While we ache in grief for the loss of our friend, we pay tribute and celebrate a life unforgotten and well lived.
#hugyourlovedonesclose
March 20, 2022 was forecasted as a sunny day, but for the electronic music community, our hearts were breaking, and our skies were certainly gray. During hospitalization, our selecta DJ, Steve Brown, passed away. While we ache in grief for the loss of our friend, we pay tribute and celebrate a life unforgotten and well lived.
Steve Brown is survived by his wife Nalani Bulla Brown and his children Connor Matthew Brown, Savannah Corrine Brown, Zoe Hannah Brown, Ellie Faith Brown, and April Grace Brown. This is a very difficult and traumatic time for his family. We send our heartfelt prayers and condolences to them and wish them strength to bear this irreparable loss.
In 1995, Steve Brown rose to prominence as a DJ at North Carolina State University’s campus radio station, WKNC 88.1FM in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1996, he established his own electronic music program called AfterHours, spinning records from midnight until 3:00 in the morning. He positioned himself as the genre’s first music director by airing high-quality electronic music.
Since 2020, Steve Brown has collaborated with his friends Mike Griffin and Florence Meuleman-Griffin of East Coast Underground (WECU) web-based radio station and Record label. He held his monthly show called Sonic Landscapes playing the very best of electro, electronica, ambient, synthwave, idm, edm and trip-hop music. He also worked alongside other WECU radio hosts such as Heft and Meaux Andromeda. Each month, Steve Brown invited guest artists from all around the world to join him for engaging interviews and to feature their musical works. He has interviewed such names as: ADJ, Plant 43, Blixaboy, Carl Finlow, Ruxpin, Erika Tele, Mick Chillage, Mrs. Jynx, Alka, and Jon Kennedy to name only a few.
(WKNC crew: Dave Thompson, Steve Brown, David Hogan, Matias Eifert, and Rob Rossseau)
Steve Brown’s vast knowledge of electronic music was evident in the conversations you had with him and the music he played, spanning: idm, electronica, edm, electro, synthwave, ambient, and trip-hop. Numerous artists who were featured on his shows were also artists he impacted personally and professionally. He was an absolute legend who is loved by so many. With his presence and music, the world was a happier place. Countless people from all around the world have expressed their sorrow at the loss of such a contributor to the global electronic community:
“Steve loved to reach out to others often and put a lot of work into including people to create a community. Steve had an insatiable appetite for music. His emotional curiosity gave him the perception of understanding the feelings behind the music he shared with his audience” ~ Florence Meuleman, the co-owner of East Coast Underground label and web radio station
“Steve’s passion for sharing music was just as infectious as it was inspiring. He enthusiastically gave a voice to underground artists through his show out of sheer love for the art. No hidden agendas. Just a sincere music fan. The music world would be a better place with more people following his example. Truly an outstanding human and role model. We honor him by continuing to pay it forward. He is quite the role model for being a good human.” ~ Wanz Dover as Blixaboy
“The biggest impact Steve had on me was just being a friend when I was going through a dark time. I don’t think he really realized it, but he helped me make sense of a confusing and difficult time in my life. He showed me that kindness and love is the best way to approach life.” ~ Chris Nolan a friend
“I think Steve found an escape in music that all of us can relate to. The sonic orchestras take us far away from the world if we let them. Steve found that beautiful music and bestowed it upon us to enjoy with him.” ~ DJ Rob Rousseau of WKNC 88.1 FM
“Steve was a bright shining light within the electronic music scene as enthusiastic and endlessly supportive. He was full of knowledge, and it was always lovely to chat with him – not only about music, but about life in general.” ~ Jonas Thor Gudmundsson as Ruxpin
“While we never met in person, I feel I have lost a good friend. Your enthusiasm and passion for music will never be forgotten and I will miss our chats about music and life and your messages of support. I really hope that you knew how much the electronic music scene appreciated you. Not just as a brilliant DJ and radio host but as a kind and caring human being.” ~ Emile Facey as Plant 43
“Steve would often reach out to me asking about up and coming releases and was always so positive about what he was listening to on Touched Music, and all my other side labels. His electronica knowledge was second to none. He knew all the artists and acts I was into and was very in-depth with his feedback. A true fan, a loyal servant, an electronic music purist and without a doubt a true gent, he was and will be missed.” ~ Martin Boulton of Touched Music Record Label
Steve Brown was a mate, collaborator, and friend. Networking with him about music was considered a pleasure. He was truly the electronic music encyclopedia. According to his son, Steve Brown’s passion for electronic music was infectious in the family home:
“Dad lived his life to a soundtrack. It seems like he’s wearing headphones in at least half of the photos I see of him. He brought the party with him, even to something as inane as washing dishes—he would blast his music all through the house, and he wasn’t self-conscious about even the funkiest of music choices. Our world is a quieter place without him. Dad worked on his latest mixes every year, and no matter where we lived in the U.S., Dad flew or drove out to his college reunion show to air his mixes live every December and January. He did that for 30 years, and I don’t think he ever missed one. Dad would blast EDM and IDM on our long drives to go fishing in the Tennessee River when I was a young kid of about 7.” ~ Connor Brown-Steve Brown’s son
(Front: Pablo Funk. Left to right: Steve Brown, Mike Griffin, Florence Meuleman-Griffin and Meaux Andromeda at the WECU studio based in Lantana, Florida USA)
We unify on this very day that this newswire is released, to respond to the last message he left us to heed: “Hug your loved ones close.”
Until we see him again, Steve Brown (July 20, 1969 – March 20, 2022) will always be missed.
