He has worked with Japanese composer Yoko Kanno on a variety of anime soundtracks including Wolf's Rain, Cowboy Bebop, RahXephon and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG.

One year later, the Conte brothers recorded their first "album" in the family living room with Steve singing, playing guitar and drums, writing the songs, and "producing".

At Rutgers, his classmates included fellow musicians Terrence Blanchard, Ralph Peterson Jr., and Frank Lacy and studied under the tutelage of Ted Dunbar, Kenny Barron, Paul Jeffrey, and Larry Ridley.

During his early years in New York (1986–1987), Conte landed a variety of gigs; he was a guitarist and musical director for Prince and The Revolution singer Jill Jones, session and live guitarist with James Brown producers Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight (Conte's first record date was the Hartman-produced Joy album by Paul King), as well as a stint with New Jersey rocker Glen Burtnick and jazz fusion band Bushrock, led by keyboard virtuoso Delmar Brown.

The brothers performed with Etta James, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, Johnny Adams, Reese Wynans (Stevie Ray Vaughan), Phoebe Snow, Cyndi Lauper, John Waite, Richie Hayward (Little Feat), Will Lee, Lou Marini (The Blues Brothers), Carole King, The Uptown Horns, Steve Clark (Def Leppard), and many others.

Besides numerous playing and singing on film, television soundtracks, commercials and video game music, he's been recorded on albums with many of his childhood heroes: The J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf (Fool's Parade, 1998) and James Brown saxophone player Maceo Parker (Funk Overload, 1998), as well as the single "Fear of the Unknown" with rock legend Suzi Quatro.

In November 2022, Conte announced a new solo album that he is writing with XTC’s Andy Partridge, whom he called "one of the greatest songwriters in the world".