Seekae: Interview
To say that three piece Sydney outfit Seekae’s debut album received widespread critical acclaim is no exaggeration. ‘The Sound of Trees Falling On People’ was proclaimed by radio station FBi as ‘one of Australia’s top ten albums of the decade’ and Rolling Stone described it ‘as ambient and mesmerizing as an iced-over forest’.
It’s been over two years since the release of this debut, but the group are continuing to ride the wave of success with their second offering ‘+DOME’, which is available now. This new album signals not only that the band are maturing and reaching new heights in their songwriting and production, but also that they’re not afraid to change things up.
Tara Tahmasebi caught up with George Nicholas from the band.
Hearplugs: I am really curious about the range of sounds and influences that you guys are showcasing in this album. What were you listening to while making +DOME?
Seekae: We started listening to a lot more music that was being made now, more contemporary music rather than the whole Warp records back catalogue on repeat. So I think that might show through in this album a bit more. This album has more of a relationship to the music that’s going on now, rather than the last album which wasn’t really positioned in the music world- it was more a collection of songs that we had made from the ages of eighteen to twenty. +DOME is actually a well thought out album which has a starting point and an ending point and all that kind of thing.
Hearplugs: Is it true that you guys wanted to make this album out of bounds of a computer? Tell me a little bit more about this and some of the objectives you had coming into this album.
Seekae: The objectives changed so many times. Initially we said that we wanted to make an album with just real instruments and no computers. You know, play guitars and synthesisers and that would be it. Then we tried to make that kind of stuff, and just though ‘ahh this is so boring’ and so went in the exact opposite direction where we thought ‘oh we’ll just do everything totally computer based’.
We ended up finding an equilibrium between the two, incorporating both live and electronic stuff. I think that’s why the album sounds quite full because it’s the culmination of these two perspectives.
Hearplugs: Every time I listen to the album I hear something I missed the time before. The songs are really beautifully layered and quite intricate. Did you spend a lot of time perfecting those arrangements?
Seekae: We did actually. We spent a lot of time trying to find interesting sounds by you know, slamming toilet seats and kicking bins and recording that. And also a lot of time kind of perfecting things in the digital world, by creating synth sounds. So yeah, we did spend a lot of time on the album.
Hearplugs: So was time an issue?
Seekae: Not really, the album only came to fruition properly in the last six months when there was a bit more label pressure. They were like ‘Hey, can you kind of hurry up and make the album now’, that sort of thing. So it’s good when you have a little pressure from outside sources. But I mean, it wasn’t like a mad rush or anything, we just did it really slowly. Hopefully the next one will take a little less than two or three years (Laughs).
Hearplugs: How have things changed since signing with Rice Is Nice?
Seekae: We do a lot more interviews like this! (Laughs)
It’s just a lot easier because you don’t have to deal with half of the stuff. You do more interviews and you write fewer emails so it’s good. And they are also able to give you some money, so you don’t have to work a year just to record and release an album, you can actually just get it all done immediately.
It’s kind of halfway between doing it independently and signing onto a horrible major label! It’s been a really good thing.
Hearplugs: You’re pretty renowned for your live shows, how have they developed in the past few years?
Seekae: We actually have less gear on the stage now. We used to show off and be like ‘Oh look, we’ve got two synthesisers each on stage’ and stuff like that. But then we realised, that’s not really what it’s about.
We also used to have this rule where we would only use real electronic instruments, so we wouldn’t bring computers on stage, whereas now we’ve incorporated computers and controllers on stage. I think the new set up we have is really good and the new equipment we use is a lot more suitable for what we’re trying to do.
Hearplugs: Do you put a lot of thought and energy into your live shows? Or it quite a fluid process where you just get up there and do your thing?
Seekae: We put a bit of energy into it. I mean, getting songs from the studio onto the stage can be a bit of a trial sometimes but if you put in enough time it always works out. Writing for record and then writing for live shows are two very distinct stages for us though. A lot of the songs we play live aren’t going to sound like they do on record.
Ultimately, it’s not hard work, but we do put in the energy, get sweaty and all that kind of thing (laughs).
Hearplugs: You’re also touring around Europe from May?
Seekae: Yeah, from May until we stop getting shows!
Hearplugs: So indefinitely?
Seekae: Well, we’ve got about ten shows lined up at the moment. Hopefully we’ll get some more.
Hearplugs: Are you planning on living and working in Europe, or just touring and then coming back?
Seekae: Well, John’s mum lives in Cambridge so we’re going to live in Cambridge with her for a while and maybe write a record there. So we will be living there, it’s not going to be all hotels and room service.
Hearplugs: What else have you got planned for 2011? Do you plan on visiting Adelaide anytime soon?
Seekae: Hopefully! We were going to do a show in Adelaide but there wasn’t enough time before we left for Europe. I mean, I feel really bad! We’ll do a show in Adelaide when we get back from Europe.
Tara Tahmasebi