Sevan
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Sevan

Austin, Texas, United States | INDIE

Austin, Texas, United States | INDIE
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"Review of "The Show""

Sevan possesses a smoky sweet voice that allows him to rap with credibility, but also to man the mic for the soaring vocal interludes that have become the standard in today’s hip hop. More important than having the gift, however, is how he uses that gift, writing and performing on a terrific debut that confounds tried-and-true expectations even as it fashions a richly sensual groove.

The Show begins with “Welcome,” a sweeping introduction full of sound and fury but lacking originality. Sevan, singing and rapping over a tweaking keyboard and rumbling rhythm, quickly establishes a pretty typical goal for his record: “I assume you came to get your party on ... It’s about to get crazy.” Rather than setting the stage for everything that follows, “Welcome” opens the door for a series of pleasant surprises. For instance, “The Flyest” has a title bursting with early hip-hop’s outsized braggadocio, but instead arrives as a crisply performed tribute to a new love interest. Sevan sings the lyric with an open-hearted joy straight out of Motown, then modernizes the age-old concept with a rap that has a soulful edge. The vocal is then layered into a pulsing keyboard signature, creating a billowing anthem.

Sevan comes by that complex music vision honestly. Like many aspiring performers, he began singing in church choirs and at school. Sevan credits a teacher with urging him onto a stage for a solo on “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” from the Gershwin play Porgy and Bess. Suddenly awakened to a passion for music, Sevan started tagging along to the studio with a friend who was at work on an album. The session producer, impressed with his abilities as a singer and writer, offered him an unfinished beat to compose over. The result is “Private Dancer,” the lusty lead single from Sevan’s debut. Again, he shakes off stale convention. Performing over an echoing beat, Sevan doesn’t oversell, instead processing the vocal to the point where it has a fragile, dreamlike quality. That vulnerability, further explored with unabashed ardor on the ballads “Everything” and “Let Me,” is as rare amongst hip-hop hitmakers as it is intriguing.

Love turns to sizzling eroticism on “No Talkin,’” then to darker emotions. “Crazy” uses a repeated guitar signature over a twacking rhythm, like a broken heartbeat, to build out from a simple line about romance into this gospel-inflected cry of jealous recrimination. He weaves in another intricate vocal pattern that perfectly mimics the voices bouncing around this character’s head. The similarly themed “Trust” is a nervy track with a skittering beat, allowing Sevan to show off a zippy rhyme. Not that it’s all contemplative balladry. “Date Night” places his libidinous double-tracked vocal inside this fizzy synthesizer-driven R&B context. “Perfect” uses a track stuffed with polyrhythms, keyboard washes and swirling vocal interplay to create a danceable version of the loverman serenade. “Replacement” has a similarly elaborate backing track, one that perfectly conveys this sense of a relationship’s impending doom with swooning keyboards and a mechanized, rapidfire cadence.

There’s a craftsmanship that belies the lengthy period of time that the Dallas native spent on this album. The Show ended up taking more than a year to complete because Sevan simply couldn’t quiet his muse. He just kept writing new songs, and he only knew one way to go: full speed. The result is a debut that defies expectations and richly rewards repeated listenings. And, to no one’s surprise, he’s not finished. Sevan is at work, even as he continues to attend the University of Texas at Austin.

Review by Nick DeRiso
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Ariel Publicity
- Nick DeRiso for Ariel Publicity


Discography

On January 24, 2011 Sevan’s debut R&B album entitled “The Show” was released via online retailers and personal orders. The album has been generating a lot of buzz online and within the Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin communities. Nick DeRiso, for Ariel Publicity, recently reviewed “The Show” and gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Based on consumer feedback, we feel that this album has done its job by keeping Sevan’s fans satisfied and showcasing his wonderful talent.

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Bio

Sevan is a mulit-talented, high energy, and creative artist who is from Dallas, TX. His vocal ability and sex appeal will leave you wanting more. He first dabbled in music as a high school student when he wrote a song for his friend who is currently signed to Universal Music. Inspired by his mother, during his freshman year of college he traded in his rent money for studio equipment and began to work on his dream. Sevan wants to bring music to the world that not only his audience can relate to, but music that feeds their soul. When he's not in class at The University of Texas at Austin, you can find him in the studio working on another piece of art. He is currently signed to ROCKing It Entertainment, LLC as an artist and a writer.