Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
I first heard of Stephen when his version of Hello by Adele went viral late last year. The cover stood out for its groovy and intricately-produced indie-rock sound. It was clearly not just a hastily-recorded cash-in, but instead an impressive introduction to a promising new artist. The 24-year-old singer and multi-instumentalist has since managed to top the cover’s success (though sadly not its quality) with his original track Crossfire, which has 5 million plays on Spotify and 4 million on Soundcloud. The video for the single was released last week, and his album is out tomorrow via LA-based independent label Halfway House. Previously known as a producer under his full name Stephen Swartz, he released a popular (but very cheesy) dance track called Bullet Train and remixes for artists such as Krewella. The change to simply being Stephen seems fitting for a move to a more organic sound.