Quiet Storm Shares Visuals Alongside New Track ‘This Place’

An introspective offering from the South London musician…

Quiet Storm has dropped visuals for his brand new track, ‘This Place’.

A pulsing dancefloor heater, the track seamlessly merges the worlds of dream-pop and house music. Embracing four-on-the-floor production that builds momentum, Chase Emery Davis pieces together an atmospheric soundscape that spotlights Storm’s pure tones. The Croydon native delivers a resonant vocal performance, exploring themes of isolation and emotional vulnerability.

Arriving with a music video directed by Dan Hart, Quiet Storm is filmed strolling down the streets of Paris, France and Spain, placing emphases on the contrast between the artist’s solitude and his bustling surroundings. An already established name within fashion, Quiet Storm now ventures into a solo music career, reflecting on an eclectic pool of influences that range between Brian Eno, Jerry Goldsmith, The Cure and David Bowie. Sharing a passion for club-orientated sounds from a young age, the singer-songwriter has swiftly accumulated chart success across a string of singles; ‘Lady Show Me’, ‘I Could Almost Cry’, ‘You Make Me Shudder’ and ‘Your World’.

Tune in now…

Photo Credit: Matt Beecroft

QUIET STORM DROPS BRAND NEW SINGLE, THIS PLACE

Ever-evolving singer and songwriter Quiet Storm (musical moniker of A-list celebrity stylist Dean Aslett) has unveiled his latest single, ‘This Place’, on February 23, 2024. Hailing from Croydon and now based between London and Mykonos, Quiet Storm’s first four singles, ‘Lady Show Me’, ‘I Could Almost Cry’, ‘You Make Me Shudder’ and ‘Your World’ enjoyed consecutive Music Week UK Top 10 Chart positions. ‘This Place’ has already received support from notable tastemaker EARMILK. In addition to his musical endeavors, Dean boasts a riveting and lengthy career in the fashion industry, working for giants like Versace and styling or being a personal shopper for A-listers such as Princess Diana, Prince William, Elton John, Joan Collins, Liz Hurley and members of Duran Duran – to name but a few! He has now left the fashion business to pursue music full-time.

Dean developed a love for performance and electronic music at a young age, beginning to play piano and organ at age eleven. Immersing himself in music from the late 70s onwards, he became enamored with electronic music when his twin brother bought an LP album, Out of This World by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1979. Composers like Ennio Morricone (Chai Mai, The Mission, Cinema Paradiso), Jerry Goldsmith (Alien, The Omen), producers like Brian Eno (David Bowie, Talking Heads) and Bob Clearmountain (Bryan Ferry, David Bowie & Simple Minds) started to appeal to Dean as his formative years progressed. Clubbing in London’s watering holes in the 80s further cemented this passion of his. He also cites New Wave giants of his teenage years such as David Bowie, Roxy Music, Blondie, David Sylvian, Duran Duran, Visage, Soft Cell, Ultravox, The Cure and The Cult as major influences.

Buying his first synthesizer (a KORG POLY800) in 1984, Dean formed a five-piece rock outfit Clockwork Orange in 1985, which disbanded the following year. However, Dean continued to write songs under the name Quiet Storm, a name adopted from a club in Mayfair, London.

‘This Place’ is a charged, cinematic masterpiece of synth pop music produced by the up-and-coming Chase Emery Davis. Moody, intricate and lush synthscapes, a driving four-on-the-floor beat and Quiet Storm’s plaintive vocals interlaced with other subtle vocal samples come together to create a track that is at once both melancholic and euphoric. ‘This Place’ sonically captures the elusive essence of our dreamt experiences with feeling and movement.

