Stephen Simmonds believes in certain truths. That music is a powerful force. That ultimately it抯 all about the feeling and the vibe. That living for love and trying to spread a positive message is the best thing one can do . That life is a journey filled with ups and downs and inbetweens and there抯 something to be learned and gained and experienced from every emotional state.
Those truths, that belief system, anchored to a collection of often achingly beautiful and potently soulful songs form the core of Stephen Simmonds American label debut, Spirit Tales. Embracing R&B, jazz, and pop, reflecting influences like Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley and The Beatles, and featuring collaborations with Soulshock and Karlin and Raphael Saadiq, Spirit Tales heralds the arrival of a singer/songwriter/multi instrumentalist/producer whose deeply evocative songs have already earned him critical and commercial praise throughout Europe and in his native Sweden.
I wanted to have a feel that with this album, you were taking a journey, that there抯 a beginning and an ending, Stephen爋ffers. I tried to think of a word that I felt best describe my songs and that was spiritual. And that makes sense 慶ause in many ways I am in a spiritual state when I create and what I create, hopefully are small stories.
That spiritual, seductive and richly musical journey begins with "Alone" a track that Stephen describes as moody, a word he uses often when talking about his multi-textured work. Written four years ago, "Alone" is a song about the down time in between romance and expectation. Deceptively breezy, and driven by Stephen抯 solid piano playing and a percussive, finger snapping beat, "Alone" may be about solitude but like most of Stephen抯 songs, carries a double message. I hope people can relate to it. That it will raise a hopeful feeling and give them inspiration, Stephen explains. Cause even when you抮e sad, you need to hear something that can pick you up.
One song particularly close to Stephen抯 soul is "Now Is The Time". Jazzy and undulating, "Now Is The Time" was one of the very first songs Stephen ever recorded and it抯 one that he says represents him the most lyrically. I don抰 think I have all the answers but love is a universal thing and if you have love as your goal then you really can抰 go wrong.
Keeping on the love jones, is "For You", a soft sway of a shout out to a particular someone. It was written about someone specific, and I wrote it a few years ago. Now looking back at it, some of the song seems a little over dramatic! Stephen laughs but you know back in the day, that抯 how I felt. And I really believe that music should represent what your standing for at that particular time.
Along with the complete European version of the CD, Spirit Tales contains two new steps on Stephen抯 journey. One is the hip shaking grooves of "I Can抰 Do That", written and produced in tandem with Soulshock and Karlin. The other track brings Stephen together with Raphael Saadiq (Tony Toni Tone), with the infectious and sexy?"If I Was Your Man". I抦 a huge fan of Raphael抯, and even before we met I knew that he was a vibe person, and that the sessions would be really relaxed and fruitful, which they were! The song is great, it抯 about that feeling you have when love is na飗e and you think it抯 the best and anything is possible and you just know that you are gonna be the man to change that one girl抯 life.
Stephen was?born and raised in Stockholm. His father is Jamaican and his mother is Swedish. His parents met in Spain, where his father was playing bass in a band and his mom was on holiday. They met, fell in love, got married and moved to Stockholm where they stayed together until 1979. In the early 80抯 Stephen and his mother moved briefly to the US. It was sort of?tough being there, Stephen recalls and eventually my mom and I went back to the comfort of Sweden.
In 1984 Stephen抯 dad moved to Israel and Stephen began visiting him during his summer vacations, along with visiting family in Jamaica. I really can抰 say that all that traveling directly influenced the music I抦 making now, Stephen says because even though I had been playing piano since I was 12, I didn抰 start writing my own stuff till I was a bit older. But music was always a part of my life because of my dad, though he never pushed me into a career. He just exposed me to a lot of great artists like Marley and Stevie.
In 1996 Stephen became friends with Peter Catries, who serves as Spirit Tales co-producer. Peter had a makeshift studio and one day the two began to throw some beats and chords together. The next thing I knew we had made a song. It just happened and if it hadn抰 been for Peter pushing and supporting me, I wouldn抰 have had the courage to send anything I did to a label or even really pursue music.
What had started as a lark soon became a reality and soon Stephen had recorded enough songs to secure a label deal in Sweden. In 1997, Alone (the European title of Spirit Tales) was released. The haunting single "Tears Never Dry", also included in the US,. earned the Swedish equivalent of a Grammy and charted high on the pop charts. The buzz from the single and the CD led to interest from American labels and in the beginning of 1999, Stephen signed with Priority.
Still based in Stockholm, Stephen sees himself as a Swedish artist with a global view. I抦 definitely proud of who I am and where I抦 from. I think? that growing up in Stockholm, has given me a somewhat unique take on making music and the industry. I抦 not part of the Swedish Sound but I抦 not an American or a Londoner either and I feel like I have my own story to tell, with my songs.
Asked to sum up Spirit Tales and Stephen is thoughtful. There抯 all these different ingredients, love hate and so many things going on and I try, with my songs, to combine them all together. It抯 all about the vibe. For me, if I抦 feeling it, it happens.
Feel it and take the journey as well.
