The first time Thiago ever stepped on stage he was just a schoolboy. Even so, way before that, he already knew that music was the driving force of his life.

As a kid he used to listen to his family’s old records and fell in love with Elvis Presley and Elton John, even though he had no idea what they were singing about. So he taught himself English, studying with his uncle’s old grammar books and dictionaries, translating song lyrics by Michael Jackson and Madonna.

He never used to get toys for his birthdays but instead got vinyl records and cassette tapes. He would often be seen performing flamboyantly to his schoolmates at the schoolyard, dancing and trying to sing in English, and was often misunderstood.

“It was quite difficult fitting in with the other kids at school. They didn’t understand me… they didn’t get me… Maybe because they didn’t know who George Michael and Cyndi Lauper were”.

But that didn’t stop him from being involved in every theatre production,

musical, play, art exhibition and talent competition he could get into. Soon enough he was being invited to sing with local bands and perform at regional events.

In his early teens he had fronted a number of bands, started writing his own lyrics and recorded his first song when he was 15 years old.

“Being in a band can be very tricky and hard to manage. There can be five fantastic musicians, with incredible talent, but totally contradicting ideas and in the end nothing gets done… I've learned that if you want something, you have to get it yourself.”

Thiago had his mind set on an international solo career and he realized how much harder he needed to work in order to fulfill his dreams. So he decided to step up his game, left the sunny beaches of northeast Brazil and moved to England. There he furthered his studies of the English language and continued to practice his singing, composing and performing techniques like never before.

With strong influence from the past three decades of pop music and a touch of the modern dance and electronic sound, Thiago Lira’s music aims to open minds and break barriers with witty lyrics and catchy tunes. His debut album “Digital” brings lyrics solely written by him and all tracks were originally produced on his home computer.

“I cannot wait for people to listen to this album, it means everything to me, especially because some of the songs are quite autobiographical and I hope people will get the message and accept it as it is… It is essentially me, being myself, not worrying about what others might say and I hope people will understand that… and eventually like it.”

Thiago Lira worked with British music producer Andy Rowland on all the tracks for “Digital” and collaborated with German sample-creator Minor2Go on two tracks.