Stephen Devassy | |
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Background information | |
Born | Ottapalam, Kerala, India | 23 February 1981
Occupations | |
Years active | 1998–present |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Member of |
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Website | stephendevassy |
Stephen Devassy (born 23 February 1981) is an Indian musician hailing from Palakkad, Kerala.[1] He started his career at a very early age, and has performed on stage around the world. Stephen is the founder of Musik Lounge,[2] an audio technology school and studio in Chennai. [3][4]
Stephen did his schooling at Seventh Day Adventist school, Ottapalam. He went on to NSS College, Ottapalam for pursuing his Pre-Degree [5].And Stephen married Jesna Joy[6] on 16 November 2010.
Stephen Devassy's first major break came when he was aged 18, through Johny Sagarika, for whom he did the music orchestration of six songs on the album Ishtamannu. He then went as an accompanying artist to play the keyboard for Hariharan on his European tour. He has also accompanied the violin maestro L. Subramanian at the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival.[7][8][9]
At age 19, he started a music band called Seven, with singer Franco Simon and guitarist Sangeeth Pavithran. An Indian pop band, they released an album titled YehZindagani [10]
Stephen, who started performing at a young age, has done the music arrangement for many films. Some of the films he scored were Majaa, Thambi, Nammal, Azhagiya Thamizh Magan, Hariharan's album, Waqt Par Bolna and so on.[11]
Hariharan Pillai Happy Aanu (2003) was his debut music directorial venture in Malayalam. Lyrics were written by famous young lyricst Rajeev Alunkal. The film "KQ" [12] (2013) by Baiju Johnson, a story of two hard working friends also had a touch of Stephen's music. He also composed the music for Neerali,[13] the survival thriller film released in 2018 and three songs for the 2023 neo-noir action thriller Pakalum Paathiravum.[14] In 2024, he composed a song for the Malayalam legal drama Gumasthan.[15]
He is one of the regular band members in Rexband,[16] a Christian contemporary band singing gospel fusion, a musical outreach of the Jesus Youth Movement. He performed with the band before Pope John Paul II during World Youth Day performance in 2002 at Canada. At the time, it was the only catholic band invited from India. Stephen has orchestrated an instrumental version of the popular Rexband melodies called Different Vibes.[17]
In association with Kosmic Music,[18] Stephen has also set to tune to a background of Western music, Sanskrit slokas, mantras and verses from the Upanishads, called Sacred Chants of Kosmic Music, and albums of holy chants on Ganesha, Shiva and Vishnu.[19]
He has released his album Romanza, which was a mix of world music sprinkled with the flavor of piano. Indian ragas have been treated with the rich use of contemporary piano. Hariharan, Ouseppachan and a Russian vocalist appeared as guest artists on the album.[20]
Stephen's solo stage shows have propelled him to the top league of onstage performers.[21]
Stephen did the role of an ideal judge in Amrita TV show Superstar Junior (2016),[22] Top Singer (2018-2019) of Flowers channel and Star Singer on Asianet.
Featured on 5Talents Magazine Cover Page With His Life Story – 2013[23]
The Icon of Inspiration Music – Behindwoods Gold Mic Award – 2019[24]
Year | Title | Director | Actors | Language |
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2003 | Hariharan Pillai Happy Aanu | Viswanathan Vaduthala | Mohanlal, Jyothirmayi | Malayalam |
2010 | KQ | Baiju Johnson | Parvathy Omanakuttan, Baiju Johnson | Malayalam |
2010 | College Days (Background score only) | Jiyen Krishnakumar | Indrajith, Biju Menon | Malayalam |
2018 | Neerali | Ajoy Varma | Mohanlal, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Nadhiya | Malayalam |
2023 | Pakalum Paathiravum | Ajai Vasudev | Kunchacko Boban, Rajisha Vijayan, Guru Somasundaram | Malayalam |
2024 | Gumasthan | Amal K Joby | Bibin George, Dileesh Pothan | Malayalam[25] |
Kannappa † | Mukesh Kumar Singh | Vishnu Manchu, Mohan Babu, R. Sarathkumar, Madhoo, Mohanlal, Prabhas | Telugu[26] |
Programme Name | Year | TV Channel | Language | Notes |
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Super Star Season 1 | 2006 | Amrita T V | Malayalam | Guest/Arranger/Judge/Performer |
Super Singer Season 1 | 2008 | STAR Vijay | Tamil | Guest |
Top Singer | 2018–2019 | Flowers | Malayalam | Judge |
Indian Idol Season 12 | 2020–2021 | Sony TV | Hindi | Guest |
Star Singer | 2021–2023 | Asianet | Malayalam | Judge |
Super Singer Season 8 | 2021 | STAR Vijay | Tamil | Guest |
Super Singer Junior 8 | 2022 | STAR Vijay | Tamil | Guest |