'I'm Okay' is the latest track from United States, New York based artist &seb. The production is very good quality and deserves our time. Below you can find a valuable interview with the artist, who was happy to answer a few questions. I think that every person will gain a lot of useful information from it and additionally get to know better what kind of artist and human is &seb. 'I'm Okay' is certainly one of the better offerings of recent weeks. It is not worth passing by indifferently. Spotify links are also included below.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey &seb, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What have you been up to over the past year in this big old mess?
I've been focusing a lot on producing for myself and clients. I also got an internship at a big music studio and I recently enrolled into graduate school to earn my Master's in music technology! So a lot of good things recently.
What is your creative process like?
It really starts with an idea I might have in my head. I'll sing it aloud and record it, then recreate it and add to it. If it's catchy, I'll try to write lyrics to it and make it a song. When building up a song, I start with chords on some piano or electric piano plugin, then a basic beat/groove, then a bassline.
Your latest song is 'I'm Okay'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
I was commuting to work when I had this idea for a choppy vocal effect that leads into a funky bassline. When I got home that day I made something simple, but it felt really good and stuck. So the first thing you hear in the song is the first thing I made, which is pretty unusual for me. Usually the first thing I make is just a placeholder and would get scrapped for something better.
What was the most difficult challenge you faced?
The most difficult challenge in this song would definitely be recording the vocals. I try to keep my vocals relaxed and smooth. The vocals in the chorus were originally the demo vocals that I made just to have an idea of the melody. But when I tried to rerecord them more "officially" they just felt wrong. I rerecorded my vocals multiple times over the span of a week, and nothing sounded or felt as good as the demo vocals. So, those are the takes I used. Felt like a huge waste of time, and it was pretty frustrating.
What is the biggest mistake you have made within your career to this point?
That's a good question. I think a big mistake is letting the number of streams and the number of followers I have get to me. Like, if I don't have a big number I'm doing things wrong. But the reality is that growing an audience takes time, patience, and luck. I just got into releasing music, I shouldn't let the slow onset ruin my mood every two days. That's just unhealthy and actually makes me want to make music less.
How do you know when a work is finished?
I don't! I'm a perfectionist which is both a good thing and a bad thing. I basically think a song is finished when I've spent weeks (or months in some cases) nitpicking on very tiny things that nobody will notice. They're important for sure, but there's a limit. I've heard that setting a personal deadline helps-once that deadline is hit, you stop working on the song.
What are your long term goals?
My biggest goal is growing my audience. I've been putting a lot of effort into promotion and getting my releases heard. I can't just release music if nobody will be there to listen. It's a balance between online social efforts and personal musical efforts.
Do you have a mentor or coach?
I don't have a mentor or coach, but I do turn to my girlfriend a lot for her opinion on a melody or lyrics. She hears a lot of good and bad music from me so I'm worried I tire her out!
What memorable responses have you had to your work?
When friends and family message me or share a release, it's great but a little expected. My favorite interactions have been from complete strangers saying that they love this song or they can't wait for more. Anytime I get messages like that, they make my day. I respond to every single one too!
What are your plans for next year?
My EP release will be next year! It'll have 5 songs on it, including "I'm Okay" and I hope to have a larger audience to listen to it. I'll also be going back to school and working, so I'll be completely surrounded by music and talented people. Honestly I'm beyond excited, I felt like last year I was coasting along making slight progress here and there. So I'm looking forward to being productive and learning the in's and out's of music production. Thanks for the time and thanks so much for interviewing me!