Life is currently a whirlwind for 18-year-old Ian Stevan Muhayimana, with his urban beats getting a lot of attention.
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The R&B singer/songwriter goes simply by the name of Stevan. The University of Wollongong student has been signed to record labels in Australia and the United States, and is about to embark on his first national tour supporting Winston Surfshirt.
"I've been trying to do it for so long, and we've come close to moments like this before," he said. "Now that it is happening I just feel so proud."
His publicist has likened his urban beats to be like Frank Ocean and Childish Gambino. While some of Stevan's first melodies he fell in love with were from his father's cassette collection such as Bob Marley, Al Green and Stevie Wonder.
Stevan has taught himself to play drums, guitar, bass and piano - "enough to make a whole song" he joked - with his first songs appearing on Soundcloud from when he was about 13-years-old.
Posting tunes to the audio distribution platform was all he needed to do to get plenty of followers and the attention of agents.
"That's where people started sending me emails like 'oh, we're interested in management'," he said.
A US manager was the first to get the ball rolling for the singer, with Australian industry representatives taking note more recently.
Stevan said there had been some opportunities to launch his career a few years ago, though he and his parents decided to hang on until he was completely ready.
Now he's finished high school and can't wait to see what the music industry will bring, the buzz is a little "overwhelming" yet very exciting at the same time.
Recently Triple J's music director Richard Kingsmill gave the Wollongong musician one of the biggest props he could ask for - a five star rating for his new song Timee.
"I haven't gone for the 5 star rating for a while," Kingsmill posted on the Unearthed website.
"[Timee] captures that Frank Ocean/Tyler/Steve Lacy laid back vibe that I love so much. Plus it comes from the unlikely of places in Wollongong, which just adds that surprise ingredient which every music fan loves."
Opportunities have arisen to spend time recording in a commercial studio, but Stevan said he feels more comfortable at home - where all his songs have so far been constructed.
"I did it all in my place, just in my room," he said. "In studios it's like you're there to do something and there's a little bit more pressure because you're, like, paying a lot of money to be there."
Stevan's home studio is literally a corner in his bedroom with a desk, laptop and equipment to plug in various instruments.
Stevan's song Timee is out now, while you can catch him supporting Winston Surfshirt at the UOW UniBar on June 7.