Shawn Lee

	Alt./Nickname:	Monkey Boy
	Date of Birth:	?
	Location:	London, UK / (Born: Wichita, Kansas (USA))
	Website:	www.shawnlee.net
	Picture:	MySpace Profile

Biography

Shawn Lee is a well-accomplished artist originating from Wichita, Kansas. Slightly marginal among his peers during his youth, he favored groovy and funky black music over cheesy corporate rock and line-dancing tunes. Through his local Baptist church, his love for music grew further and it gave him the opportunity to play drums and to sing in the gospel choir. However, he soon realized that some of the white members were racists, to the point of disapproving Shawn's black music influences. This triggered his departure from the Mid-West, heading to Los Angeles in 1988.

The next period is during which the multi-instrumentalist developed his songwriting skills. He played in various bands and befriended Jeff Buckley. In 1995, Shawn switched hometown once again, crossing the Atlantic to establish himself in London, where he is still residing to this day. The recording of his first solo album soon followed, although it was never released, much to Shawn's desolation. Yet he continued to do what he excels at: writing and playing music, but going his own way by passing CDs with his material to friends and self-financing an EP. Eventually, he was contacted by several labels, and while hesitant to jump back in the industry, Shawn finally decided to sign with Wall of Sound. Under this label, he was able to publish a record in 2000, entitled Monkey Boy, which sounded exactly like he wanted it to.

Between 2004 and 2007, a total of 9 full-lenght albums were published. Four of them were created under the "Ping Pong Orchestra" series, which is Lee's instrumental project. One could say that this man is working hard, and this helped him getting more recognition of his talent. His music was used in various TV shows, movies, and commercials, as well as having one of his songs featured as "single of the week" on iTunes ("Kiss The Sky").

It was in 2006 that Rockstar contracted Shawn Lee to compose the music for their latest video game, Bully. This was his first, and only thus far, venture in the world of VGM. The sound was no stranger to Shawn's previous works, mixing '70s funk, soul, and rock, intertwined with all sorts of influences and played with a variety of instruments. Most of it was performed by Shawn himself, with the exception of the flute and brass sections. A total of over 100 pieces were created for Bully! Two official soundtracks were released; one on CD published by Ultra Records and a digital one available through eMusic. A number of tracks are featured on both, yet the albums are not identical and some tracks are exclusive to one or the other. However, they do not contain all of the material from the game.

Shawn is still hard at work in his studio (named Trans-Yank!), having released Hit's The Hits and A Very Ping Pong Xmas in autumn 2007. There is no sign of another contribution to the world of game music, but who knows what the future has in store?

Games

Albums

Links

Interview (Square Haven)