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.