 

 

Ever-evolving singer and songwriter Quiet Storm shares emotionally-charged, cinematic track “This Place,” capturing a lush synth pop world that invites a rush of melancholic yet euphoric feelings. The track is moody but rich building upon a driving four-on-the-floor beat, subtle vocal samples and Quiet Storm’s distinct delivery.Produced by the up-and-coming Chase Emery Davis, the intricate production captures the elusive essence of our dreamt experiences with feeling and movement. Speaking of the message behind the track, he says, “I seem to live my life through many of the songs I have written but the new Quiet Storm single, ‘This Place’, goes beyond that and is set in a twilight world delving into the realm of my dreams and fantasies of a film noir landscape.” Hailing from Croydon and now based between London and Mykonos, A-list celebrity stylist Dean Aslett has carved out an alluring presence for himself in the music scene under the Quiet Storm moniker. Having developed a love for performance and electronic music at a young age, beginning to play piano and organ at age eleven, Aslett’s childhood passion for music has seen journey this far – with much more to come.

Connect with Quiet Storm : Instagram

Daily Mail – 6th Janaury 2024

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12932209/elizabeth-hurley-safety-pin-dress-stylist.html

EXCLUSIVE Stylist who fitted Liz Hurley into THAT dress 30 years ago now has a few things to get off HIS chest: ‘Mr Safety Pin’ reveals Joan Collins was ‘incredibly rude’, Victoria Beckham a ‘grand’ Anna Wintour-wannabe…while Hugh Grant was ‘appalling’

  • Dean Aslett has pinned the most famous people on the planet into their frocks 

Dean Aslett – let’s call him Mr Safety Pin – is not a household name but, as a celebrity stylist, he has literally pinned the most famous people on the planet into their frocks.

One of his most vivid memories (and who would forget this) is of being on his hands and knees in front of Diana, Princess of Wales, at Kensington Palace, adjusting the skirt of her gown.

‘That was a moment,’ Aslett recalls. ‘She’d been in her jogging bottoms when I arrived but put the dress on and I was checking the length.

‘I needed her to put these strappy shoes on so I said: “Just lean on my back”, so she did, for balance. Odd where you end up, in life.’

Stranger still that Aslett – ‘an ordinary Croydon boy, even though I wanted to tell Princess Diana I lived in Chelsea’ – would one day end up helping her son make sartorial choices.

Circa 2005, he would be working as head of personal shopping at Selfridges and one of his most famous customers was Prince William.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the premiere of the film Four Weddings And A Funeral, when Liz Hurley wore THAT dress

 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the premiere of the film Four Weddings And A Funeral, when Liz Hurley wore THAT dress

Dean Aslett played a pivotal part in the premiere. At the time, he was head of womenswear for the Versace store in London

 

Dean Aslett played a pivotal part in the premiere. At the time, he was head of womenswear for the Versace store in London

‘I’d take him round so he could do his Christmas shopping. I’d get a call from Special Branch, then meet him in the car park and bring him in through the back entrance. He was nothing like his mother, not as friendly and much more serious – an old head in young clothes, really.’

Dare we ask what the Prince bought? Caviar, crystal, monogrammed towels?

‘The royals are funny about their Christmas presents. There was nothing bling about them, and nothing was very expensive. I can’t say too much but it was mostly CDs and DVDs, things you’d buy yourself.

‘I do remember one year he bought his grandmother, the Queen, a box set of Dr Who. The Doctor was Christopher Eccleston then.’

Blingier, by far, were Aslett’s fashion days. He worked for Versace in an era when celebrities not only paid for their clothes (‘nowadays, celebs expect them all for free,’ he says, appalled) but paid for them in cash.

‘When I was at Versace, Elton John would come in with his manager John Reid, who’d have a suitcase of cash chained or cufflinked to his arm. One time there was £45,000 in there.

‘They did get a discount – Elton got 35 per cent off – but he spent an outrageous amount. He bought three of everything, one for each home. Once I had to fly to Atlanta to take something he needed, and return the same night.’

Elton wasn’t even his biggest diva client. That award would go to actress Joan Collins.

‘The ultimate diva,’ he says. ‘You had to be careful with Joan. She was a scary one, formidable.

