Sherman Modeste is no stranger to music and its affect on the masses. This very shy man (and very kind) has the ability to draw attention to him without him even trying. His presence alone makes you feel like you’re in the room with a long lost friend.

His first recording project, Modest Conversation is exactly that, modest – with a twist. This cd of mellow moods, smooth ballads, sultry uptempo with Gospel influences will put you in the mind of Musiq Soulchild or Maxwell but on Sherman’s terms.

Sherman took the time to answer some of our questions about what he prays for and his music:

Where are you from? I was born and raised on the island of St. Croix, USVI. I have lived in Connecticut, Florida, New York, and Georgia. I currently reside in Rochester, New York.

When did you start singing and where? I started singing as a child in church. I can remember exactly when that was. It was a Sunday night testimony service, a friend of mine went up to sing a song and asked me to join her and I did. They tell me I got up there and stole the show. I’ve been singing ever since.

How did you get involved with music? Growing up I spent most of my time at home, school, or at church. Music was embraced all across the board. At home my mom played a variety of Gospel, Country, and love songs. In school, I sang in chorus, concert choir, show choir, madrigals, gospel choir, vocal jazz, and glee club….LOL…whew!

Who have you worked with? Currently, I sing tenor with Ricky Dillard & The New Generation Chorale (New G). In the future, I would love to work with Donald Lawrence, John Legend, Musiq Soulchild, Fantasia, and Jill Scott just to name a few.

Who inspires you through your music? Just living the natural course of life gives me all the inspiration I need. My mother also inspires me. Her strength is amazing.

Why did decide you to do an album? I’m most passionate about music and it is time to share my music with the world. Instead of sitting at home praying, hoping, wishing, dreaming about my place in music history, I decided to take my own advice and act now by stepping out on faith and making an investment in self.

You call you album ‘Modest Conversation’. Can you explain the title? When I sat down to consider the direction of the album, I wanted to make music and write songs that music lovers will related to. My goal was to create a dialogue between me and those listening.

Do you consider your album Gospel or R&B? A mixture of both. If I had the power to create my own genre, I would categorize my music as ‘life’ experience music. Each song has a real life story attached to it and was written out of a personal life experiences.

Do you feel Gospel artists are losing their roots? No. Gospel has evolved and will continue to evolve like every other genre.

I looked at the credits in your album and noticed you wrote all of your songs. Why was it important for you to write your own songs? As a singer/songwriter, it was important for me to write all of my songs to keep the conversation authentic and genuine.

One of my favorite songs on the album is ‘Star Struck’. Explain the meaning behind that song? I’m the epitome of a hopeless romantic. I wanted to write a song that will be played as brides are escorted down the aisle and I found the lyrics of “Star Struck” in a conversation I had with a friend about the joy of loving someone.

How do people find out more about you? www.shermanmodeste.com www.myspace.com/spottedmusic Stay tuned. I promise to keep making great music. My goal is to become a world-renown/top-selling artist.

Where can people buy your album? My CD is available at www.cdbaby.com.

When you aren’t doing anything musically, what do you do? I’m a home body. I enjoy being home entertaining family and friends. During my down time, I read, watch a little TV, I enjoy walks in the park and long drives.

Random: When you go to the movies, what do you go to see? I like romance, comedy, suspenseful thrillers, and movies based on true stories that depict courage, strength, triumph, bravery, and hope.

Super duo Damon Trueitt (left) and A. Salih (pronounced sah-lee, on right) are bringing a revamped version of what we hear today in music.

The twist to their unique sound is their use of pure vocals without instrumentation. The non-use of instruments sounds interesting when you have Pop music taking its reign again with mega stars like Lady GaGa and Britney Spears. No-Midi is making it known that they are here to make their presence known by giving you a taste of their eclectic dance grooves.

The ‘Midi’ in their name means (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). Midi an industry-standard protocol defined in 1982 that enables electronic musical instruments, such as keyboard controllers, computers, and other electronic equipment to communicate, control, and synchronizes with each other. I sat down with these talented men in their first (definitely not their last) public interview to ask their stance on the music industry currently and about their contribution to the industry short and long term. The humility they share resonates in their music and in their private lives.

