In this week's 10 Questions we get to know Steve Lazero, an EDM artist from Las Vegas

Their song Crooked Halo is currently featured on the NAS Spotify playlists

You can follow Steve Lazero on Instagram, X and TikTok

1. Tell us a little about where you are from.

I consider London and Los Angeles as my two 'hometowns'. I come from a very International family and started off in London, then went to school in Los Angeles, before returning to London to work in the corporate world. I now live in Las Vegas, where I now focus on music production full-time.

2. What inspired Steve Lazero to start playing and making music?

I was lucky to have parents that encouraged me with music from an early age. We had a family piano, and I took lessons weekly from some great teachers over the years. Somehow, at some point, I ended up with a Yamaha DX7 keyboard in my bedroom, and I spent countless hours tinkering with it when I should have been doing homework. It was a huge thrill to figure out how to recreate sounds I heard from popular music with that synth, as if I was uncovering some magical secret.

In high school I discovered rock music, and became obsessed with playing guitar. I started a few short-lived bands that would sometimes play covers at house parties, even though we didn't have a singer! Around that time one of my friends introduced me to EDM through The Prodigy and Aphex Twin, and I realized there was an infinite world of electronic music that could be made with just a computer in your bedroom and your imagination.

3. Who are Steve Lazero's biggest musical influences?

The aforementioned Prodigy and Aphex Twin might have sparked my interest, but the so-called 'French Touch' Electro scene with Daft Punk and later Justice really influenced my taste. The albums 'Homework' and 'Cross' are timeless in my opinion.

I'm also a big fan of Wolfgang Gartner and Mord Fustang, but the artist that's truly inspired me the most with this project is Feed Me (Jon Gooch/Spor). I first heard his production on 'Whiskers' while driving, and I had to pull over to mentally process what I was hearing! Feed Me's multi-genre approach, sound design detail, and approach to song-writing are all things I look up to, (and I think on a personal level we seem quite similar!).

4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?

One of my biggest goals has been to reach a level of technical proficiency with producing, that I can express myself more purely through the music I make. It's a bit like mastering an instrument or fluency in a language - I think there will be a point where it feels more automatic, and the creative ideas I have can be 'translated' without as much effort. I'm not sure if that's really even possible, but it's something I think about whenever I figure out something new.

Obviously I'd love to collaborate with artists I admire, reach larger audiences, and have some typical recognition metrics too - but ultimately I want to feel like I'm able to create art at a high level.

5. Tell us about your creative process.

Because of the limitless nature of EDM production, I've found that inspiration can come from so many things: a sound, a rhythmic pattern, a vocal phrase, even just an effect (I released a drum & bass track last year that all started from slowly moving a cutoff filter across an auto-panned Sylenth1 patch). I'm not able to force creativity the way producers like Fred Again or Skrillex can, but when I get an idea I think is promising I throw myself into it until I'm happy with the result. When it comes to song structure I still tend to follow the typical EDM formula - I think there's still plenty of room for creativity while writing something that's commercially digestible.

6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?

Da Funk' by Daft Punk holds a special place for me because it was so different from what I'd heard before, and I'll forever associate it with that surreal video of a character in New York City wearing a dog costume.

7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?

My favorite piece of advice, because of when in my career I heard it, came from a video by a mastering engineer on youtube called 'Streaky': "You've just got to keep moving on, because everyone thinks their music's crap, until someone else says they love it". Hearing that made me realize what I was feeling wasn't unusual, and it gave me the confidence to keep pushing and learning.

8. What is your proudest accomplishment?

Having an early track of mine signed and promoted by a small record label was really validating. But honestly, anytime I've gotten a genuine compliment from a stranger who seems to like my work, it gives me a real thrill.

9. What's been your most embarrassing moment so far?

I've been pretty lucky to not have many embarrassing moments (so far). I did have a disastrous performance at a school talent show once. I think it was in 5th grade and I was playing a straightforward piece, but I completely froze up mid-song and couldn't remember the notes. I had been playing by memory like I had many times before, but this time my brain decided to switch off and make my hands sweat instead of recalling the music! I eventually had to walk off stage red-faced, and got teased a few times afterwards because kids that age can be assholes without knowing it.

10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.

For me, my lowest points still come from my personal frustration with not sounding how I want to. All producers know that sinking feeling of playing the 15th version of your master on a different device and it still somehow translates badly on that system. High points? Pretty much everything else! Being lucky enough to spend my time doing something I'm passionate about always puts a smile on my face.