Michael Lazar – 51/49

By starrymag | July 26, 2021

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) My sound is a blend of electronic dance pop and piano singer/songwriter.  I’ve been told that my music falls pretty comfortably under the Chamber pop category, which is also fine with me.  My sound’s been dictated in part by my foundation – classical piano and Broadway musicals, but it’s also been derived from an insatiable appetite for good quality (mostly female) pop music dating as far back as the 80s.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Some of my biggest musical influences include Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Tori Amos, Jewel, Adele, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey (90s Mariah only).

 

Q) How has your life in Miami played a role in the music you make?

 

A) Well, life in Miami is still very new for me. I only just moved here in October and spent the last eighteen years finding myself in NYC. Therefore, all of my music with the exception of my newest projects were written and produced in New York.  However, I can already tell you that my new music has a tropical “paradise found” kind of vibe and I’m really excited to create my next body of work!

 

Q) What did you learn from your time at NYU Tisch School of Arts that you’ve carried with you over the years?

 

A) Well, I think the main thing I’ve learned that I carry with me all these years later is that rejection is normal. Rejection is inevitable. Rejection is not only part of the music and entertainment industry, but it is a fundamental part of the human condition. What falls on us as individuals as how we react to and learn from it. The idea of never giving up is huge here because people will always tell you that you aren’t good enough or this or that. But when you commit to something you love, it’s only a matter of time before someone notices. And before long, maybe the whole world will be watching.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Good, Bad & Crazy.”

 

A) “Good Bad & Crazy” is an anthem for anyone looking for the motivation to never give up.  It’s a song about “seizing the moment” and living in the now. Personally, I’ve gone through many ups and downs in my quest for success, living as both an aspiring performer in NYC and as an artist with a voice desperate to be heard. I wanted the glory and fame at first, but eventually I just wanted the acceptance and affirmation, and to share my art with the world. “Good Bad & Crazy” is a reaction song to my journey so far: from my first steps into college to facing rejection over and over in my 20s, to dancing the night away and partying until the sun came up, to losing my mom and finding love, and eventually to moving out of the city I called home during the pandemic and settling down in Miami where I can finally wrap up and release 51/49 to the world. Looking back on everything, it’s been a wild ride with a lot of hard lessons learned along the way. But if nothing else and when the chips are down, I know that I’m living and have lived a truly good, bad & crazy life…and you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) Well, for one, the sound.  It’s fresh and a little unexpected.  The chorus has this tropical trance-y vibe that I think really resonates with people and makes them want to move.  It’s got a driving beat, but it doesn’t take away from the lush layers of the music.  Secondly, it would be the lyrics.  “Don’t stop believing that you still can have it all, because your story and that face is what makes you beautiful.” It’s a fight song. A rally cry – to be your best self.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) The graphic video I made (check out my website to watch it) is very much a collage of visual elements which combine with the song to tell a tale about life and all its sides.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) My song writing process is pretty organic.  Sometimes a song I like or a beat or hook that intrigues me will inspire the feeling and sound of my next song.  From there it could be one of three things that determines what will happen next.  Either I’ll sit down and write the hook on my piano first or a lyric will come to mind with a melody and I write the rest around that.  Of course, more and more often these days are those instances where I’m experimenting with Logic Pro X on my desktop and the song will develop out of that session.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I do 100% of it. Well, I have an amazing guy in NYC who masters the tracks and makes them “radio-ready,” but that’s it.

 

Q) What are some themes you explore on your upcoming album 51/49?

 

A) 51/49takes aim at exploring the raw experience of life in its most honest light, embracing both its blissful highs and bitter lows.  The album dives into universal themes like love, loss, friendship and self-worth through my lens as an artist living in NYC. With 51/49, my goal is to find and celebrate the beauty in each moment of life; yes, even the dark ones. Life can be sad – and that’s O.K. I know it’s okay because I’ve been there.  I might be a bit of a dreamer, but I’m also a realist; I’ve had to learn through experience that happiness comes from within and can only be achieved when we accept what we cannot change. Life will never be perfect.  But when we fight for happiness, despite an often fifty-fifty split, and choose to stay that way against the odds, that extra 1% of hope is what makes all the difference. Accepting it, and even more so embracing it, is the lesson I want everyone to take from 51/49.

 

Q) How did you shake off a long day in the studio when recording it?

 

A) Hmmm, if we’re talking about now I’d say a dip in the pool after a long session recording sounds perfect.  But in NYC, where I wasn’t able to do that, an iced latte from my Nespresso machine sounds about right.

 

Q) There are fifteen tracks to the album, which is an unusually heavy number. Talk about the process for deciding on the amount of songs to include.

 

A) I totally get that! And to be honest, I was aware of that going into it.  But the truth is that it just had to be this way.  51/49 is more like a hero’s journey or odyssey than anything else.  It’s about growing up and going through loss and pain only to find love and peace on the other side. The album ends with the line “I’ll keep trying to fight the darkness with the light.” I dunno, maybe it was a gut feeling, but I just couldn’t capture the full message I’m conveying here with an industry standard ten track set. I guess in a traditional sense – because pop albums used to be like this – 51/49 has a clear beginning, middle and end and creates an arc for the listener. From the moment you hear the start of the vocals in “Capsule,” you know you’re about to experience something.  I waited so long to release my music to the world. In fact, so long it felt like at certain points I was holding it back because I knew deep-down, I wasn’t ready.  I knew the music wasn’t ready and I made the choice, for whatever reason consciously or not, of waiting until I could release it all at once with a sonic boom.  Having discovered and learned how to use the tools to produce the music myself, I feel like I can at last properly share this account of my life’s experiences with the world through an electronic pop-colored lens.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) You know, as a Jewish guy, I hope this doesn’t sound weird or odd, but I love performing in churches.  I think part of this is because it brings me back to my fuzzy days of childhood, growing up and studying piano. Whenever I’d perform in a piano recital it was almost always at a church. When it comes to my own music, something about sitting down at the piano in an empty church with all those acoustics and singing out my material is incredible.  I remember one summer maybe five or six years ago, I took my boyfriend to Martha’s Vineyard and we rented a house for two weeks.  I don’t think we missed a single church on the whole island!  Whenever we’d see one, we’d hop out of the car and if it was empty we’d go in and I’d give him a private concert. It was actually very romantic.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) In my dreams, it’s Britney Spears.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) I really like Ava Max. I think her sound is confident, authentic and catchy! I’m excited to hear what she puts out next.  I have a feeling she will be ever-evolving and keep her fans on their toes.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) Visual art is a huge, huge part of who I am.  When I’m not writing or recording a song, chances are I’m working on an art piece and these days social media is the best way to display it instantly for everyone to see.  My ultimate goal is to merge my art and music audiences so I can be known widely as a recording artist that incorporates and integrates his visual art into the music.  If I can tap into both markets this way, I think it could make for a really unique and fresh form of success.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I would like to issue a heartfelt thank you for taking the time out of your busy days and lives to really listen to my music and see the work for what it is.  My biggest hope is that 51/49 provides a safe place for anyone out there who wants to feel for a moment – an hour – what some of life’s most extreme emotions are like and get blissfully lost in the wave. I hope when you think of my music you think about dancing, love and hope.  Never lose hope. I am so grateful to be where I am today and to finally be able to open the cage and set this music free. It’s meant to be heard – it needs to be heard – and I am so, so thankful it’s happening at last.

 

 

For more info, follow Michael Lazar on his Instagram.