Hey Fellas! How are you?
We are fine man. Thanks for asking.

Explain the meaning behind your name?
A. Salih – It’s pretty self-explanatory as long as u knows about making music. No-Midi means we don’t use any midi to import sounds from synch modules. We only work with audio files, specifically vocals, for all original production.
What are the roles of each member?
Damon – We both come up with the song reverb concepts and lyrics, then I take over for the visual interpretation and A. Salih takes over for the audio interpretation.

How did you meet?
Damon – We met through a mutual friend, recording artist Gaelle and when I had “I Refuse” on the charts, as a solo artist. A. Salih was dancing for Crystal Waters. We stayed friends and did collaborations over the years, which led us to eventually come up with the concept for No-Midi, after we couldn’t get any tracks from producers that fit our eclectic style to write to.

Where are you guys from?
A. Salih – I was born in Brooklyn, NY and moved to South Orange, NJ to attend what my parents called a better high school…LOL. I’ve been here ever since and still love the city. Damon – I was born in Aspen, CO but being an army brat, we moved a lot around the world. We lived in Bermuda, Italy and Germany. Luckily for me, my family ended up in New Jersey. Currently I reside in Maryland.

Do you have a church background?
Damon – I was raised in an African Methodist Episcopal church myself. My grandfather was a
reverend and I’m still very involved. A. Salih – I was raised Roman Catholic, but have since chosen to walk a more spiritual path rather than to associate with any one religion.

Your style is very unique. What is your production process to create the No-Midi sound?
A. Salih – Usually after Damon and I come up with song lyrics or a melody line, we will lay down one “vocal instrument”, like a “synth” or a “bass”, to get the harmonic structure and then build the track simultaneously as we record the lead parts to really lock in the groove. After that I’ll go back in to tighten up the vocal instruments and add the effects that are appropriate for that particular record as well as work on the arrangement of the background vocals.
Damon – Well, like we said earlier, we only use vocals, meaning we manipulate our voices to sound as much like whatever sound is needed and then add audio effects to get some more authenticity. This way the listener feels as if they are really hearing a kick and snare, or a keyboard or an electronic bass, and we get exactly the track we want, to do our thing.

What inspires you to be musicians?
A. Salih – Damon and I have a deep love for musicand the way it can evoke any and every possible emotion. We just want to fulfill what we believe to be our role in the universe right now and to keep people inspired and thinking for themselves more. And, of course, we plan on having a bit of fun while doing it…LOL.

How do you separate yourself from other recording artists?

Damon – To say, we are not inspired by other artists would be completely untrue, and so in a sense we trying to rally a better sense of community among our peers, and while we’d like to think that we’ve pushed the envelope enough to be in our own lane, we’re really looking forward to doing as much collaboration as possible with other artists so we can all come up together.

With the music industry in such a financial crunch, how do you expect to survive?
A. Salih – I know people say this all the time, but for Damon and me it’s so not about the money.
We love, love, love making music, and, speaking for myself, if I have to work at Burger King every weeknight so I can record and rock out on the weekends, guess what….. “Mic check, one, two…. Do you want fries with that? LOL”.

Do you have a website for our readers to visit?
Yes sir! Check us out at: www.nomidi.com. There you will find links for our Facebook, Myspace and Twitter Pages.

Random Question. When you guys aren’t doing music, what do you do in your spare time?
A. Salih – I love reading and gardening believe it or not. I have a thing for taking care of living things. Oh, I LOVE EATING FRUIT! I know, random…LOL. Damon – I have a thing for poetry and I am a huge follower of Octavia Butler books. And, since A. Salih was random, I LOVE PIZZA…LOL!

Lastly, What advice do you have for independent artist trying to break through?

that one piece you need to move to the next step in your career. And, if they tell you that you soundA. Salih – Be that bite they didn’t take. Don’t stop being original. Don’t think it can’t happen and don’t look back. For all those people that say no and don’t want to help, just smile back and do all that you can do today. I promise you someone will see and hear you. People genuinely will want to help you with ridiculous, then you simply say…“Good, that’s what I was going for!”

Bonus: Listen to Nomidi’s first interview on The Jay Mad Show. Listen Here

Story by Jerris Madison