Sufjan Stevens (, born July 1, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Petoskey, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on the Asthmatic Kitty label, a label formed by him and his stepfather, beginning with the 2000 release A Sun Came. His 2005 album Illinois hit #1 in the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.Stevens has released albums of varying styles, from the electronica of Enjoy Your Rabbit and the lo-fi folk of Seven Swans to the symphonic instrumentation of Illinois and Christmas-themed Songs for Christmas. Stevens makes use of a variety of instruments, often playing many of them himself on the same track, and writes music in various time signatures. He is considered part of the folk revival in indie pop, but his influences are very broad. His music has been likened to electronica and the minimalism of Steve Reich. Stevens' music often has spiritual themes, and many songs (most notably on Seven Swans) draw inspiration from Bible stories.Stevens has garnered much interest from the press for his "Fifty States Project", his aim being to complete an album about each of the states of the United States. Stevens has thus far completed two state records, Illinois and his home state record Michigan. He has stated that he remains serious about its completion. In interviews, Stevens has alluded to many different states as his next project, including Oregon, California and New Jersey.