Paper Magazine
(2/2000)
SIZZLING SONGBIRD New York native Sasha Lazard is heating up the club circuit with her mesmerizing trance-opera performances. A classically trained singer, Lazard melds opera arias, Russian folk tunes and 17th-century art songs with hypnotic trip-hop and house beats. Her shows at Don Hill's and Joe's Pub, which feature live cello, violin and percussion, are packed with youth-Quakers moving to her unique musical style. She recorded the lead song for Miramax's Princess Mononoke and sang a trance version of "Ave Maria" for Jane Campion's film Holy Smoke. "I grew up in the classical music world," Lazard says. "But I was getting burned out with the classical and opera scene. It just wasn't my personality. I was definitely more rock n' roll. I also grew up going to clubs in New York, and I love club music-so I combined my classical training with my club background and came up with my own sound."