Bio

Stewart Allan is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Aotearoa, New Zealand.

From singing behind the Iron Curtain, touring Japan and New Zealand as well as directing and writing music for stage and screen, he sings, plays guitar, piano and sitar.

Stewart began his career with a performance of an original song Younger Days for Queen Elizabeth II at the Ellerslie Racecourse as part of her NZ tour in 1986.
He represented New Zealand at the 1988 Sopot Music festival in Poland (then known as the Eastern Block version of Eurovision). Performing in front of a crowd of 30,000 and a TV audience of over 100 million, he went on to win the Best New Artist Award with his original song Can’t You See, produced by Jacek Sylwin and Kiwi Producer Alan Jansson (OMC - How Bizarre).

Staying behind the Iron Curtain for six months at the age of 20, he was invited to be a guest performer for Lithuania’s first beauty competition (Ms Lietuva) as the country began to emerge from Soviet control. During a brutally cold Polish winter he worked with Polish rock star Obywatel GC (Citizen GC) on an album that debuted at the Cannes film festival in 1989.

Returning to NZ, manager Paul Ellis took him into the fold. There, he met Shona Laing, eventually singing backing vocals on her anti-war song Banned from the 1992 album New On Earth (Columbia/Sony). During the 90's, he played in various original bands, performing a sell-out show at Ponsonby’s Gluepot and at one point finding himself as the piano accompanist for The Diamond Lil Drag comedy Show. In 1990 he flew to Los Angeles and competed in the Hollywood-based show Star Search, making the top three against an international field. In 1993, he recorded and released a self-funded album New Moon. Provisionally signed to Edge/Sony Records, he recorded his first single Never Be the Same, produced by Steve Garden.

At the age of 25, Stewart went back to University to finish his Music degree, majoring in composition. Throwing himself into the world of secondary school music education, he taught and mentored groups such as Adeaze and concert pianist Sylvia Jiang, all the while continuing his song writing and composing. His passion has been to gift his knowledge and wisdom to thousands of young musicians as a teacher and mentor.

As a composer, he has been offered several commissions for orchestra, choirs and large-scale multi-media live performances including a Centenary theme and a water ballet. These have been performed at schools and public events including the Auckland Town Hall. His choral works have been performed on national radio and television. As one of the few sitar players in NZ, he was invited to perform The Beatles’ Within Without You as part of Mike Chunn’s A Strange Days Night in 2014. In 2012 Stewart was musical Director of The Big Rethink at Q Theatre and has kept a close association with the area of Mental Health, including sound design for the live installations such as Hearing Voices and music for Rakau Roroa – an interactive mental health education platform.

In 2010, Stewart collaborated with close friend Anton Morgan on his second album Shimmer. Mastered at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, the songs brimmed with gorgeous melodies and Beatle-esque touches. The songs were unveiled through a range of events in Anton’s hometown Kuala Lumpur and Stewart’s local Titirangi Festival of Music.

Stewart started working on his current album, 9 Rooms, in 2018. Looking to create a unique sound for the album, he sought out ambient guitarist /producer Arli Lieberman, and recording began with the track The End is the Start. The synergy in sound worlds was clear from the beginning and the two agreed to work on the rest of the 9 Rooms album.

The single Shall We Dance was released on April 29, 2021. The accompanying video has to this point received over 50 000 views. Two further singles have been released since, Silver Wings and Glow. The album 9 Rooms is to be released on Rattle records in October 2021.

Links

• Artist Website
• Facebook Page
• Youtube Page
• Bandcamp Page
• SoundCloud Page
• Spotify Page
• Apple Music Page