Steven De bruyn

Steven De bruyn – he paints the world with sound

He is a globetrotter, travels to almost every continent and gives concerts everywhere: Steven De bruyn decided that he wanted to become a musician while studying sociology and computer science. He listens to a band that includes a harmonica and whose sound inspires him.

He grew up in Limburg, Belgium. It was never quiet at home, Steven remembers. He is the eldest of eight children. His mother teaches the harmonica to kindergarten children. The instrument is present from the very beginning. From time to time, Steven retreats to a quieter corner and produces his first notes on the harmonica.

From university job to musician
Steven was already working as an assistant at university when he decided from one day to the next that he wanted to make a living from music. And he is lucky. Beginner’s luck, Steven would later say. Because he was immediately successful with his first band.

With the band “El Fish”, he produced six albums in just five years and played up to 150 concerts a year. Their music evolved: from initially quite traditional sounds, it became increasingly experimental. Rock music, but also Arabic-Persian and psychedelic influences find their way into the band’s songs.

A life like a dream
More bands and projects follow. Steven travels the world, gets to know other cultures and people. His life is like a dream for him, he says. He senses how universal music is as a form of expression.

During a theater project, Steven meets the double bass player Jasper Hautekiet. The creative spark between the two was immediate. They play together in the band “The rhythm junks” and also perform as a duo. They improvise on stage, with one note leading the other. Out of the moment, they create soundscapes that they had never heard before.

Silence and meditation
Steven also performs as a soloist on large and small stages. He often uses electronic sound effects, producing an individual language and polyphony. His own music is becoming increasingly withdrawn, meditative and quiet – perhaps as a contrast to his childhood memories and the constant noise in the world.

While he often drew as a child, critics today repeatedly describe his music as a landscape that he creates with his brush. Steven himself actually imagines his own worlds, which he builds with the harmonica. Distant, colorful and always surprising.