Senadee
Encyclopedia
Background
Verdi was born in Tehran, Iran two years after The Iranian RevolutionIranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
on 13 December 1981. His family left the country sometime around the mid-1980s to pursue a life in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. After spending around 8 months in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the family moved to the South-East London suburb of Thamesmead
Thamesmead
Thamesmead is a district of south-east London, England, located in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It is situated east of Charing Cross....
. It was here on the Maran Way estate that Sena spent most of his formative childhood years.
In 1994, Verdi's family relocated from Thamesmead
Thamesmead
Thamesmead is a district of south-east London, England, located in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It is situated east of Charing Cross....
to the contrasting suburbs of Chorleywood
Chorleywood
Chorleywood is a village and civil parish in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It had a population of 6,814 people at the 2001 census. The parish of Chorleywood as a whole has a population of 10,775. The town lies in the far south west of Hertfordshire, on the...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. He attended St. Clement Danes school and it was here that his interest in music was born. Drawing inspiration from bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Verdi's musical interest always lay in the works of "bands with big ideas". A trait which is certainly evident in his own music. Unable to pay for music tuition fees, Verdi opted to become a self-taught musician. By the age of 15 he had acquired the skills and disciplines to play Guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
by ear
Learning music by ear
Learning music by ear is done by repeatedly listening to other musicians and then attempting to recreate what one hears. This is how people learn music in any musical tradition in which there is no complete musical notation...
, and within a couple or years had translated his understanding of fundamental Diatonic Theory
Diatonic set theory
Diatonic set theory is a subdivision or application of musical set theory which applies the techniques and insights of discrete mathematics to properties of the diatonic collection such as maximal evenness, Myhill's property, well formedness, the deep scale property, cardinality equals variety, and...
to become a proficient Pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
Verdi's love of rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
led him to enrol in a music college where he would eventually play guitar and become the principal songwriter for Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
based rock/pop outfit Paraya (Later reforming as The Toys
The Toys
The Toys were an American pop girl group from Jamaica, New York, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968.-Members:The trio consisted of:* Barbara Harris sang lead most of the time....
). After writing and producing the debut-album, Verdi landed the group a management deal. He left the band in May 2004 to pursue a career as a producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
/songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Over the next couple of years Verdi would work with various artists within the fields of Hip-Hop and R&B including D-Boy and Mobo Award winning Rapper Akala
Akala (rapper)
Akala is an English rap and hip hop artist from Kentish Town, Camden, London. He is the younger brother of the singer Ms...
as both a producer, writer and instrumentalist. It was at this time that Verdi's first foray into the world of hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
materialized. Along with his cousin, he set up Neopolitcal rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group Persian Princes. The group went on to produce and record a debut album, performing at various shows and urban events. They received wide press coverage in 2006 due to a particular song performed and produced by Verdi. The song was a tribute inspired by the passing of a death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
of a young Iranian girl called Nazanin Fatehi who was condemned for killing a would-be rapist in self-defence. Verdi's involvement in the release of this song gained press coverage around the world with appearances on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and in-depth political debates, interviews and airplay on several BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio stations. Eventually, under increasing global pressure, the authorities conceded and Nazanin was awarded a pardon which saved her life. During this time Verdi's skills as an MC and hip-hop producer would win him a legion of fans from around the world.
Alongside his production duties in Hip-Hop and R&B, Verdi was involved in a sideline bedroom project that was to form the basis for his career as 'Senadee'.
Senadee: The Beginning
Verdi's writing persisted continuously and was not confined to any one style or genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
. Having had no formal training or real encouragement to pursue his interest in music, he found himself in many different styles from Pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, to R&B to Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and Hip-Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, with the latter two being his most apparent influences - In fact the name Senadee comes from his days as an MC, 'Sena-D' (The last letter implying his surname at the time, which was later changed to Verdi).
One of Senadee's songs, 'My Fault' caught the attention of up and coming producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Ben Gold (Son of veteran DJ and Dance music Pioneer Graham Gold). Gold used a sample of the song to produce what was to become one of the biggest underground Dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
tunes of 2008, 'Say The Words'. The track was signed to Flux Delux, a sub-label of Recoverworld Records, one of the most famous Indie dance labels in the world. The song was showcased by Armin van Buuren and received heavy rotation on Radio One
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
by dance DJ's Judge Jules
Judge Jules
Judge Jules is a British dance music DJ and producer, known for his DJ activities and popular radio show which achieved global success.-Education:...
and Dave Pearce
Dave Pearce
Dave Pearce is a British dance DJ and record producer, who has played gigs across the UK and the world, although he is perhaps best known for his work in radio. He currently works for the BBC 6 Music...
.
Although not technically a singer, and with no formal training as one, Senadee nevertheless sang on all his early demo's merely due to the absence of anyone else to sing them for him.
He has since collaborated with dance producer John Askew having written and sung on the track 'Nothing Left Between Us' This release gained him a 5-star review in the publication DJ Mag.
Senadee is currently writing and recording his debut album whilst gigging around the UK. His third dance single 'Today' is another collaboration with Ben Gold and was released Summer 2009. It was featured on the Gatecrasher
Gatecrasher
Gatecrasher is an international clubbing brand made famous by the Gatecrasher dance music events held at the Gatecrasher One nightclub in Sheffield, England during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The event received awards such as "Club Of The Year" at the Ericsson Muzik Magazine Dance Awards in...
Anthems album which reached number one in the UK album charts.
Senadee's debut single 'My Fault', was released on the 22nd February on Prosumer Records. His second single, slated for release for around June 2010 is called 'January'.
Singles featuring Senadee
- "Say The Words" Ben Gold Feat. Senadee (2008)
- "Nothing Left Between Us" John Askew Feat. Senadee (2008)
- "Today" Ben Gold Feat. Senadee (2009)