Sean Cleland is a Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist based out of Honolulu, Hawai'i. Described as an "innovative singer-songwriter and prolific performer who plays pop, rock, and soul" by The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, his music can in one moment be introspective and refined, and in the next, fiery and emotional. Blending together a hooky pop-songwriting aesthetic with the raw emotion of his electric guitar, Sean traverses and synthesizes the frenetic passion of rock and blues with the sultry sounds of r&b, jazz, and soul.
Sean's latest album is titled "Chroma (vol. 1)", and features the previously released 2020 singles "Comfort Kills" (feat. ATOM), "Able (Break The Clock)", "Aim Higher", "Sleepless", "Cheap Thrills", and "Chroma", as well as 3 additional songs. The singles have been featured on multiple blogs and Spotify playlists. The all-original 9-song album was finally released worldwide on Friday, December 11, 2020 in both digital and physical formats. The album has already received regular airplay on 90.1 FM KTUH college radio, appearing on their NACC charts for multiple weeks. Sean will release an additional 6 singles (every 3 weeks) starting in March of 2021, and then compile them all into the second 8-song volume by mid-2021.
His solo act and band seamlessly blend together singer-songwriter, rock, pop, blues, r&b and soul genres. Artists as diverse as John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., Ryan Adams, Hozier, and James Bay may come to mind when listening to Sean. Sean's guitar playing sits on top of his compositions as a dazzling electric blend of SRV, Hendrix, and Mateus Asato.
Sean's 2018 album, “The Process Of”, won the state-wide 2019 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for 'Alternative Album of the Year' (awarded by the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts) (produced by multiple Na Hoku Award-winning and Grammy-nominated producer Imua Garza). He accompanied the album with two acclaimed music videos for the songs "Salary Man" and "Curl". Sean has also self-produced three albums, "Wanderlust", "Silence Speaks Louder", and "The Winter Room", prior to his latest solo release. He is a relentless performer, and has played at the 2020 NAMM Show, opened for acts like Iron & Wine and Houndmouth, and performed at world-class venues like Blue Note Hawaii. He has also had music placed on NBC and Freeform. Currently Sean performs live in two basic configurations: 1) a solo act featuring a completely live looping performance of vocals, guitar, bass, and sampled drums or 2) a full band format (trio, quartet, or quintet). For a more detailed bio, please head to either the Electronic Press Kit or History.
Sean was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but was raised for most of his life in the northern California wine country. He is Hawaiian-Chinese and Scots-Irish/English. Sean began playing music at the age of 13, and has never looked back. He attended college in southern California earning a degree in philosophy and anthropology, all the while playing and honing what he knew to be his primary passion - music. After a life-changing backpacking trip across Europe and parts of north Africa, he returned to the islands in 2009 and immediately felt a deep connection to his Hawaiian heritage as he began to develop his music career in earnest.
Sean currently lives in Honolulu with his wife Chelsea and their two cats, Toasty and Oslo. They are both avid travelers, and have satisfied their wanderlust in places like Kenya, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, China, Japan, Norway, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, England, Scotland, and Switzerland.
Every part of his history informs his art today.