‘She had the mouth of Marilyn Monroe but the eyes of Caligula. And that tongue was so sharp you worried she’d cut her own neck with it. I was on the receiving end of it a few times.

‘Once, in Barbados, we were at dinner and I was sitting beside my friend and former boss, the designer Antony Price.

Aslett's boss informed him that Hugh Grant had contacted them, in a panic, asking if Versace could lend his then-girlfriend, the then unknown actress called Liz Hurley, a frock for that evening

 

Aslett’s boss informed him that Hugh Grant had contacted them, in a panic, asking if Versace could lend his then-girlfriend, the then unknown actress called Liz Hurley, a frock for that evening

Liz Hurley squeezed her curves into a little black number, seemingly held together with hope and 24 giant safety pins - and a star was born

Liz Hurley squeezed her curves into a little black number, seemingly held together with hope and 24 giant safety pins – and a star was born

Aslett said the dress fitted Hurley perfectly, 'which was just as well, because there wouldn't have been time to make adjustments'

Aslett said the dress fitted Hurley perfectly, ‘which was just as well, because there wouldn’t have been time to make adjustments’

‘Joan decided she wanted to be next to him. “Move. Move, right now,” she said. She could be incredibly rude. I ended up slumming it next to Lord and Lady Bamford, which wasn’t the worst outcome, but that was Joan.’

While we will return to Aslett’s rather delicious showbiz shopping revelations, the reason for this interview is that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the premiere of the film Four Weddings And A Funeral, an event in which Aslett (and some giant safety pins) played a pivotal part.

At the time, he was head of womenswear for the Versace store in London when his boss informed him that the actor Hugh Grant had contacted them, in a panic, asking if Versace could lend his then-girlfriend, an unknown actress called Liz Hurley, a frock for that evening.

They were due to attend the premiere of his new movie and Grant suggested that Versace might want to help boost British cinema.

Aslett sniffs. ‘In those days, we didn’t just lend out dresses like that, and she was a nobody, but I do remember he asked us to send something over to them.

‘I said it wasn’t possible because of the time constraints, and also there was a limit to what we could lend without them having to buy it.

‘Anyway, I invited them in and had to steer her through the shop floor, trying to politely say she couldn’t have any of those dresses because she’d have to pay for them. Then we got her into that dress – and the rest is history.’

To a point. We all know that Liz Hurley squeezed her curves into a little black number, seemingly held together with hope and 24 giant safety pins – and a star was born.

‘She was all over the papers, she got the Estee Lauder campaign. Her career took off. None of it would have happened without that dress,’ says Aslett.

He adds that, for many years, he was quietly proud of his own unsung role. That dress not only made Hurley a star, it made Versace a must-wear brand with a whole new clientele.

‘I mean it was pure happenstance. She only ended up with that dress because it was one of the few press samples we had, and it was really only there because most people weren’t the right shape for it, and it had a tricky zip.

‘But it fitted Liz Hurley perfectly, which was just as well, because there wouldn’t have been time to make adjustments.

‘I don’t think it would have been the one they would have chosen either. I think she would have preferred an Amanda Wakeley. We were at the bottom of the list as no-one else would lend to them.’

Out of interest, did he like the dress? ‘Well, I don’t want to be disingenuous, but let’s just say I wouldn’t have gravitated towards that safety pin collection. At that time Versace had gone very . . . common denominator, brash, sexy.

Gianni Versace (left) with Joan Collins at the opening of the new Versace store in London in May, 1992

Gianni Versace (left) with Joan Collins at the opening of the new Versace store in London in May, 1992

Sir Elton John wpuld ocme in to the Versace store with his manager John Reid (left), 'who'd have a suitcase of cash chained or cufflinked to his arm'

Sir Elton John wpuld ocme in to the Versace store with his manager John Reid (left), ‘who’d have a suitcase of cash chained or cufflinked to his arm’

‘A bit too sexy, if you ask me. More lady-of-the-night. He [Gianni Versace] could do very elegant, but this was a different direction.’

