Steven grew up with African percussion as his mother was involved with African dancing. Because of this he came into contact with African rhythms from an early age onwards and he had the opportunity to learn from master drummers Aly N’Diaye Rose (Senegal) and Barbara Bangoura (Guinee). Working on his skills as a musician he undertook multiple trips to Guinee, Senegal, Brazil and Curacao and furthered and deepened his knowledge of the rhythms and ability as a percussionist.



But African percussion is not Steven’s only passion, he also developed a passion for Latin music. Latin percussionist Roberto Quintero is the one who really inspired him in this genre and taught him, in private lessons, the importance of practice and structure. Because of this methodological approach to percussion Steven’s technique and improvisation on the instruments (Latin and African) is remarkable and impressive.



Currently Steven is touring with the band KOFFIE and Cirque Valentin, but for the past two years he has also performed on a regular basis with bands like The Re:Freshed Orchestra and Charanga 214. Not only does he tour with KOFFIE he also played a big role on their second album that they recorded in Berlin. Steven can also be heard on the upcoming album of New York’s hottest band Snarky Puppy for which he recorded as a guest musician in Kyteman’s studio (Kytopia). The CD is scheduled to be released in January 2014.



All these projects made Steven into the versatile percussionist he is today. Another example of his versatility are clips, recorded for Latin Percussion (LP) founded by Martin Cohen, in which he works together with Brazilian percussionist Julio Hagen Pimentel. Together they seamlessly mix their own musical backgrounds into one coherent performance. It is not surprising that Steven puts high value on being innovative and tries to mix different styles and rhythms throughout all his musical endeavours.