(from http://www.mp3.com)



Darius Delivers A Unified Musical Vision
By Steven P. Wheeler (08/19/99)

In the mold of multi-instrumentalist recording artists like Prince
and Stevie
Wonder--the types who like to take total command of their own
particular artistic
vision--a 22-year-old producer/musician/artist who goes by the name
of Darius is
effectively paving his own way to success, not unlike the
aforementioned icons.



"What struck me the most about Prince and Stevie Wonder was that they
had
their own sonic identity," the New York-based artist comments. "You
always
knew from the first note that it was their song--everything from the
synths to the
backing vocals to the drum programming had their DNA all over it. I
usually have a
very specific idea of how I want something to sound and the most
exact way of
replicating that is to do it myself.



"I must admit that I was more influenced by Prince's star power," he
adds, "the
sheer audacity of his lyrics, music and style was always a lot more
potent to me."



Upon hearing the appealing songs that make up Darius's first solo
album, "Give It 2 U," which hit the streets this past
June, it becomes clear that "the Artist" has played a significant
role in the musical development of this newly-arisen
musician. In fact, one could identify Darius's music as what might
happen if Jamiroquai met Prince by way of Seal.
And the results are just as pleasant as you'd expect from such a
musical manage of that caliber.



Although he's young by recording artist standards, Darius has already
made quite a name for himself, from the Big
Apple to London, with a transcontinental career that involves his
production work and songwriting skills, alongside his
solo recordings.



"I'm usually writing and recording wherever I am," Darius explains.
"The last trip to London was for label and publishing
meetings. What's cool is that while I was there I worked on a backing
track with some London producers and had to
come back to NYC before the vocals were done. So I wound up recording
the vocals in New York, and then e-mailed
the MP3 of my vocals to them. They downloaded and then mixed the full
track, and three days later I got back a full
mix of the song as an MP3."



Darius also recently wrapped writing and production duties with
MCA/Universal artist Rachid, although he admits that
he prefers to work on his own: "I absolutely prefer being a recording
artist--to have the chance to create and hone your
own vision. However, I do enjoy producing others. It's a very
rewarding experience to get somebody to open up in front
of you and feel comfortable sharing their dreams."



Despite his connections within the record industry, Darius points to
the advent and growing popularity of distribution
alternatives, so don't go looking for this young veteran to sign on
the dotted line any time soon. "The more I understood
about [MP3], the more I saw that it was an avenue for somebody in my
position," the singer relates. "It's definitely
helpful to get feedback on my songs and see how they fare in the
charts. It's a lot better than having my songs just
sitting collecting dust in some A&R office. It's an empowering
experience."



In fact, Darius says now that he's "very wary" of the more
traditional record deal, pointing to the experiences of others
over the years. "I have seen friends sign with a major and then wait
two years to make a record that gets so changed
that they don't even recognize their own songs. And then it doesn't
get released or is badly promoted. The artistic
community definitely needs to gain more control over this industry."



And that's what artists like Darius seem determined to do in the
future. As he puts it, "I'd like to continue growing my
online presence and seeing how I can tie everything together. In five
years time, I'd like to be Number One."