But Hurley did look hot in it. ‘Oh, amazing. It fitted like a glove. When she came out of the fitting room Hugh Grant raised an eyebrow, in a “This is a risqué dress” sort of way. But they went with it. As I say, they didn’t have much choice.’

At the time he thought Liz was quite sweet. Less so Hugh Grant, who, he claims, took a phone call while Liz was busy in the dressing room (presumably it took a while, what with those safety pins).

‘I’m afraid Hugh Grant’s behaviour then was absolutely appalling. He was prancing around, hopping from foot to foot, on one of those brick mobile phones.

‘He was shouting “F***, F***, F***” into it. I don’t know what the conversation was about but it wasn’t a way to behave in an atelier showroom that looked after Princess Diana. If a customer came in and witnessed that…

‘He was a bit intimidating. I was 23 but if I was the age I am now, I’d have thrown him out.’

What irks Aslett is that, in the years since, another version of what happened that day has been told.

He’s particularly peeved that the accounts given by Hurley and Grant suggest the dress was sent to them by Versace in a carrier bag and tried on in a casual way at their modest flat, which didn’t have a full-length mirror.

An affront to the fashion expert who remembers mirrors everywhere!

‘It is true that the dress left our shop in a white carrier bag. I’d been going to put it in one of our black bags, with a velvet ribbon but my boss said, “You’ve done enough for them. Just put it in a bag”.

‘But the fitting was most definitely done in the shop. And Hugh Grant was definitely there because his behaviour always coloured my view of him.’

Yet, another account from Hurley does reference going into the shop. Perhaps there is just some misremembering here?

Aslett cites a more recent interview where Hurley said that at the time no one in England had heard of Versace.

‘Ludicrous! Why is she trying to reframe this story? Versace was the most famous designer in the world.’

What a lot to unpick, and what a fascinating illustration of how, as the Queen once said, recollections may vary.

However, what is indisputable is that Aslett has had the most extraordinary life.

The son of a mechanical engineer, he reckons he got his showbiz side from his mum, who ran a dance school.

Aslett dressed everyone from members of Duran Duran (pictured) to European royals, with some A-listers easier to deal with than others

Aslett dressed everyone from members of Duran Duran (pictured) to European royals, with some A-listers easier to deal with than others

Another highlight from this era was meeting David Bowie. 'He said "Hello, I'm David". He wasn't Star Man. He was just an ordinary guy from Bromley'

Another highlight from this era was meeting David Bowie. ‘He said “Hello, I’m David”. He wasn’t Star Man. He was just an ordinary guy from Bromley’

He's also met David Beckham who he described as a 'really nice guy. Down to earth. Has never changed'

He’s also met David Beckham who he described as a ‘really nice guy. Down to earth. Has never changed’

He and his identical twin brother did dabble in entertainment as children, both working as models for magazines and TV adverts, ‘one for Carnation milk’.

His first break into the fashion world came when he was taken on by designer Antony Price.

‘One of the things I did, that others on the shop floor didn’t, was learn to pin, which proved to be so valuable. When clients came in for fittings, I could help.’

Price was feted as an image-maker as much as a designer, but had old school construction standards (‘Exquisite. There were no zip issues in his dresses. They could have been engineered by Brunel’).

He dressed everyone from members of Duran Duran to European royals, with some A-listers easier to deal with than others.

‘Jonny Mathis was the dream. He came in, bought a suit and ordered half a dozen more, in different fabrics. We had them shipped out to him in Honolulu.’

It was here Aslett got to help dress his idol, singer Bryan Ferry. ‘A proper gent. I was in awe, but he was amazing. I remember playing football with his kids in his garden.’

Another highlight from this era was meeting David Bowie. ‘He said “Hello, I’m David”. He wasn’t Star Man. He was just an ordinary guy from Bromley.’

From Antony Price, Aslett moved to Versace. ‘Very bling. It was all Elton and sheiks with money stuffed in Sainsbury’s carrier bags.’

