Mars Lasar

Although Mars Lasar presents himself primarily as a new age musician, his understated contributions have shaped electronic music more broadly while also appearing on platinum-certified releases across multiple styles. Originally from Germany and later raised in Australia, this Los Angeles-based keyboardist and composer merged classical instruction with an enthusiasm for technology, which in time ignited his focus on sequencing and sampling techniques. For an extended stretch he worked at Fairlight, where he assisted in developing and showcasing Page R, the sequencer built into the Fairlight CMI, an instrument featured on sophisticated early-'80s tracks by Kate Bush, Herbie Hancock, and Peter Gabriel. In that same era Lasar played in the group I.Q., whose EP incorporated his own performances on the CMI.

His widest influence surfaced throughout the '90s, when he contributed to Seal's first album, notably the hit single "Crazy," and to the Jason's Lyric soundtrack via Sovory's "Love Is Still Enough," both projects achieving platinum status. During those years he also joined Hancock for Dis Is da Drum and began releasing his own recordings at a steady pace. The first of these, Olympus, reached Billboard's new age albums chart and supplied music for CBS's broadcast of the 1992 Winter Olympics. Continuing through the 2010s with concept-driven projects such as Yosemite, Valley of the Giants, and AfterWorld, as well as the Baby Escapes and Mindscapes series, Lasar maintained an unbroken output that defied new age conventions. Major network programs from 24 to America's Got Talent regularly incorporated his compositions.