Gemini Rights artist Steve Lacy has opened up about his “favourite” artists and how they influenced his sound.
In an interview with The Guardian, Lacy talked about musicians that “raised” him, including American acts Paramore, Prince and Weezer.
“Growing up playing Guitar Hero put me on to a lot of rock and guitar music,” he said. “As I got older, artists such as Paramore raised me. Mac DeMarco, Dirty Projectors, Vampire Weekend. Even [the] Weezer [song] Undone is one of my favourite songs ever.”
Continuing on his love for Paramore, the artist said: “Hayley [Williams]’s voice and melodies are crazy, because she takes the rock thing and makes it soulful.
“With Weezer, I love the wit and humour. The dissonance of the chord progression of Undone is truly just weird. For something like that to exist was super important for me in my musical journey, to be, like: “Oh, wow, you can make this sound fun and dope.”
The singer further elaborated: “When I make music, I take a small piece of everything that I love – I’ll take certain melodic approaches from Prince, but I’ll play it as if someone else was mimicking Prince, like if Jimi Hendrix tried to be Prince. But I like to mix different approaches together. It happens naturally. I’m never doing it all purposely. It’s just inside of me.”
Lacy, who came out as bisexual in 2019, earned a number one Billboard Hot 100 hit with his track Bad Habit from his second studio album, Gemini Rights.
The Static singer’s new record was praised by GAY TIMES for its timelessness.
Reviewing the album, GAY TIMES wrote: “Steve Lacy is such an accomplished musician it’s easy to forget he’s still only 24-years-old. The Californian singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer achieved long overdue mainstream success with his summer hit Bad Habit, lifted from his second outing Gemini Rights.
“It’s broadly reflective of the effortless blend of R&B, funk, and indie rock that plays throughout. We start with the revelation that Steve is over dating boys after on opening track Static, but following cuts Helmet, Buttons and Sunshine offer further reflection on that post break-up period.
“Across 10 tracks, Gemini Rights offers a magical concoction of genres, styles, stories and smooth vocals achieving that rarest of qualities: being both timely and timeless.”
Gemini Rights is out now via RCA Records.
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