Then he moved to Gucci, then to a parallel career as a personal shopper and stylist in Selfridges. Where, as well as helping Prince William buy TV box sets, he met his old friend Liz Hurley.

‘She said, “Where do I know you from, darling?” and I said “I’m Dean. I put you in that dress”. Her face just fell. It would have been nice to get a hug, but she just went cold.’

Also cold was Margaret Thatcher. Hold on, Dean. You pinned Mrs T? ‘Oh no, I didn’t dress her, I went to a function at 10 Downing Street with Antony Price, but I don’t think she liked people in the fashion industry.’

He thinks she particularly didn’t like gay men in fashion, which he was. ‘A lot of women do flirt, but that doesn’t work on queens, and it didn’t work on us.’

Whizzing through Aslett’s career is like a revision course in celebrity culture. He remembers the 1990s, when footballers of the day ‘the Graeme Sounesses and Paul Inces’ bought Versace, ‘by the bucketload’.

One of his most vivid memories is of being on his hands and knees in front of Diana, Princess of Wales, at Kensington Palace, adjusting the skirt of her gown

One of his most vivid memories is of being on his hands and knees in front of Diana, Princess of Wales, at Kensington Palace, adjusting the skirt of her gown

Circa 2005, he would be working as head of personal shopping at Selfridges and one of his most famous customers was Prince William

Circa 2005, he would be working as head of personal shopping at Selfridges and one of his most famous customers was Prince William

‘It’s funny because now the footballers are pop stars, but then they were a bit naff. A lot didn’t even get discounts.’

Then a certain footballer called David Beckham came on the scene ‘and everything changed’. Has he met him? Of course he has.

‘Really nice guy. Down to earth. Has never changed.’ Victoria? ‘I first remember her coming in the Gucci store in about 1996, wearing this long leather coat, like you’d get off a market stall. But both she and David were very nice to me.

‘I did meet her a few years later and she had become… rather grand, a bit Anna Wintour. Dark sunglasses. People do change. You see that a lot.’

Aslett must have seen some dubious behaviour, too. We can’t name the star whose cheque bounced when she tried to buy shoes. Or the serial returner-of-goods (who is a national treasure).

‘Versace never did returns but she’d come in with things she’d bought in Milan and we’d have to return them. We suspected they’d been worn.

‘Once, in my personal shopper days, she asked me to send her a dress then sent it back saying it wasn’t right. I opened OK! magazine a few weeks later, and there she was wearing it.’

You get the sense the fashion world rather chewed Aslett up and spat him out. He still works occasionally as a stylist but has returned to his first love, music, which he insists isn’t as unusual as it seems.

‘It was the music that got me into fashion in the first place,’ he says.

His irritation at how that world has changed can’t have been helped by the shocking murder of Gianni Versace by the serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who then took his own life.

Aslett and Versace weren’t friends, but, by chance, Aslett happened to be in Miami on holiday in 1997 and bumped into Gianni in a cinema foyer.

‘One of those random coincidences. He couldn’t place me. I said “Dean, from the London store!” and he went “La Deana!”. He had this thing about feminising names.

‘We chatted and he said I should come round the next weekend for an aperitif. The next day, in my hotel, I put on the news and there it was on the screen. Gianni Versace dead.’

He gave witness statements to the FBI. He shakes his head at the conspiracy theories that have run wild since.

‘I don’t know about any of that. I’m a man who sells dresses and fits glamorous women in them.’

He’s still a dab hand with those pins, too. We end with him recalling the society wedding where he had to descend the stairs of the Dorchester Hotel behind a bride and do an emergency repair in situ, as the cameras snapped.

‘It was a close call. Her mother had said she would slap me if anything went wrong but the bride was wearing this cropped, back-to-front jacket and the button had come off.

‘If it had fallen off her, she would have trampled on it, or we could all have fallen down the stairs.’ He shudders. What saved the day? A trusty safety pin, of course.

