Alan Steward is a Dutch producer who produced hits for the likes of Baha Men and five time Grammy winners Dennis Edwards and Eddie Kendricks both original members of

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

. Their single "Get it While It's Hot" (co-written by Jermaine Jackson) became a club hit and went on to spawn four remixes. He has currently 6 albums to his name, the latest is the Reggae album "Rise Up", released in 2018.

Early career

Alan is credited by many as a European pioneer of

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

and

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

, touring throughout Europe with an elaborate setup of 13 or more keyboards, synthesizers and rhythm boxes (in the early 1970s, at a time when the drum machine wasn't even invented yet and long before the terms

and

even existed). He was one of the first artists to use sampling (by means of an obscure instrument called the

Optigan The Optigan (a portmanteau of ''optical organ'') is an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound. Later versions (built un ...

that used optical discs to play back musical loops. Unlike the other pioneers of electronica like

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

and

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

, Alan's music was always very "danceable", full of R&B and Soul influences and indeed the forerunner of what is now termed

House music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

and

Electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

. Alan's musical style is best described as electronic

World fusion music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

with strong Jazz and Funk influences as it combines exotic instruments and voices with jazz, funk grooves and electronica. He also draws on his many years of living in the Caribbean and working with Caribbean artists on his current Reggae album release.

Music production

As a producer, Alan recorded hits for

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations for Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang w ...

and

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temp ...

of the legendary

Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

, the

Baha Men Baha Men are a Bahamian junkanoo band formed in New Providence, Bahamas in 1977. They are best known for their Grammy Award-winning hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out". History Early years Baha Men formed in 1977 as High Voltage, initially play ...

(of 'who let the dogs out' fame), David Black (Capitol/EMI Records) who went on a World Tour opening for

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit", and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, e ...

and also appeared on his album 'Too legit to Quit', Isaac Adams (former vocalist for both the Bar Kays and Cameo). He was also asked to do a remix of the Dazz Band's #1 Billboard chart hit "Dazz Dazz Disco Jazz". His engineering credits include multi-platinum artists like: Jermaine Jackson, Melba Moore, Inner Circle,

, Evelyn 'Champagne' King and Melissa Manchester.

Film scoring

In the past years, Alan concentrated his career on producing music for films and television. His music and sound design has been heard on just about every TV channel on the planet as well as quite a few motion pictures and video games like the BAFTA award-winning "Bad Mutha Truckers 2" from Empire Interactive. Over 200 of his musical compositions have been featured in films, TV shows and video games. But Alan quickly came to realize that people enjoyed his soundtracks so much that his songs started to get 'bootlegged', copied and shared on the internet. He started getting a 'fan base' even though he had not released an actual album or single in ten years.

Album releases

In 2007 Alan decided to once again 'step into the limelight'. He formed his own record label, Slim Chance Recordings and released his third album ‘Slim Chance and the Groove Enigma’ on that label. With the advent of iTunes and digital online distribution, Alan found that the timing was right for this venture. The single "Give it Up" from the "Slim Chance and the Groove Enigma" album was well received in the danceclubs and received worldwide airplay. In 2008, Alan's fourth album, "The Jazz Masters" was released. A slight departure from Alan's trademark world-fusion electronica sound, the

Jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

album "The Jazz Masters" showcases the more jazzy side of Alan Steward, the kind of music he usually writes for movie and TV soundtracks. The album turned out to be his most successful album to date, being very popular on

Smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

radio stations in Europe. Alan's major release for 2008 however was the album "Pop Icon". "Pop Icon" showed off Alan's talent as the master of the funky grooves. The single off the album was "Underdog" which Alan calls an ‘anthem for the anti-heroes’. "Underdog" is dedicated to all the independent musicians pursuing their dreams. "Pop Icon" also featured the vocal talents of Caribbean Soul Vocalist Tricia Hamilton on "Bad Boy Style" and UK House Diva Diane Gordon on a track called "Pfunked Up", a tribute to George Clinton and P-Funk. Alan's 2009 album release is entitled "Licensed to Chill". This

album features vocals in five different languages and dialects and a great mix of exotic sounds and grooves ranging from 'jazzy' and 'esoteric' to 'very danceable" In 2011, he released the album ""The Temple of Boom"", similar in style to ""Licensed to Chill"", this album also features a variety of musical styles and exotic voices but also a forays into electronic dance, reggae and drum and bass. The album also features a new version of his song "Dream come true" from the Slim Chance album. The 2013 album release "The very best of Alan Steward" features 21 songs in total from his last 5 album releases. In 2018, the long-awaited album "Rise Up" is released. On this album that features mainly Reggae music, Alan takes a very different musical direction. This is also Alan's first album that features Alan's vocals on every single track.

Discography

Rise Up - AbacoMedia - 2018
The very best of Alan Steward - Slim Chance Recordings - 2013
Temple of Boom - Slim Chance Recordings - 2011
Licensed to Chill - Slim Chance Recordings - 2009
Underdog (Single) - Slim Chance Recordings - 2008
Pop Icon - Slim Chance Recordings - 2008
The Jazz Masters - Slim Chance Recordings- 2008
Give it Up (Single) - Slim Chance Recordings- 2007
Slim Chance & the Groove Enigma (Album) - Slim Chance Recordings - 2007
G-Force - Sunshine Records - 1983
Just Listen - Live Album - 1976

External links

The Official Website of Alan Steward

Alan Steward on Spotify

Alan Steward on Last.fm

Alan Steward on Reverbnation

Alan Steward official Twitter page

Alan Steward on Deezer

Sources

* Alan Steward's Official Web Sit

(with permission) and personal interviews during filming of the documentary "the beginnings of European House" Discography Sources: Discog

and Allmusi

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steward, Alan World music musicians Dutch record producers Dutch house musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people)