Ten years ago, Doomtree’s Aaron Mader, the established artist/producer known as Lazerbeak, released what would become his most career-defying record, Lava Bangers. Most notably, this 20-track instrumental LP laid the foundation for Lizzobangers, the debut record that catapulted Lizzo’s now world-famous singing career.

The freshly released Lava Bangers II consists of 20 new instrumental beats, from techno, hyper-pop and hip-hop. Commemoratively, Mader released the second iteration in celebration of the first. The producer conversed with Local Show host Diane about the impetus for this new record, as well as his collaborations and work with Lizzo, Dessa, Doomtree, and more.

Transcription edited for clarity and length.

Diane here, host of The Local Show, sitting in The Current studio booth with Aaron Mader, aka Lazerbeak.  

Thank you, that sounds better, right? Lazerbeak.  

Good to have you.  

Oh my god, a pleasure. Thanks for agreeing to do this. I was doing my usual, like, wear a lot of hats, shake people down for interviews because I'm putting the record out. 

Well, we were just talking about that before we turned on the microphones. We both have the same kind of like – wear a bunch of hats. We have a kinship. 

Absolutely. Real recognize real, for sure. 

The reason why we're here is Lava Bangers II. And in January of 2012, you released Lava Bangers, which ultimately led to you working with Lizzo and her using a lot of those tracks for Lizzobangers. And now Lizzo – 

Now Lizzo is a god.  

An international superstar. Mega famous. Selling out the Xcel Energy Center.  

What a trip.  

That's got to be kind of mind blowing. Tell me about that.  

It is. I was lucky enough for both of our paths to cross, and I got to produce her entire debut album. And at the time, she was like shooting a shot with me. She had come into town, I had just put out that beat tape Lava Bangers which was just essentially 20 heaters that I didn't know what to do with. I just had a stockpile of beats. She had writer's block and had been inspired by those beats and hollered at me on Twitter. You know, Twitter is a dumpster fire, but this is like the one silver lining of Twitter – she just put out into the ether. She actually taught me about intentions and shooting your shot. But she was just like, "Man, I wish I could afford an @lazerbeak beat."  

And I was just at a perfect time of my life where I had been really working solely with one big rap crew called Doomtree, but had been making a conscious decision to say, I don't need to exclusively work with anybody. I can still work with these guys and open myself up to working with younger and newer artists. So perfect timing, I just wrote back like, it doesn't cost that much. If you can hit me with – I was really into Mike's Hard Raspberry Lemonade at the time. I was like, I love sweet, sugary drinks. Love it. My doctor doesn't love that. But it's like if you can come up with a six-pack, let's go. And Ryan Olson from Poliça also just happened to chime in and was like, “I'm here for this too. Let me know how I can be of help.” 

So flash-forward a week later, and Lizzo took the city bus to Ryan's little bedroom studio. And she had already written four tracks to some of the beats on that album. And we laid them down and it was like, instant, “Let's make a record.” It doesn't always happen that way on both sides, right? Sometimes the artist is like, I don't really mess with you as a producer, or we're not vibing creatively or personality wise, but it was like just it locked. And we spent the next six months like, in earnest, in the purest – no one was famous. Me and Ryan were certainly more famous than her and like – "Let's just make this album, it feels right, it feels different." And nobody got paid. We just did it. And our biggest hope was that it would be released, and we could play a couple shows. And in the early days, the only way we would get show offers was if it was Lizzo and Lazerbeak on the bill because I actually had the cachet of the local fame or whatever ... I mean how quickly the roles reversed, but that album was really big. I was just having my first child, too – it was a very pivotal time in my life and one of the most incredible artistic things I've ever been a part of. One of the most fun [times] I've ever had was probably making that album. Just pure joy. So to be a part of that and then slowly watch her just ascend through the heavens of not even just popularity but influence, and culturally changing so many things. Busting down doors, like beautiful.  

I took my three kids to the show [at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on October 11], and I still work really closely with Lizzo's team because I managed Sophia Eris, who is Lizzo's DJ and best friend. And so Sophia is out on the road, she's also the opening slot on this tour. So it goes Sophia, then Latto, then Lizzo. So that was really nice, they hooked it up. I got to take my kids and get some really good dad points ... We got hooked up with the seats and all the free merch and I got to flex like I'm a cool dad. But I got to watch the show through my kids' eyes. I have a 10-year-old daughter. And I know a lot of people are like “Lizzo is just so positive” or “It's over the top, banging on the head.” But you kind of have to do that to get through to people. And to watch her show and particularly like her talking moments in between songs. I get it, the cynical guy in me can easily go "This is so cheesy, man." But to watch it through my daughter's eyes, and Lizzo saying, "No one's probably told you today but you're really special, and I'm so I'm telling you right now you're special." And I get to see my daughter, Penny, her whole soul open up, just filled with confidence and joy. Man, I shed some manly dad tears that night. So all that to say, yeah, Lizzo, man. It's crazy.  

You know, I've seen her live. I've seen her progression – watched her do it at First Avenue, packed audiences, and then at Palace Theatre. And every time she would talk about those things, she owned it ... you really listen. She captivates the audience in a way that I just was like, "This is unbelievable." 

People always talk about that "thing" in the arts or in the industry. And one of the only times where she came off that bus and like we're hanging out and it's like, "Oh, my God, I think this might be what the 'thing' is. Like, she might just have it." And sure enough, she certainly does. It's glorious. So yeah, I'm thrilled that I could be a tiny part of the beginning of her launch and kind of do what I could to build a step in her massive stairway to heaven. And yeah, it's pretty cool.  

So, 10 years ago I released Lava Bangers, which turned into Lizzobangers. And I was having the same feeling that I was towards the end of my 20s. And I get really sentimental. Decades mean a lot to me, like time and dates, and seasons, the start of a new year. I really get into the whole rebirth or starting anew or setting intentions. And so last year, around this time, I was in the same place. I had actually been really productive in COVID because obviously, all the money went away, and the shows went away. And I was just faced with like – it was almost like a renewal of the vows, like a spiritual renewal of like, okay, faced with all of my money gone, turns out I still desperately need to create music to feel happy and to be the person that I like to be. And also, that puts me in a place where I can be a really good person for my people. And so is this really kind of cathartic, like, I'm a lifer. I'm about to be 40. But I'm a lifer, I'll do this stuff till the day I die. Even if no one hears it, or if it's total garbage, or I totally fall off. Like, I got to do it. Just like I should probably exercise in the morning and get eight hours of sleep and meditate when I can. It's part of my tool belt now.  

So that was beautiful. That was like a really great silver lining. And in that I was inspired, and I was just making stuff. I had time for the first time. And numbers are big for me. So it's like, I had the "aha", I had the 10-year Lava Bangers anniversary and I just so happened to have like 150 open beats. Let's pick 20 of them and really finish them. 

So do you hope with Lava Bangers, the second one, that it's going to find its way to vocalists as well? 

Totally. I mean, yeah, I've set a thirst trap. My goal is to remind people that I really do this, and I have a bunch of open beats, so holler at me. Let's make music. I'm always working with certain artists and those artists come in and out of my life. Some of them are there forever, and I love collaboration, I love that process. But I just still have a lot of leftover stuff and I'm not the type of person that likes to sit on – if I finish it, I like it, turns out. And I want the world to hear it, or the 20 people out there that actually will hear it ... I want the person that wants to hear it, to hear it. And I've been so open to collaboration ...  

Obviously Doomtree was a really big part of my life and most of my life, musically, for a long time. At our height, always on the road, always making stuff with all the artists. But as we all get older and hit our 40s, not everyone is focused on music that way anymore. Even myself included, and so I just like working with people that are inspired and ready to work and I like to tag in and help out. But yes, the beauty of Lava Bangers I was I made Lizzobangers out of those beats. I started Mixed Blood Majority with my guys Alexei, Crescent Moon from Kill The Vultures, and Joe Horton from No Bird Sing. Half of that first album was the leftover Lava Bangers that Lizzo didn't pick. Every single one of those beats has now ended up on a record with vocals on it. So if it's not these songs turned into songs with vocals, I hope it is at least a reminder to artists to holler at me. Let's work, let's make a song. It's really fun. It's not that hard actually. 