First interview in four years with Quiet Storm (aka Dean Aslett) talking about his  hit track ‘Lady Show Me’ and what’s in store for the future.

‘Lady Show Me’ has achieved amazing success and hit Number 8 in the Commercial Pop Charts sandwiched between artists such as Madonna, Pink, David Guetta and sparring partner to Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse & Duran Duran, producer Mark Ronson.

Xposed Vocals NYC catches up with QUIET STORM aka Dean Aslett at Cibo Restaurant in Russell Gardens, London W12.

Xposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up?

Quiet Storm: Croydon, South London as a child to young adult. I know Croydon always gets a bad rap now but I had a great time growing up there. I immersed myself in music from the late 70s onwards. New Wave was a particular influence on me throughout this period to the early 80s. I absorbed a lot of music fro this period to start with – David Bowie, Roxy Music, Blondie, David Sylvian, Duran Duran, Visage, Soft Cell, Ultravox, The Cure & The Cult etc. But by the late 80s (with my introduction/immersion in to Mykonos culture) I became heavily into Euro Pop & Dance Music.

Many of my friends shared the same love for music, fashion growing up and in my teens there were some great places to go – Croydon Indoor Market which was very fashionista, eclectic second hand cloth stalls mixed with young designer talent, it was very much of that time like Kensington Market or Camden Market in the 80s and I met a lot people who shared similar interests in fashion, music and going out. There were a few influential haunts in Croydon, The Swamp and Tbe Underground but really we all wanted to be up in the West End, going out clubbing! I also had a Saturday job when i was 17 in 1988, up town working as a sales assistant in Jones, Floral Street, Covent Garden (one of the first multi brand designer fashion stores) selling Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, Commes des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto etc

Xposed Vocals: What made you decide to become an artist?

Quiet Storm: Namely, the album Bryan Ferry released in 1985, Boys & Girls. I  played it incessantly. It had a huge impact on me.

Xposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Quiet Storm: I was working a junior assistant (19 years of age 1989) for Antony Price at his Couture showroom in Brook Street (bang opposite Claridges), Mayfair, London when Graham Ball, a club promoter came in and invited me to his new club called QUIET STORM. I loved it there. It played eclectic soulful dance stuff, really cool. Alas, the club closed in 1991 but I loved the name, QUIET STORM  and it stuck with me ever since. I have a Daily Express (British Newspaper) interview by David Wigg (showbiz correspondent) who wrote a tiny piece about my band, QUIET STORM in 1992 to prove it if anyone thinks otherwise, as since then, there’s a few business out there with the same name.  I don’t mind, it never stopped OASIS! (there is a beverage company called Oasis and also a ladies’ fashion brand)

Xposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Quiet Storm: If you’re a new act trying to build a profile, you have to get yourself out there. It’s vital. People have told me the dangers but music sharing has always been there in the ANALOG (pre digital age) as well with bootlegs etc. I think you you just have to go with it. You will have ups and downs along the way but you should put yourself out there and be shameless. There are no rules and regulations in the “Pop” world.

Xposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Quiet Storm: Take your time to get the best product you can do. Choose your producer wisely for sure! And keep going!!!! Lady Gaga’s famous quote, “it only takes one person out of a thousand to notice you”  is true. She was right. AudioFreaks noticed me, believed in me and then rooted for me and now I have a UK Top 10 hit. AMAZING! Pray continue!!!

Xposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Quiet Storm: There’s been deeply embarrassing moments (TOUCH WOOD) but not so much now as I only do PAs with live vocals and maybe live guitar.

Xposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

Quiet Storm: Well my PA performances in Mykonos sometimes incorporate drag queens to help support me! I did a lot of gigs in London earlier this year at venues like the Royal Vauxhall.

Xposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Quiet Storm: Well, I always carry a little book, just to catch words, phrases and jot them down. I like to write in the evening mainly as it’s more mysterious and has atmosphere. I write on Garageband on my Mac now and just plug a keyboard, drum machine and mic and just groove in to it. The simpler the process to write, the better for me. My guitarist Matt may then come round and we try out a few ideas with him jamming. Sometimes nothing happens but when it does, it usually happens really fast and we can have the outline of a song together (rough sketch) in 5 minutes. I then usually work on the lyrics and refine melody afterwards. But I don’t labour over melodies for too long. If it’s not sounding natural then it is never going to work. Lyrics though can be a real pain and take forever. One song took me 15 years to complete the lyrics!!!

I then work up the songs to a point where I have done all I can before handing them over to Steve Emney, my producer who dismantles them and we either re model them or re build them from scratch. So a song may go through three evolutions before it is finished. Take “Lady Show Me”, that song went through about 10 evolutions over 29 years!

Xposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Quiet Storm: For sure, quietstormusic.com (one “m”)

Xposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Quiet Storm: I don’t have an MP3 player. I’m not a massive fan of the format as it has a tendency to squash/compress the music too much.But embarrassing songs, I don’t know if it’s embarrassing but the first record I bought as a seven year old child was “Let’s have a quiet night In” by David Soul. LOL!

Xposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Quiet Storm: I am happiest when I am making records so I’d be back in the studio in a heartbeat.

Xposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

Quiet Storm: Logic pro mainly now. We are always looking at new equipment. My producer has to hide them from his Mrs (it’s like her hiding Christian Louibiton shoes and Givenchy handbags from him) LOL.

Xposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Quiet Storm: I have a wonderful music promotion company called AudiFreaks who put heat on the record in a major way.  Not only have they promoted the record, they completed a strong remix package with contributions from DASCO, ferKKo and Soulshaker as well as our own mixes. For “Lady Show Me”, I am personally trying to meet every DJ at every bar, club in Mykonos (I have been back and forth all summer) to get it played. I even gave it to a SuperMarket opposite Mykonos airport because they always play chill out music in there. The record gains it’s commercial international release on Friday 6th September 2019! It is licenced to three record labels across three territories – Tazmani Records (USA), Made2Dance (Northern Europe) & Clippers Sounds (Spain/Ibiza)

Xposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Quiet Storm: Oh I don’t know. Probably Modern Talking -they make me smile!!!

Xposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Quiet Storm: Well, I had two failed attempts to release the 1st album back in 2015 and 2016. Since then, it had just been gathering dust on the shelf. However, I have recently gone back to the sessions and we are in the process of remixing the 1st album for a re release hopefully next year. People ask me why release “Lady Show Me” again. Why not one of my other songs?” Call it intuition or bloody mindedness but I always believed “Lady Show Me” would be the break through 1st song.

Xposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Quiet Storm: I spend all my spare time in the garden and have green fingers now.

Xposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

Quiet Storm: “Dance” by Gary Numan (I was eleven back in 1981)  I loved the cinematic slant to that album. My brother had his previous one, “Telekon” in 1980, the year before which was a lot darker in tone and was equally adored.

Xposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Quiet Storm: Just try to be as organised as possible. “Don’t leave to tomorrow what you can do today!”

Xposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2019?

Quiet Storm: We start a Club/Radio campaign towards the end of this year for a second single called, “I Could Almost Cry Now”.  We aim to release it internationally in Spring 2020. As well this and the debut album, I have been writing a follow up second album. I started work on it back in 2016, immediately after finishing the first one. It started out being recorded quite modestly at a small studio in West London. This was intentional as the 1st album was recorded across various countries in Europe. That may sound glamorous but in the end the amount of travel became a sophisticated way of torturing myself. I originally thought that it would be a very fast record to make, a short sprint but what seems to my natural process now is to keep refining things. It has swung in so many different directions. I suppose that’s the nightmare of modern technology in music – there’s just endless possibility. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the recording sessions are more or less completed before we begin the next stage of production & mixing, so time will tell…