Born in the summer of 1998, Stefan Janik has been ensnared in a world of music and arts for as long as he can remember. From taking occasional piano and cello lessons at a young age to attending weekly dance and theatre classes in Glasgow, he has had a well-rounded experience both on and off stage from an early age.
Stefan discovered his passion for electronic music at around age 12 when he received a set of second-hand vinyl turntables for Christmas. His training began at his friend’s older sibling’s birthday parties, leading to local youth club gigs and wedding functions… from there he played his first season in Ibiza at the age of 16, frequenting spots around San Antonio’s infamous West End, and the Sunset Strip’s Savannah and Café Del Mar bars. His passion eventually culminating in a DJ set in front of thousands of people at Scotland’s notorious T in The Park music festival.
Gaining quintessential experience in and out of Glasgow’s nightclubs and bars before sitting his higher exams, Stefan played Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom supporting chart topping musician Example following a guest set live on BBC Radio One with DJ Danny Howard, which was broadcast to millions of people. It’s safe to say that by the age of 18, Stefan had racked up a considerable knowledge and expertise in the electronic scene akin to that of someone twice his age.
However, a desire to explore an entirely different, and altogether more intimate realm of music was mounting after being introduced to contemporary classical artists Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds via London label Erased Tapes. Inspired by the fragile and ethereal sound (in contrast to the heavy house, disco, and techno of his DJ sets) he put on his own event in Glasgow titled “Immerse” in 2018 with a view to exploring human emotion in its rawest form.
He invited his own 12-piece band “Beggar in the Heights” to play, along with other local ambient electronic artists, as well as performing a solo piano set himself where he played five piano works composed especially for the evening.
Spurred on by his piano teacher and musical mentor Louise – Stefan went onto study Classical Composition at the London College of Music, and in January of 2020, took up the opportunity to study abroad at the Rovigo Conservatorio in Italy. Even before graduating with a BMus Composition Degree in March 2023, Stefan had written music for for several film and theatre projects whilst studying and experimenting with different sound worlds in his own music as well as continuing to produce and output dance music under alias “Lawrenz”.
Looking forward, Stefan will continue to study, having already started a masters in Film Music Composition. He plans to move to Berlin for a year after having been offered the opportunity to do Erasmus as part of these studies. In general, he takes inspiration from composers such as Rival Consoles, Yann Tiersen, Max Richter, and the late Johann Johannsson. Stefan’s sound is varied, stimulating, and aims to challenge accepted norms in playing with established conventions, and blurring the electronic and acoustic musical worlds.
