BIOGRAPHY
"so strange how people can be
each passerby has his head in the clouds
nobody truly notices me
accept for the little boy on the street
he's got his mouth wide open, so that he can better see"
'DISCONNECTED'
WRITING, RECORDING, WRITING, RECORDING, WRITING, RECORDING, WRITING, RECORDING, WRITING, RECORDING, WRITING, RECORDING
New music coming soon!!!
“Soulful-pop songs about life and connections between human beings. A reflection of today’s world and some very personal, dark and sunny times”
Bastian Steven:
"I live in the small but beautiful city of Arnhem, in the Netherlands.
Music has always played the biggest role in my life. Growing up I have always made music with my family. My father is a guitar player and guitar-builder and my sister is a jazz singer.
When I was old enough to drink I started working in the coolest bar in town; ‘Dollars LIVE’. A bar with live-music every night. I first started working there as a bartender but quickly made my way up the stage. I have played there, every Saturday night, for years. Through Dollars I submerged into the music scene and met countless creative people. I started playing in different bands and played in every corner of the Netherlands, at Bars, festivals, at private parties and even weddings.
It was in the year 2010, when I was asked to joint ‘this new project’ and became the lead singer of the ‘New Vintage’ Soul-group: Dear Mr. Man. Being a member of this band I really developed myself as a songwriter. To play with these guys was awesome. We released two albums, played at the coolest venues in the Netherlands as the support act of famous Dutch bands ‘KANE’ and ‘De Dijk’ and our music was used in the 2015 tv-commercial of Hooghoudt Jenever.
For me it was the right time for a solo project. With 100% of my personal thoughts converted into music.
In the time that followed, I wrote a whole lot of songs.
The songs on Disconnected are a reflection of what goes on in my mind. Writing the songs helped me catalogue my memories, and think about the future. The songs made me deal with some of my hardest moments, so it’s the most personal work I have ever written. While for me the songs on Disconnected are about ‘of-the-moment subjects’, the songs actually are timeless and relatable to the listener. ‘Trail Of Happiness’ for example is a song I wrote when my grandmother died. She was the queen of the family. I can remember so many nights with family, talking about all the great memories we had together. I suddenly became aware that I was ‘up a rank’ in the family tree. In those moments I find myself thinking about the future.
We live in a world that seems to be getting smaller with technology. “Everybody is connected”. But is it really true?
Sometimes i think we have moved away from the ‘real world’ and actually really are getting disconnected. We have stopped looking at and after each other and stare into a fake world on a screen all day. I believe the world we now live in screams for music that reconnects people. Next to being a musician, I hold a master’s degree in social science. I have always been interested in human behavior. Why do people do what they do and why do they act like the act. What lies underneath and drives actions. What you can’t see is far more interesting and true.
After a while I recognized that every time a take an organic approach to writing a song, I often come back to this subject.
After the first EP 'WAVE ONE' I decided to release the music differently.
From october 2019 on: A new single every month for a year!
The songs 'All keeps Falling', 'Freedom & Fireworks' , 'Moving on Slowly and 'Disconnected' all where added to the 'New Music Friday' and 'Soul 'N' The city' playlists on Spotify.
In 2019 Bastian played a release tour in de USA (South Bend - Indiana, st Josepth - Michigan) . The tour highlight was a show at the 'South Bend Jazz Festival'. Feb 2020: Bastian did a live recording of the songs on 'Disconnected'. This night was special because Bastian and band where surrounded by the audience. A beautiful show at Luxor Live. The video's are released next to the studio-release. so you can listen to the studio version and experience the live feel of the music!
On April 1, 2022, Bastian released a new single “Biggest Friend”. This song pays tribute to deceased friend Jos Huigsloot who passed away exactly 10 years ago. This song was included in the beautiful 'New Music Friday NL' playlist on Spotify.
New album, in 2024!
For this album Bastian works together with producer Jasper Zuidervaart (Chef Special, Jeangu Macrooy, Kris Berry).
The album has become a beautiful blend of Soulful pop songs played by awesome musicians and modern Pop production. Super proud of how the songs turned out.
For your imagination a few of the musicians who collaborated:
I wrote and arranged the songs with Maarten Kooymans (drums a.o. Komodo)
Sven Figee played Hammond.
Timothy Banchet (Benjamin Herman, Gino cochise) played Grand piano, Rhodes, Wurli
Lorijn von Pickarts (MAAN) contributed lead guitar.
Strings by members of Dudok Quartet, among others.
I cant wait to share the new album with the world!
Bastian