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| Member
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Feb 21, 2007 |
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Influences
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Todd Rundgren, Hall and Oates, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jim Croce Harry Chapin, Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos, Laura Nyro, Juliana Hatfield, Carole King, The Roots, KRS-ONE, Eric B and Rakim, LL Cool J, Chic Corea, Herbie Hancock,Jean Luc Ponty, Stravinsky, Brahm, |
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| Gender |
Male
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| Status |
Single |
| Here
For |
Networking |
| Hometown |
Pittsburgh |
| Body
Type |
6'4 |
| Sign |
Pieces |
| Smoke |
Yes |
| Drink |
Yes |
| Education |
Masters |
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“Fresh” is an overused (and usually exaggerated) description of a lot of new music. But sometimes once in a while it actually applies. Well fresh is definitely one way to describe Stephen Dei’s debut album Unico. Dei recalls the masters of pop soul, rock and jazz with an uncanny authenticity that sometimes sounds as if he’d actually collaborated with his childhood idols. From the lush jazzy, hook friendly Todd Rundgren and Hall and Oates influenced tracks Move Without Blinking Uptown and Honesty to sing songy yet hard hitting tracks A.M. and All In Your Head Dei combines a multitude of influences with pop sensibility for a potently welcoming debut. As a songwriter singer, multi-instrumentalist and self-producer, his work is at once accomplished and yes fresh. Deeply rooted yet original Dei is an artist who attacks the boundaries of pop R&B and alternative with his own timeless fusion as undeniable as it is unconventional. To call him “self-taught” is almost the whole truth as his natural abilities were noticed at an early age when he discovered a crate of records and a drum set in the attic of his grandmother’s house. Albums such as Something/Anything by Todd Rundgren Private Eyes by Hall and Oates and Fragile by Yes were among Dei’s favorite albums and musical inspirations. One afternoon while Dei was playing the drums in his grandmother’s attic a passerby knocked on his grandmother’s door and asked if her grandson would be interested in joining his new band. Though flattered she assured the man that a 4-year-old Stephen Dei wasn’t ready for bands at that point. However by age 14 Dei began performing, primarily a drummer in a variety of jazz/fusion bands gaining influences from Bill Bruford Phil Collins and Carl Palmer. Though spending most of his early career building his reputation as an exciting drummer Dei began learning other instruments and developing his skills as a songwriter. While in high school Dei worked as a session player and absorbed a variety of styles playing music as diverse as progressive rock and garage punk. Examples of this diversity are evident on songs like Decadence and Innocence and Out With The In Crowd where Dei runs a musical gauntlet of album rock in just over 3 minutes. Unico is an album that lends itself well from the bedroom to the club with stops in the car along the way. Dei’s music is simple yet complex; you sing along even though you've never heard the song before. And though Stephen Dei writes from a perspective of distances with each hook friendly track on Unico you can’t help but feel a connection to him.
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Spanish Translation by Google
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patagon |
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Hi Stephen,
good to meet you! Thanks for adding me to your friends list and for taking the time to visit my page.
I also enjoyed your songs, and am looking forward to hearing some more...!
Many blessings,
Fernando
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samdrummerboy |
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Hey, I added you as a friend because I saw your influences were similar to mine. (No music was up yet.) Glad I did! Cool Music! I'll be back to listen again.
Sam |
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swconcepts |
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Keep up the good work, Bro! Enjoyed the listen on your site...
Blessings,
SWConcepts |
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stephendei |
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