From Cincinnati to Los Angeles, the singer-songwriter, alternative artist, and producer Lazy Daze deliver an excess of nostalgia through his recent single, "Reminiscing."
With hopes to brighten people's days with his dynamic and versatile approach to alternative music, Lazy Daze also strives to create a safe space for Asian-American artists in the contemporary music industry. Gearing up to release his debut EP, 'Pitted,' Lazy Daze introduces us to the project by way of its lead single, "Reminiscing."
Drenching us in a nostalgic daydream with his single, "Reminiscing," Lazy Daze offers a hazy and smokey sonic atmosphere while winning us over with his low-toned and reverbed vocals. Offering a soulful surf-rock feel to this single, Lazy Daze also brings us into a highly relatable lyrical theme that's bound to reach the heart of any listener.
Diving into "Reminiscing," the song begins with a punchy drum arrangement that drops into a sweet and nostalgic surf-rock atmosphere through a thumping bassline and sugary electric guitar melodies. Once Lazy Daze's hazy background vocals make their charming appearance, the song begins to transition into this fluid and haunting atmosphere.
As Lazy Daze makes a more prominent vocal appearance, we must mention how deeply we admire his vocal production that's drenched in reverb along with an overall ghostly and reminiscent feel. While singing about life pre-pandemic and wishing to go back to those better days, Lazy Daze leads us towards the outro with nothing but strength, heart, and introspection.
Allow your mind to think back to better days with help from Lazy Daze's recent single, "Reminiscing," and prepare your ears for his forthcoming EP, 'Pitted,' later this year. Find "Reminiscing" on all digital streaming platforms.
Songs like "Reminiscing" truly allow us to enjoy what we do as an independent music company. Was there a specific moment that inspired you to write a single based on life pre-pandemic and missing those easier times?
Thank you so much! I’m glad you guys enjoy the tune. I wrote “Reminiscing” literally a week or two right before the quarantine started and I moved to LA from Cincinnati about three months before the quarantine as well. I spent my whole life in Cincinnati. I built so many relationships there and met and worked with so many beautiful people inside and out. Cincinnati is my home and where the majority of my family lives. Then all a sudden out of nowhere my mom asked me to move down to LA with her. She is a contract nurse and had been working/living in LA for about 4-5 months before I had moved there with her. She saw an opportunity for me here in LA and I couldn’t say no to chasing a dream and opportunity like this. Three weeks after she asked me to move, my ass was in California. I was really enjoying myself the first couple of weeks just trying to see as much of LA as I could before I found a job. But after those first couple of weeks, I really started to miss my family and friends. Then 3-4 months go by and I felt like I was missing out on so much back home. I was in a weird headspace because I knew I had to take a chance on making my dreams become reality but at the same time, I just wanted to be back in Cincinnati drinking some cheap beers with my buddies after work and hanging out enjoying time with my family. I knew though that I had to make some sacrifices and had to prove to myself that it would be worth it in the long run, y’know, look at the big picture of it all. When I started writing “Reminiscing” I was really in my feels and was missing a certain girl back home. I honestly still think about her til’ this day. I would’ve made her my girlfriend back at home if I knew I wasn’t going to be moving away across the country. It was all just terrible timing honestly. Once I moved to LA we kind of stopped communicating. We still FaceTime every once in a while though and we literally talk for hours and hours every time. Plus, whenever I visit back home I always try my best to hang out with her. Every time we hang out it’s like we just hung out yesterday. Never skip a beat. Just writing all this now is making me miss her lol. So yeah, I wouldn’t say I had a specific moment that inspired me but more of a specific person instead.
Why did you choose to offer this lush and hazy surf-rock feel to your single, "Reminiscing"? How does the instrumentation help emphasize the song's emotional lyrical theme?
I wanted to establish a certain sound or vibe for Lazy Daze. I always enjoy it when I hear a song that you’re not really familiar with but you know exactly who that band or artist is. Bands like Modest Mouse, especially early Modest Mouse-like before “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” you can hear any song before that album from them, and even if you’ve never heard the song before you already know it’s a Modest Mouse song just from guitar parts. So that’s what I am trying to do for Lazy Daze. My two main influences for Lazy Daze are The Strokes and The Beach Boys. With a little bit of influence from The Cure and Blink 182 (pre-first break up). So that sound or vibe that I am trying to establish is like a modern-day Beach Boys with a bit more edge or new wave influence. That’s why “Reminiscing” has a real surfy vibe to it. And I feel like the instrumentation of the song is for the most part a very happy vibe as well. Even though lyrically you would think it’s a sad song. “It’s really not that bad, but I’ve seen better days.” is one of the lyrics to the song. I knew I was in this shitty situation but I was still able to tell myself that it’ll be ok with time. So I was personally feeling this contrast, and I feel like the song itself shows that contrast between its upbeat sound and darker lyrics. It just makes sense to me, and kind of gives it that, with all good things, come bad things feel and vice versa if you will.
Did you endure any personal struggles or challenges when thinking back to life pre-pandemic in order to write your single, "Reminiscing"? What was your songwriting process like?
I was just feeling really alone romantically at times. I had someone that I wanted to be with in mind but she was so far away. So obviously that fucking sucked. I also gave up my whole social life as well. I missed everyone terribly. It was really hard but writing music really helped me out. It’s all I really did during the pandemic. Making these tunes to make me feel better is what drove me. I just wanted to feel good. And doing all of this (music) gives me that escape and spiritual high (especially when I listen to a song for the first time after I finish it). But lyrically for “Reminiscing” I really used the feelings of nostalgia that I was having whenever I would think about a girl. The good times that I always had with her. Plus, I’m a sucker for love songs. Who doesn’t enjoy a nice little love song? They’re relatable. And for the instrumentation like I said earlier, I really wanted that surf sound to come out. I first started with the rhythm guitar parts, added some drums, then the bass guitar. But when it came to the lead guitar part I was really struggling. I remember sitting there for hours just messing around with little riffs, obviously, I didn’t fuck with anything that I was producing for the moment so I decided to take a break. I smoked some things and watched surfing videos on Youtube. I was vibing hella hard with the videos lol. I caught a nice buzz as the surfers were catching their waves. I found the inspiration I was looking for and picked up my guitar and started playing around again. I started playing the riff that you hear in the beginning of the song and it just fit so perfectly with the video of people surfing. I knew I was finally on to something. When you know you just know. It felt right to me. It’s probably my favorite song instrumentally. I can’t help but smile every time I hear it.
How did "Reminiscing" help prepare our ears for your EP, 'Pitted'? Should we expect the same nostalgic and introspective theme throughout your EP?
“Reminiscing” definitely is the tone starter for the whole EP. I wanted the whole overall vibe (of the EP) to make you feel like you were having a nice cold beverage on the beach with your friends and family during the summertime. Or for my midwest people, a lake or river. Someone told me they felt like they were at a late-night beach party and they were sitting by the fire having a nice conversation when they were listening to it. I told them that they hit the nail on the head with that one! But all the songs are love songs with very simple melodies over wavy and euphoric instrumentation. You’ll have to hear it for yourself and make up your own overall vibe though. What I would say is to expect a fun and chill ride with the songs. Go to the beach, cruise in your car, or play it while you’re with someone you care about deeply. I don’t care what you do when you’re listening to it, as long as you’re having a good time and vibing out. Whether it’s in your own company or with the company of loved ones. I hope you enjoy it.