Selan

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For the fictional character from the Al-Qadim campaign setting of Dungeons & Dragons, see Selan (Dungeons & Dragons). For the village in Albania, see Selan, Albania.

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Selan
Birth nameSelan Lerner
Also known asSelonius, Selonius Funk
Origin Queens, New York, U.S.
Genres R&B, Pop, House, Electronica, Soul, Rock
Years active1996present
LabelsArticon Records, Vega Records

Selan (born Selan Lerner in Queens, New York, United States) is a Grammy and Platinum-certified American musician, singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, musical director and record producer, who is known for combining electronic, pop, and soul music. He possesses perfect pitch and musical total recall, also known as eidetic memory. He is of Trinidadian and Jewish heritage.

Career

Selan has collaborated extensively with "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzales of the house music production team Masters at Work. Notably he plays the extended keyboard improvisation on the Masters at Work remix of Nina Simone's "See-Line Woman" which appears on the successful 2002 Verve Remixed collection. He also plays the extended keyboard solos on the DJ Spinna remix of Betty Carter's "Naima's Love Song", which appears on the 2003 follow-up Verve Remixed 2 collection. Selan co-wrote the music for most of DJ Spinna's Intergalactic Soul album, which was released in 2006 on Shanachie Records. He also co-produced, co-wrote and was a featured artist on "Back 2 U", a standout track on that same album.

His 2004 single "Unconditional Love," produced by DJ Spinna, was released on the Wonderwax record label. Selan's solo single "Gravity" was released in 2005 on Louie Vega's Vega Records. He is the co-writer of the song "Focus" which appears on Concrete Rose , the 2004 album by American R&B singer Ashanti. He also appears as a co-writer on the songs "Marathon" and "Desire" which appear on the 2007 Grammy Award-nominated second album Love Behind the Melody by Raheem DeVaughn.

As a side musician, he has performed with Adele, Bono, Alejandro Sanz, Toni Braxton, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, R&B singer Joe, Stevie Wonder and Roy Ayers. He has recorded with and/or for Kanye West, Aaliyah, David Byrne, Earth, Wind and Fire, R. Kelly, Musiq Soulchild and many others. Selan's keyboard work on the house remix for Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" helped DJ/producer Louie Vega win the 2006 Grammy Award for 'Best Remix'. He has been a member of Little Louie Vega's Elements of Life Band, and also Nile Rodgers' legendary disco/R&B group Chic. He was the keyboardist and backing vocalist for these groups.

Selan joined Adele's band as her keyboardist in January 2009, which included doing her first US tour and also a performance with her at the 2009 Grammy Awards. In June 2009, Selan became a member of Nile Rodgers' legendary disco/R&B group, Chic as a keyboardist and background vocalist.

In September 2011, Selan joined the house band as a keyboardist, vocalist and trumpet player for Rosie O'Donnell's The Rosie Show , which aired on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network. The show was cancelled in March 2012.

On August 8, 2012, Selan released his debut album, Space Flight, which features contributions from Nile Rodgers, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, M1, Emily King and MJ (formerly known as Melissa Jimenez).

Selan made the decision to leave Chic in 2014, stepping away from his career as a side musician. His left the group on good terms, citing the need to spend time in raising a family. He shifted his career to focus on music production, his solo career, filmmaking and other business ventures. Selan is currently developing TV shows, short films and documentaries.

During an eight-week period in 2015, Selan was the second keyboardist as part of the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert .

Selan is currently completing his debut house music album, is the founder of Creative Arts Complex (a proposed arts facility that will be located in Manhattan, NY), the creator of an upcoming live concert series and also a music-based TV series. He is a vegan, an activist for human and animal rights and an advocate for protecting the environment.

Selan is a Yamaha artist that endorses their keyboards.

Solo discography

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