Dean Evenson
Artist Bio:
Dean Evenson is one of the true visionaries of the Ambient/New Age musical genre--a prolific musician and composer, an entrepreneur, media pioneer and the co-founder of Billboard-charting independent music label, Soundings of the Planet. At every turn, Evenson's life has taken bold steps in new and exciting directions. The success and pioneering nature of his creative work attest to a dynamic personality and a life-long commitment to the positive evolution of life on this planet in relationship with the natural and spiritual world. Evenson's story is that of an artist, technological innovator, broad-minded thinker--a modern-day Renaissance man.
Founding The Music Label
After many years of living the life of nomadic video pioneers, Dean and Dudley finally settled for a time atop 10,000-foot Mount Lemmon, just outside Tucson, Arizona. They founded their own music label, Soundings of the Planet in 1979, and began selling homemade tapes at swap meets and health food stores to fulfill their vision of "Peace Through Music," which became the company motto. Their beautiful, peaceful music often incorporated recordings of natural sounds--streams, bird-songs, wind, ocean waves--and the young company began to define the emerging New Age musical genre.
Musical Achievements
After years of organic growth, Soundings of the Planet has become a tremendous success, producing seven consecutive Billboard-charting albums, and being selected as a Billboard Top 10 Indie Label three years in a row. Dean himself has produced over 10 albums of his own music, including Billboard-charting Forest Rain, Desert Moon Song, Ocean Dreams, and Wind Dancer (with keyboardist Tom Barabas). Evenson's music has been selected for film scores, including the soundtrack to the PBS mini-series, "The Way West," and Disney's "Jungle Book" preview. The Windham Hill music label included Dean's music on Path, its recent ambient music sampler. In addition, Evenson further combines his technical skills with artistic creativity, pursuing state-of-the-art music and multimedia productions, and by directing, producing and recording numerous albums by other Soundings Ensemble musicians--including vocalist Lorellei, whose collaboration with Dean marks a dynamic, new development for both artists. Evenson is renowned as a virtuoso composer, flautist and synthesizer artist, and uses his position in the music industry to promote environmental awareness, social justice and responsible business practices.
The Ongoing Vision
Dean's life has taken many unexpected twists and has led him and his family through many remarkable, ground-breaking experiences. The same philosophy that led to their unpredictable success and vitality in the past is what continues to guide him. Dean explains, "I've always wanted to do the best thing for the planet and what I do is in service. I don't have a lot of projections about what I'm supposed to be doing or where I should be going. I just follow my inner purpose and personal vision. It's the intuition, the learning, the inner knowing of which way to go that is the important pathmark for us." Maintaining that devotion to inner vision and the positive evolution of the planet in the '90s continues to guide Dean and Dudley Evenson and their growing music label.