Dean Palya Jr is an audio storyteller that creates musical productions in multiple genres, often combining several distinct influences in a single project in order to best convey the story being told. His lyrics carry the profound details of his elaborate stories in a subtle yet clear way. By manipulating the instrumentation and orchestration used in his productions, he strikes the perfect balance between vocal nuance and rhythm section groove. In his most recent work, Modern Nocturnes, Palya sets the stage – figuratively and literally – with the sounds of a new-age orchestra tuning up and preparing for the event as the listener travels from the busy city street to a calm seat in the performance hall. After a short and soothing nocturne is performed on solo piano, Palya brings up the excitement with a jazz-influenced pop track. His vocal production techniques are unique, using a single vocal tone for most of the track, but bringing in a swell of background vocals to propel the song into the much-anticipated chorus and solo section. These vocal production techniques are further explored in the bare and exposed track later in the album. For the first half of the track, only piano and vocal are present. This wide-open technique for drawing the listener in even closer proves effective for creating the type of intimacy needed for the song to work as a whole. And more importantly, for the album to work. Like many of the rest of Palya’s albums, the vocal sits prominently as the centerpiece for the production. While the fluctuating music shifts from one genre to the next, the vocals follow it and bring the stories, characters, and themes in the work to life. Fans of Palya’s work praise his ability to weave complicated lyrical content into simple vocal performances that fit the production perfectly – his vocal productions bring the listener closer to the heart of whatever story he is telling.