How do you decide that you want to work with an artist? I got to imagine – 

I don't actually get hit up that crazy. I think there's this perception that like, “Oh, people must be knocking on your door…” It's just not true. And I'm not saying I work with anyone that knocks on the door, but I generally am like, at least hear you out or listen to your stuff and decide if it's a fit. But usually I'm pretty open to it. So not to say anyone could get some, but I don't discriminate too much.  

And I'm really into – speaking of what you said about how you kind of can embrace some of the singles life ... singles versus albums. That's the beauty now. I used to think if I was working with someone, we had to make an entire album. And I love records where it's one producer and one vocalist. You can tap into such a well of creativity when you have a full album to do that. But as singles and EPs became more of a way, the upside of that is way less time, way less money, way less pressure. And you can crack some stuff out and release it within the next month when you still like it. And it's no pressure. It's okay if it doesn't change the world, because it took you two days and you'll make another one. Whereas an album, like we talked about, [if it’s] two, three years of pouring your life into something that doesn't change the world or even make a blip on the radar – it's soul crushing. I've been crushed many times. And that's something you have to learn to live with or balance or understand – treat with compassion. 

It's part of being an artist. 

Oh my god. It's the ego and the self-doubt and the crushing lows and the occasional really high. 

Yeah, I know that pressure as being someone who literally chooses music to go on air. I get it. You had a track that’s been getting tons of airplay on The Current right now. It's "Blush" by Dessa. 

Yeah! Thanks for playing it. So fun. 

Okay, so I pulled this quote. Because I recently interviewed her. She wanted to promote “Blush”. And I'm like, absolutely. She's like, "I think the reason that people are drawn to him is because Lazerbeak is zero pretension, man. He's genuinely a nice guy and is interested in music that spans a lot of genres. So he's a huge Luther Vandross fan. And he also makes really mean, grimy raps bangers, and he loves new country. He's got a really wide palette of sensibilities to draw from." What's your response to that?  

Well, I'm just very honored. And I think I might steal that for my new Bumble profile. I'll just quote Dessa and try to see what I can get off of it. That's very kind, and all true. So I think a curious mind is my thing. I just have always been so curious about the world, people, art, music especially, and how people relate to it and how it can bring people together. And so I went through my really pretentious years early on. I was in an indie rock band from like seventh grade until I was 25. 

What Instrument did you play? 

I played guitar, we were called The Plastic Constellations. We actually – like, we did it. I knew three notes, we started a band, and I'm still best friends with those guys. We have raised a lot of kids together. But that was my first taste. We were playing in the Cities. We were opening up for my idols at places like First Ave. One of our first shows in the Cities when I was in like 10th grade, we opened up for Low at their big holiday show. So I got to tour in high school, shout out to my mom and dad who let us borrow their Toyota Previa as our tour van. And like I got to do all these things at such a young age in a time period and signed to a New York label French Kiss Records and get Best New Music on Pitchfork and be like, "Oh my god, it's happening! And I'm only 19!"  

And then you keep doing it and you don't become whoever you think you're gonna become. I didn't become Luther Vandross, turns out. And then you find your path and you figure out that you love what you do, regardless of the money or the fame or the accolades. So yeah, so I draw from everything ... R&B is my favorite music ever, always has been. And I take all that and I channel it into a very specific music that I make, but it's inspired by all that kind of stuff.  

And so working with Dessa is great because she also is a closeted, like, "I like everything too." She loves new country, we just love the sugariest pop music, we just love it. And so, for the first time, I've always known that about her, she's always known that about me, but it's been too hard to reveal or pull the curtain back within her art ... Dessa, the human being, the best friend of mine, the sister, is a very different human being than you're going to totally get on just a Dessa album, right? You're not going to get as much of the goofy Dessa or the like hilarious ... because yeah, you can't have all that on a record, and she's going to a lot of places on those records ... And "Blush" is just a hint at what's to come because we have a bunch more songs in the works that will be coming out next year in that vein. It was like the first time we were able to marry everything about – and also the song "I Already Like You", that was like the first time where I was like, I can't believe she picked this beat. I usually give her a ton of beats and I'm like, I know which one she's gonna pick. She's gonna pick these dark, sad ...  

