Rising Stars: Meet Bryce Lamar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryce Lamar.

Hi Bryce, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I would be happy to. I was born in the city of San Francisco and spent most of my childhood living in a house a few blocks from Ocean Beach. It is normally misty and cold at the ocean, and the waves are very powerful. There is an intense sort of beauty surrounding that place. When I was five years old, my mom bought me a 1/2-sized acoustic guitar and began teaching me simple chords and folk songs, along with my older brother. I was given many beautiful opportunities such as this to develop creatively.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Around my senior year as a classical guitar major at UCLA I was noticing a growing recognition that I wanted to start singing. I had never really sung much before, except for casually when I was learning folk songs as a kid, so it was not so easy. My singing voice was sounding absolutely ridiculous to me at that time, and it was a considerable challenge to get over my own self-criticism. However, something inside of me just wanted it. Though it was a powerful desire, it was a very painful learning process because I was used to being good at most things related to music and was suddenly having to become a beginner again.

It was around this time that I had discovered through a musical mentor of mine a certain kind of Buddhist meditation practice. This daily practice allowed me to stay focused on the goal of becoming a great singer, despite all of the intense feelings of self-doubt.  It was also creating a certain kind of inner transformation, and opening me up to certain parts of myself I was not aware of before.

The primary method I was using to learn singing is by simply copying recordings of other singers who were inspiring to me at that time. I would listen to a small 1-2 second phrase of their voice and then try to mimic it exactly with my own while recording myself on a hand-held device. Then I would listen back to my own recording and continue to try to match what I was hearing. Sometimes I would slow down the audio with a certain computer software in order to hear the specific inflections and cadences more accurately.

It was painstaking work, but over a period of time, I was seeing improvement. Along the way, I also met some different vocal coaches who showed me exercises to develop certain vocal muscles and also to understand how the voice works on a physical level.

Though it took a while, the voice has now become the main focus of the music I am creating.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am perhaps most known for being a vocalist, electronic producer, and guitarist. I love performing in a way which incorporates a full spectrum of intensity levels. One moment may be soft, soothing, and peaceful, while the next can have intense low-frequency bass with electronic beats. My favorite moments involve a combination of these dimensions at once.

Something that could be interesting to highlight is that I also study Indian classical music. I was first introduced to it through my uncle, Michael Lewis who is a tabla (Indian drum) student of Zakir Hussain. While at UCLA I was also introduced to the legendary sitar player Shujaat Khan, who was doing an artist residency there at the time, who I had the opportunity to study with. More recently I was introduced to Girish Chatterjee, the disciple of the late legendary singer Bhimsen Joshi, who I am studying Hindustani vocal with now.

Indian music has a certain depth and powerful beauty which has influenced me in countless ways. My most recent music release involves a collaboration with Girish Chatterjee, which is a mix of western and eastern sounds. You can listen to the new EP here:

https://fanlink.to/bn3

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brycelamar.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/brycelamar
• Youtube: youtube.com/@brycelamar
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/brycelamar
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1MkRTerXWHORxtSYnLnIqI?si=4kR_YvpPRZGV9HNiMNmhXQ

Image Credits
Miranda Guzman