Having been introduced to the piano as a child, Milan-born yet London-raised Cristina Lazic has evolved into an electronic artist in demand since professionally bursting onto the scene in late 2020.
In the less than two years since her first production debuted, Cristina has been signed to multiple esteemed imprints, including two releases on Crosstown Rebels’ Rebellion this year, Bondage Music and Creature Records.
Her DJing persona is a combination of dark, sultry techno coupled with an uplifting house vibe—her eclectic mixes bouncing sonically off the walls of underground clubs such as Hï Ibiza, Magazzini Generali in Milan, and Le Salon Daomé in Montreal.
Stream Cristina Lazic’s Latest Single Below
Cristina’s latest release, which you can stream below is her 4-track Personal EP, signed to Rebellion, consisting of three collaborative productions with Shar, whom she met thanks to shesaid.so.
She is a songwriter, ghostwriter, and also presenter on Ibiza Sonica. In conjunction with her EP on Rebellion, we sat down with Cristina to chat about how to get signed to Damian Lazarus’ sub-label.
Purchase And Support The EP Here
When in their career should artists think about sending demos to Rebellion?
You should definitely make the necessary considerations, before submitting music to any respected labels like Rebellion. Remember that it’s always better to wait, but as a rule of thumb, your demos should be of excellent standards and fit the mood. If you are not experienced as a producer and are new to demo pitching, here is some advice:
- make sure you have a list of demos ready, as normally one track is not enough to submit
- ensure that the demos also fit the label’s style. Research the sounds of the label, the producers who have previously released on it and evaluate if your sound is a good fit.
- Invest in someone mixing/mastering the track to make it ready to be played in front of the dancefloor, as Damian will normally test the tracks he likes before signing anything.
- Bonus advice: ask your friends who have more experience in this field to listen to your music and give you their honest opinion. Be prepared to hear feedback that may disappoint you, but it’s always better to not miss the chance and submit music that is really a good fit, before submitting something that is not good/aligned enough and then being forever considered by the label a producer that does not fit the sound or requirements.
Do songs have to sound a certain way to be considered by Rebellion?
When talking of Rebellion, we are talking about a very respected label with a variety of outstanding artists who have released on it, like Serge Devant, Be Svendsen, Moustafa Ismaeli, and Davide Squillace.
They are all quite diverse artists, but there is a fil rouge among the tracks they produce: they are very groovy, somewhere in between deep, minimal, and melodic.. and my music actually falls within these genres. You don’t have many vocals (Crosstown, in my opinion, is more about sung vocals), Rebellion is more about solid basslines with the use of synths and pads, strong drum grooves, and unexpected melodies.
If you listen to my tracks “Leap Year” and “Feel The Groove”; for example, you’ll notice a strong groove with surprising melodies – which I build on midi using synthesizers. The vocals of the tracks I released on Rebellion are mainly spoken, with some singing but not exaggerated. Finally, if you take a listen to the label’s discography, these themes are recurring and the mood is quite recognizable; you would not want to submit a hard techno or indie dance track for example, in my opinion, I don’t believe it would fit the label’s vibe.
Who are the types of producers Rebellion A&R’s are looking for?
Damian’s style is very broad and diverse and I really love how he is able to range from deep to melodic, from minimal to house/tech house in his sets. I have been playing quite often with him this summer and Rebellion, as Crosstown, obviously reflects Damian’s taste.
Going back to the previous question, the sonorities are generally deep, minimal, melodic, often with vocals, and always groovy. To any producers considering submitting demos to Rebellion (and to any label in general), my advice is (again) to listen to the history of the label and the past releases, before sending them for consideration.
I was quite familiar with Rebellion as Serge Devant is one of my favorite producers, so I knew his releases on Rebellion (and also Crosstown). And I remember that when I went to Burning Man, 5 years ago, I was literally obsessed with Be Svendsen’s “Twilight in Twanka” – another Rebellion’s release, which was very popular at BM that year.
More recently, I have absolutely loved Mustafa Ismaeli’s releases, in particular, his track “Messing Around”. Most of my sets would include tracks from the labels I have released on, and so it happens with Rebellion.. I really think I fall somewhere between the so-called “Rominimal” and more of a deep melodic vibe. In that deep/melodic area you find the sounds of Rebellion – often with vocals, but not too many.
I normally also play my own tracks in my set, and I can see they fit well with my music vibe. That’s why, probably, my sound was a good fit with Rebellion so I’d recommend making sure you have these types of features to be a producer that the label can consider.
What was the biggest breakthrough in your career that led you to sign with Rebellion?
In 2019 I moved from London to Milan and was looking into ways to build a solid network within the clubbing scene in Italy and get booked in my home country, as I had always lived abroad and the local scene was pretty unknown to me. That’s when I was introduced to an agency that is currently my booking agency in Italy. When I spoke to their founder, he told me that my profile was interesting, but “If you want to work with us, you need to produce”.
I had always wanted to produce, but I had started DJing just a few years before during maternity and, because I have a full-time job in the corporate world and my daughter at the time was only 3, I didn’t have much time to produce. That’s why, for me, being forced into lockdown was the occasion to finally turn my artist profile into something more complete.
I started producing, my husband helped a lot with my daughter while I was taking lessons and watching tutorials, and a few months later I had a couple of raw demos ready. I sent them to my agency, who suggested introducing me to Ruben, a sound engineer who could help me with taking care of the sound, to make it sound more professional, and mastering the track.
Over the months, Ruben has now become a dear friend and trusted team member that I work with on my music. I always say that if it hadn’t been for this recommendation to produce combined with the pandemic which allowed me to get into production, I would never be at the level where I am now and I don’t think I would even be considered by Rebellion.
What are a few non-musical items that would help elevate an artist’s chances of their music being noticed by the Rebellion?
I think that of course, musical items are the most important, nevertheless, I think that anything related to Crosstown is also about being aligned and like-minded in matters of culture within the Crosstown family. Damian is normally seeking for real music lovers, people who collect music and have a deep knowledge of many producers and labels and that can truly enrich the scene.
I particularly respect him as he likes to help new talent flourish, giving emerging artists a chance; I think that, in my specific case, he liked the fact that my sound resonates with his sound and that I could bring a new shade of sound to the label. I am not sure if that’s the case, but I like to imagine that he may have also liked the fact that I am a working mother, that I try to help parents in music and that, like him, I juggle among a million things but I always have the mission to spread new music around.
For example, I spend a lot of time producing social media content like my “vinyl pick of the week” recommendations.. and many people have given me good feedback about my efforts to promote new good music. I am not sure if this is what played a role in me getting noticed by Rebellion, but I think that your overall profile should reflect a big love for music and for supporting other musical artists, for the love of good music, rather than appearance.