Well, that's because that's what she started off on. I remember her first EP. Gosh, I'm trying to think of what the name is. 

It was "False Hopes". Yeah, totally. I produced "Mind Shaft" on there. So, I already know how it's gonna go. We have almost 20 years of history, musically, together. And for the first time when she picked the "I Already Like You" beat, I was like, oh my God. And then she made an actual pop song, not like a Dessa version of a pop song ... "Blush" is an actual pop song. She picked that beat too. And that same time she picked five more that are in this vein. And I'm so excited. I've just been telling everyone it's one of the most proud moments in my career. Because I'm making music with someone who is like my lifetime sister, for real. Been there through all of it with her, will be there for all of it and more to come. But then to artistically ride a wave for the first time in 20 years of trying to actually have things click and now they're staying clicked is like, oh my god. Just fills me with extreme joy. So I'm glad you guys are playing “Blush.” I frickin’ love "Blush". 

I was just like, what? It's so catchy and awesome. Not what I was expecting.  

Her lyrics are extremely important to her music. But she's finding a way to do something really creative and still very deep like, oh, I need to listen to that again. Oh, wow, she's saying some really clever, meaningful stuff, but in a way that is also just a really sweet pop song about like, I like this person, or this person likes me like. She's finding a way to speak to everybody. And similarly to Jay-Z, not to say that Dessa is Jay-Z, but Dessa is Jay-Z, okay? You can quote me on that for her Bumble profile. But she's finding a way to speak to everybody and still include all the best parts of like Dessa-isms, as I like to call them. The college psych professors are gonna get it, but also Lazerbeak is gonna get it, and we can all sing along to it.  

Well, I have to ask, is Doomtree still a thing, the collective? Are you guys going to perform anymore? I know it's kind of a heavy subject.  

It's loaded, right? I don't know. I think the honest answer is, I don't know. And I know everyone's like, "That's a frickin’ cop out." But I don't know, I never thought Doomtree was gonna make it out of year one. And I thought every year after that, we'd never make it out of that year. It has been constant, absolute – I've been just astonished. And I've been the one many times to say like, "Should we give this up, guys? We're all different and we've grown apart individually and personally." You know, just as you age, I met those people when I was right out of high school. I'm 40. Nobody ever signed a contract that said they had to be in like the Minnesota Wu Tang for like 80 years, you know? We never even signed a contract, period. So I think as it grew, especially here in the Midwest, into this – I don't want to say cultish – but it definitely grew larger than life in the sense of like, it was more than the music. It was very much about this community and this ethos and this whole “no kings” thing, like kicking down the doors. That is what I hang my hat on. I'll take that to the grave, regardless of how the ups and downs or how the legacy gets laid out. I feel really so awesome about changing a lot of things that happened in the scene and opening doors for younger people and making it less of a white scene, honestly, especially in hip-hop. I mean, not that it's not white, we're in Minnesota. But intentional things that we really tried to bust open doors where maybe when we were coming up those doors stayed closed.   

So, all that to say, I'm Doomtree till I die. I have no idea if we'll ever play a show again. And as a "label" that exists with me and my laptop in my kitchen, we have always been here to make sure that the art of our individuals is made and released should they want to do that. And we continue to be that. So right now, the only active members that are making music are me and Dessa. And we're releasing Lava Bangers II and we're releasing "Blush". And we're releasing Tits on the Moon, her new book in collaboration with Rain Taxi. But everybody else is not at that place. And so we don't release that. And so we really are at its core, just an artist collective that is here to produce art when the art is being drawn up. And certainly, that art is not being drawn up by Doomtree, the band, right now. And I don't foresee the need to do some sort of like, “We have to play a show.” It's not worth it for the paycheck. There's not even really that big of a paycheck, everybody. Everyone thought we were so rich. But there's seven of us.  

External Links

Doomtree - official site

Lazerbeak - official site (Doomtree)