Which app did Steve Lacy use to produce and perform his first songs?

Steve Lacy used GarageBand to produce and perform his first songs. He began making music on an iPhone when he could not afford a conventional studio or professional recording setup, turning the phone into a compact songwriting workstation.

GarageBand supplied the core environment for arranging drum patterns, recording guitar and bass, and layering vocals. Lacy’s early phone-based workflow became especially associated with his 2017 project Steve Lacy’s Demo, including the song “Dark Red.” He often recorded vocals directly into the iPhone’s built-in microphone, helping create the intimate, rough-edged sound heard in those recordings.

A common mix-up is Ableton Live, which Lacy also used for programming some drum patterns. Ableton was part of his later workflow, but GarageBand was the app most directly associated with his first iPhone-made songs. The same unconventional approach later helped him build production credits with The Internet, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar.