Sep 11, 2015

Dexter Story - Wondem

On his debut Soundway Records release, Story distils his diverse background in soul, funk, jazz and folk idioms into his own unique and worldly voice. Borrowing from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Kenya, this collection of East African-influenced music is a testament to Story’s decades of dedication to artistic excellence.

“Wondem is a unique collection of songs inspired by my passion for and immersion into African music and culture over my career” says Story. “This body of work came about as I began to compose and arrange for Todd Simon's Ethio Cali, an emerging ethio-jazz ensemble in Los Angeles. Wondem means brother in Amharic and I felt a strong brotherly connection to Ethiopia during the process.”

‘Wondem’ was written and recorded in Story’s personal studio in downtown Los Angeles and one of his closest associates, producer, composer and musician, Carlos Niño co-produced the record. It was mixed at Niño’s home studio.

In addition Story worked with an array of collaborators on the record. Renowned multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson featured on the percussive track ‘Mowa’ and international producer and artist Mark de Clive-Lowe plays piano and synthesizer on a number of songs, in particular on ‘Yene Konjo’, where his acoustic piano playing there was originally inside of the main section of the song but Story felt it was so beautiful that he moved it to its own highlighted place.

Story also worked with Alsarah Elgadi and Yared Teshale on ‘Wondem’: “I felt that the record needed indigenous language on it and Yared delivered the beautiful ‘Sidet Eskemeche’, which means “we will remember” or “it will never be forgotten”. Alsarah sung in beautiful Arabic for ‘Without An Address’, which addresses the refugee concerns in her native Sudan.”

Outside of ‘Wondem’ Story has used his many talents in a supportive role serving a who’s who of iconic artists throughout his career. From tenures as Snoop Dogg’s product manager and Meshell Ndegeocello’s day-to-day representative to performing with post-millennial luminaries like Dwight Trible, Quadron, Sa-Ra Creative Partners and Gaslamp Killer, Los Angeles-based Story has a proven track record of lending the assist to established and emerging artistry. - See more at: https://www.soundwayrecords.com/Shop/DownloadDetails?rid=SWR_RE_97#sthash.eRztXWl0.dpuf
On his debut Soundway Records release, Story distils his diverse background in soul, funk, jazz and folk idioms into his own unique and worldly voice. Borrowing from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Kenya, this collection of East African-influenced music is a testament to Story’s decades of dedication to artistic excellence.

“Wondem is a unique collection of songs inspired by my passion for and immersion into African music and culture over my career” says Story. “This body of work came about as I began to compose and arrange for Todd Simon's Ethio Cali, an emerging ethio-jazz ensemble in Los Angeles. Wondem means brother in Amharic and I felt a strong brotherly connection to Ethiopia during the process.”

‘Wondem’ was written and recorded in Story’s personal studio in downtown Los Angeles and one of his closest associates, producer, composer and musician, Carlos Niño co-produced the record. It was mixed at Niño’s home studio.

In addition Story worked with an array of collaborators on the record. Renowned multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson featured on the percussive track ‘Mowa’ and international producer and artist Mark de Clive-Lowe plays piano and synthesizer on a number of songs, in particular on ‘Yene Konjo’, where his acoustic piano playing there was originally inside of the main section of the song but Story felt it was so beautiful that he moved it to its own highlighted place.

Story also worked with Alsarah Elgadi and Yared Teshale on ‘Wondem’: “I felt that the record needed indigenous language on it and Yared delivered the beautiful ‘Sidet Eskemeche’, which means “we will remember” or “it will never be forgotten”. Alsarah sung in beautiful Arabic for ‘Without An Address’, which addresses the refugee concerns in her native Sudan.”

Outside of ‘Wondem’ Story has used his many talents in a supportive role serving a who’s who of iconic artists throughout his career. From tenures as Snoop Dogg’s product manager and Meshell Ndegeocello’s day-to-day representative to performing with post-millennial luminaries like Dwight Trible, Quadron, Sa-Ra Creative Partners and Gaslamp Killer, Los Angeles-based Story has a proven track record of lending the assist to established and emerging artistry. - See more at: https://www.soundwayrecords.com/Shop/DownloadDetails?rid=SWR_RE_97#sthash.eRztXWl0.dpuf

On his debut Soundway Records release, Story distils his diverse background in soul, funk, jazz and folk idioms into his own unique and worldly voice. Borrowing from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Kenya, this collection of East African-influenced music is a testament to Story’s decades of dedication to artistic excellence.

“Wondem is a unique collection of songs inspired by my passion for and immersion into African music and culture over my career” says Story. “This body of work came about as I began to compose and arrange for Todd Simon's Ethio Cali, an emerging ethio-jazz ensemble in Los Angeles. Wondem means brother in Amharic and I felt a strong brotherly connection to Ethiopia during the process.”

‘Wondem’ was written and recorded in Story’s personal studio in downtown Los Angeles and one of his closest associates, producer, composer and musician, Carlos Niño co-produced the record. It was mixed at Niño’s home studio.

In addition Story worked with an array of collaborators on the record. Renowned multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson featured on the percussive track ‘Mowa’ and international producer and artist Mark de Clive-Lowe plays piano and synthesizer on a number of songs, in particular on ‘Yene Konjo’, where his acoustic piano playing there was originally inside of the main section of the song but Story felt it was so beautiful that he moved it to its own highlighted place.

Story also worked with Alsarah Elgadi and Yared Teshale on ‘Wondem’: “I felt that the record needed indigenous language on it and Yared delivered the beautiful ‘Sidet Eskemeche’, which means “we will remember” or “it will never be forgotten”. Alsarah sung in beautiful Arabic for ‘Without An Address’, which addresses the refugee concerns in her native Sudan.”

Outside of ‘Wondem’ Story has used his many talents in a supportive role serving a who’s who of iconic artists throughout his career. From tenures as Snoop Dogg’s product manager and Meshell Ndegeocello’s day-to-day representative to performing with post-millennial luminaries like Dwight Trible, Quadron, Sa-Ra Creative Partners and Gaslamp Killer, Los Angeles-based Story has a proven track record of lending the assist to established and emerging artistry.


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Wondem is a unique collection of songs inspired by my passion for and immersion into African music and culture over my career” says Los Angeles musician Dexter Story about his new album, set for release on October 23 on Soundway Records. The multi-instrumentalist and producer combined his diverse background in soul, funk, jazz, and folk into his own unique and worldly voice, with influences from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Kenya.

“This body of work came about as I began to compose and arrange for Todd Simon’s Ethio Cali, an emerging Ethio-jazz ensemble in Los Angeles. Wondem means brother in Amharic, and I felt a strong brotherly connection to Ethiopia during the process.”

The album was written and recorded in Story’s studio in downtown Los Angeles, and coproduced by the talented Carlos Niño. In addition, Story worked with an array of collaborators on the record, including Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Nia Andrews, Alsarah Elgada, and Yared Teshale.

In anticipation of the record, Wax Poetics is premiering the lead track, “Lalibela,” featuring Yared Teshale.

“The song ‘Lalibela’ was composed in tribute to the eleven great rock churches and the holy city in the north of Ethiopia. My mind couldn’t (and can’t) comprehend how they were excavated with precision like that, and I sing praises to them,” says Story. “Lalibela is an important pilgrimage center for Ethiopians, and I hope to visit there soon. The layout of the churches is said to be a replica of Jerusalem commissioned by Emperor Saint Gebre Lalibela in the twelth century. The track features vocalist Yared Teshale from Addis Ababa.”

Dexter Story is a man with many talents—he was the product manager for Snoop Dogg, Meshell Ndegeocello’s day-to-day representative, and later performed with artists such as Dwight Trible, Quadron, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Kelis, and the Gaslamp Killer.

waxpoetics.com


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