora by Linkin Park. I used to religiously listen to them on my PSP—Linkin Park’s music felt so familiar with the repeated structures they used, those predictable moments of rage in every song just felt comforting. “Through the Wire” by Kanye West—this song is so sentimental to me and reminds me of my dad who passed. I have memories of him and my mum listening to that whole album on the stereo in our kitchen.