Name: Cristina Lazic
Occupation: DJ, producer
Nationality: Italian
Recent release: Cristina Lazic's L'Amour EP is out via La Zic.

If you enjoyed this Cristina Lazic interview and would like to stay up to date with her music and tour dates, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colors. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I love listening to music at any time of the day. I pretty much need music all the time in general, to operate. :)

When I keep my eyes closed, of course I feel the music better, as if it was inside me and as if we were becoming one with the music. This happens often, by the way, also when I play. See here a recent image from Sunwaves:


Cristina Lazic Interview Image (c) the artist

When I close my eyes I normally tend to imagine things I love deeply. These would normally be, for example, the sea, landscapes of Greece (my favorite country), and simple things that make me happy, usually from the Mediterranean world.

How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

For me listening to music on speakers mainly means two things: being at the studio or at the club / festival. That’s when my other senses are activated and I feel music from a “3d” perspective.

But I also love listening music with earphones or headphones. When I listen to music on headphones, I normally tend to focus only on what I hear. I also get more disconnected from the rest of the world.

Clearly this does not apply when I use headphones for mixing during a gig, but I like the idea that it’s only me knowing the music that will come next. It makes me feel more intimate with the music I am going to choose.

Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

I am a big music lover and people often describe me as a music digger and selector, and as a discoverer of new talents.

When it comes to electronic music, I really love the sound of Romanian artists like Mihai Popoviciu, NTFO, Sepp, Nu Zau, Mahony, Soundopamine and Bryz. All of their vibes are groovy and dreamy, they transport me everywhere in matters of emotions.



For me, the groove + dream combo is a must, and you also find it in my sets.

Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?

Waves are by far my favorite sounds. There is a small village where I have been going on holidays since when young, every summer, with my family in Italy, and the house that we rent is by the sea and you can hear waves breaking on the sand with a regular pace.

This, for me, is at the same time the most relaxing and the most creatively triggering sound in the world. On the one hand, it’s a sort of therapy for my soul, allowing me to relax and detach from the daily stress. On the other hand, it really stimulates my creativity.

Some of my best productions have actually been completed when kicking off new music, even if only on my laptop, from this holiday house.

There can be sounds which feel highly irritating to us and then there are others we could gladly listen to for hours. Do you have examples for either one or both of these?

I generally don’t like stressful city sounds like ambulances, alarms and road works. I also am not a big fan of loud people, especially on public transport. I find both to just give me small injections of stress, whilst I find more natural sounds, like (again) waves, rain or rivers / waterfalls to give me a strong sense of peace.

Curiously, they are all linked to water, (maybe because my star sign is Virgo, with Aquarius rising?).

I also like white noise, in fact lately, when traveling, I play in my earphones a white noise playlist from Spotify, which helps me relax and fall into deep sleep.

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

As mentioned earlier I love natural places. Only hearing the sound of the wind in the woods, or birds, or natural water springs calms me down.

But because I live in the city, everyday places that attract me are city parks or places where you can relax, like spas and massage centers. The sounds or music that you can hear there makes me feel more grounded and connected to the frequencies of our planet.


Cristina Lazic Interview Image (c) the artist

What are among your favorite spaces to record and play your music?

I become more creative when immersed in natural places, like the seaside or the alps.

Some of my best work was produced (or at least the main idea behind it) at the seaside in Italy or Greece, or in the Italian Alps.

How important is sound for our overall well-being and how far do you feel the "acoustic health" of a society or environment is reflective of its overall health?

To me, sound is everything. I could never imagine my life without the sense of hearing. I could make it without taste or touch, but hearing is what gives my life meaning.

I feel that nowadays we are witnessing two trends. On the one hand, the music we hear broadcasted on the main mass media has decreased in quality and has become more commercial. Productions and choruses are more basic. On the other hand, people seem to pay more attention to experiences, and to provide the right music in the right place.

I generally try to operate in situations where the part of sound is well taken care of, or where I feel at ease. For example, because the sea is so important to me, I really enjoy going on holidays to beach bars in Greece and Spain. It is always good to have a good music experience in these countries when you go to the beach; in Italy, owners of beach resorts will still mainly play music from the radio, with loads of ads or shows where people speak and there is no music.

This, for me, has an impact. I prefer to be spending time where the sound is well taken care of, as it makes me feel better and more relaxed.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds?

My favorite animals are dolphins and their sound to me is amazing. One of my favorite tracks, in fact, is “Hold Tight London” by the Chemical Brothers, where you can clearly hear the sound of the dolphins.

For me dolphins mean happiness, community, beauty, nature and sea. I like the feeling that their sound makes me experience: give me a sense of calm, happiness and trust in our mother earth.

Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

Hearing loss is a thing I am quite concerned about. My father is wearing hearing aids due to a surgery he once had. It compromised his hearing, so this is a big topic for me.

I always wear sound protection (Loop ear plugs are great) when I am in a club or festival, so I got used to it. If the sound system is good and the volume is not too loud, I don’t wear sound protection whilst playing as I want to be able to hear all frequencies well. But if I feel that the volume is too high, I always wear it and strongly recommend other artists and industry people to also be cautious about this topic.

Just in the last two years I have been gifting some of the people in my team with earplugs, as I think it’s important to also educate others about this topic.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

I couldn't agree more with Glenn Gould ... as long as the sound is pleasant though!

As mentioned earlier, there are certain sounds (especially in city life) that can create stress. Hence for me having pleasant and relaxing / natural sound all day long is something that can definitely improve your wellbeing.

Seth S. Horowitz called hearing the “universal sense” and emphasised that it was more precise and faster than any of our other senses, including vision. How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?

That’s what I am trying to explain to aspiring DJs who are just at the beginning of their music career and learning to play using modern technology (like CDJs): you should use your ear, instead of your sight, when learning to play.

If you are a musician, I really think that the proper magic can happen only when you become one with music. And that really happens when you let the other senses go and let hearing “take over”.

For interested readers, what are books, websites, articles or other sources of information you recommend for them to educate themselves on the topic?

I still need to read it, but heard that The Power of Sound is a great resource on the topic.

I also use the app Calm and, as mentioned, there are a bunch of White Noise playlists on Spotify, or playlists on YouTube and SoundCloud with music at 432Htz (very relaxing) that you can listen to.