Laura Johnson ’17 has been writing songs for over eight years now, but music has been a major part of her life for as long as she can remember.
Her primary instrument is voice, and although she is fluent on the piano and guitar, she considers herself a vocal performer and songwriter first and foremost. However, when Laura chose to seriously follow a path of singing and songwriting, she chose to act under the name of “The Sorrow Estate.” “My name is dreadfully common: Laura Johnson,” she said. “You can Google it and find plenty of celebrities and actresses. So when I went into music I chose ‘The Sorrow Estate.’ It’s the name of my music project. It’s just me, but I have people perform with me whenever I get the chance.”
After attending Houghton for three full years, Johnson took some time off from campus. It was during this time that she took the opportunity to play at various smaller stages and shows, and later taking her spring semester at the University of Indianapolis to further study writing and poetry. Now, however, she is back here at Houghton for one last semester before graduation.
Johnson described her music as earthy and folky, drawing inspiration from creators such as Conor Oberst – who she said has been her favorite artist as long as she can remember – and poet Sylvia Plath. She also cited other artists, such as Keaton Henson, Dustin Kensrue, and Jewel. Johnson spoke about her love for songwriting as a platform for storytelling. The theme of the currently available self-titled album, The Sorrow Estate, is travel. Although, if you asked Johnson, she would tell you that her existing album is simply a home for the written and unwritten songs floating around in her head. In some of her work, she ties traditional song with spoken word lyrics. As she’s working on her new songs, she said that her music is leaning even more towards spoken word.
As her senior writing capstone, Johnson is writing a thirteen-song album. For the work to be counted as a four-credit project, she will need to write, record, and perform all of the songs. Pursuing this next album in a more academic focus has helped Johnson take the time to sit down and determine exactly what she wants her work to portray to her audience. She has been working under Professor Zoller, and also with Nancy Murphy, Houghton’s Title IX coordinator. Since Johnson stands strongly for the empowering of women through song, she stated that Murphy has been a huge help and source for wisdom. “This next album is about womanhood,” said Johnson. “It’s about the struggles that women come up against, and also the struggles young women face … Sexual abuse, sexual identity, what it means to be a woman of the church. It’s also a reflection of the struggles of mental health issues and how to share that in an encouraging way.”
Because she knew this upcoming full-length album was going to be a bit more emotionally heavy, Johnson spent her summer working on an EP entitled “The Happy EP,” which is filled with ukulele and jingle bells and all things flamboyant. (The album is currently post-production right now, but it will be released soon.) Johnson is thankful for the Houghton community, and for the outpouring of love she received when she released her first album. She looks forward to releasing her upcoming music to all of her friends and family.