In this interview spotlight, I chat with Anthony Lazaro about the latest release, technology, challenges and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I’m from Italy but currently living in Hamburg, Germany! I think you can define my music as indie acoustic jazzy R&B folk pop? 🙂

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

Listening and making music is almost like breathing for me: I’ve been listening to old records since I was 6 years old and I’ve never stopped. When I was handed an acoustic guitar, I made the jump and switched to the other side of the barricade

How is your new single “The Silent Patient” different than previous releases? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

I think “The Silent Patient” is a perfect song for autumn: I have been flirting for a while with this kind of orchestral folk sound but was never fully satisfied. I feel with this song I was finally able to finally get this autumnal vibe, solemn and light at the same time

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

Technology can be our best friend and our worst enemy. Normally is both: the ease of producing at home made it easy for me to create two full length albums in my home studio. But the same goes for everyone else. You are really a small drop in the ocean and learning how to ride the waves of social media is the only way to stay afloat: you’ve got to be persistent but open to changes, enjoy the process while being very rigorous. It’s a game of paradoxes and contrasts

What was the last song you listened to?

The very last song I’ve listened to is Matilda sung by Robert Mitchum in a crazy calypso record I’ve discovered recently. But normally I listen to a lot of contemporary pop too 😀

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I’ve to confess, after the introduction of Spotify I’ve switched my listens almost entirely. But I’m rediscovering vinyl, it’s another way of listening and another dimension. Trying to strike the balance between the two

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

Let’s just say that right now Spotify is giving me most of the traffic and the love. But I also love to check what happens with Shazam on Apple Music, the comments on NetEase and I’m keeping an eye on Deezer too!

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

You can listen to previews of my singles on YouTube and Facebook, catch some little live shows on Instagram and, of course, listen to all my songs on Spotify, Apple Music & co

Anything else we can expect from Anthony Lazaro this year?

I will be releasing my second album, called The Guest List, at the end of October: it’s gonna be a mastodon of an LP, with 15 songs. It’s gonna be my way of trying to go beyond the typical genre barriers and cover a lot of ground stylistically: indie folk, jazz-pop, indie electronic, even some chill-hop and R&B: it’s gonna be exciting. At least, I hope 🙂