Hi, everyone! I recently sat down to chat with the Pensacola, Florida-based lo-fi producer Damian Kavjian (aka Damien Burbank, fka Lo'Fi Boy). While he started producing music at the mere age of 11, he has been releasing music steadily since he was 17. Though he couldn't gain much traction originally, it was the release of his song "Sex for Breakfast" featuring the mysterious Shiloh Dynasty that gave him the boost into the lo-fi scene. Over the last two years and two name changes, he has been building a reputation for himself not only as a producer- but now as a vocalist, too. I've become a big fan of Damian's music in the last month or two, and was super excited to catch up with him.
bazzreviews: Which artists or albums inspired you to start a music career in the first place?
Damian: My influences have always changed as my career progresses. At one point, I was really into Tyler, the Creator. Cherry Bomb is my favorite album of his, and I actually have it tattooed on my arm. I also really liked a lot of indie pop artists like Mac DeMarco, Boy Pablo, Tame Impala, and Clairo. However, my top influence would have to be The Weeknd. House of Balloons off of Trilogy is one of my all-time favorite albums. It’s interesting because I don’t make music like the Weeknd or anything like the genre he’s in.
br: When did you start making beats?
D.: In 2012, when I was 11 years old. I got a low-end Walmart laptop and I pirated FL Studio. From there, I taught myself production and worked my way up to Ableton in 2016. I didn’t start releasing until music officially in March of 2017, though.
br: I know you mentioned to me that you also sing- what prompted you to switch over to doing both production and vocalist? D.: As I said, I’ve been producing for a long time, but I’ve also been singing for just as long. I never took any vocal classes in high school or any outside lessons, and I’ve been doing it since elementary school. I can sing freely in front of my friends and people in public, but I’ve never brought myself to sing in front of my family. After a while, I hit a plateau in my career and wasn’t sure what to do. So, I took the next step and decided to write and sing my own music as well. I have plenty of stories to tell, and I want to help people get through what they’re going through.
br: Can you describe your process for making a song?
D.: It’s very whimsical, almost out-of-the-blue. Some of the most popular songs I’ve made were in about 20 minutes on days that I skipped school. In terms of the process, I’ll start with drums because I was a percussionist for a while in school. I love making beats and adding any sounds I can to make a track sound cool. If not, I just break out my MIDI keyboard and bang out some chords that can have a beat added later. Once the ground of the song is worked out, I’ll keep layering ideas, maybe sing a melody in my head and bring it over into the keyboard. If I feel like it, I’ll add some vocals and lyrics, mix it, and it’s all ready to be released. I’ll admit, I have a little trouble with song structure and not making tracks sound too boring, but it’s a skill I’m working on all the time.
br: What’s more important to you- lyricism, or production value and instrumentation?
D.: It depends on the song and what I want to do with it. If I have the song before the lyrics, I push the song a lot more so you can focus on the instrumental. If I’m vibing and I think of a hook, I’ll take it into the computer and focus around that.
br: When you’re making a beat, do you prefer collabbing or working alone? D.: I’ve been active for about two to three years, and I’ve had about ten collabs total. I prefer working alone, but I’ve been meeting a lot of the major artists in the lo-fi hip-hop genre in person. Since I’m a vocalist, I’m sure a lot more of my songs will start getting produced by other people. Shoutout to my man Garrett, he’s a great friend of mine. He’ll be producing a lot of my upcoming songs, too.
br: You’ve been featured on a few Spotify playlists before, including “Low Key”. What were your first reactions to finding out you made it onto such a larger scale?
D.: I’ve been on “Low Key” for over a year now, but at the time I was first featured, I had been on a few smaller editorial playlists beforehand. I got on “Low Key” right when they first dropped it, and it had 15,000 followers. That brought in a few thousand people to listen to my stuff, and that was pretty great. I never thought it would last as long as it has, but I haven’t been added to any new ones in a while. That’s not to say that I’m not on personal playlists or YouTube channels, but being on these playlists hasn’t fazed me as much as it used to. Whatever the case, I really appreciate all these people that add me to their playlists.
br: I know you just released a tape a few months back, and you mentioned new songs are coming soon, but do you have any projects in the works right now?
D.: I don’t want to say too much right now, but I just released a song two weeks ago called “Marionette” that is produced by Garrett. I’ll say that it’s a teaser track for a project I’m releasing soon As I mentioned earlier, there’ll be some collabs coming with some of the artists I’ve been meeting soon as well.
br: What music goals do you have for the future?
D.: While I was kind of disappointed with the way my last tape was executed, but I’m not dwelling on it. Regardless, I’m hoping that this next tape is another step in the right direction. Because I’m becoming more of a vocalist, a lot of the songs I’m making could be lyric videos or music videos, which is something I want to explore. Live shows would also be a dream of mine, too. I have a booking agent, but I think I need to put out more music before I can really put on a live act. Most importantly, I want to be able to put my fans first. I typically respond to everyone who reaches out to me. Whether you want to do an interview, just talk, whatever, I’m I don’t ever want to fall into that ego of where you don’t have to respond to someone because you’re famous. If someone texts you, text them back.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
What is one album you find as overrated and one you find as underrated? Underrated- Beat Tape 25 by your best friend jippy.
If you could collaborate with any musician- living or dead- who would it be? love-sadkid, Tyler, the Creator, dreamcloud, atwood, and the Weeknd.
What was the first album you ever bought? All Things Bright and Beautiful by Owl City
Which artists and songs have you been listening to recently? All of Mac Miller’s discography.
I'd like to thank Damian again for giving me his time for an interview. For those who like the lo-fi genre, he is a name you need to know! He is constantly releasing awesome stuff that gives you feels every time. Thanks again to all of the readers of this article, more awesome bazzreviews content is coming your way soon!
To hear Damian's music, go to https://soundcloud.com/lowfidelityboy
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