SEB is the Man

Interview and photos by Mary Perez

Graphics by Rebekah Witt

The internet has always proven to be somewhat unpredictable, but TikTok has helped artists around the world find fame in the most unexpected times. One such example comes from the viral sound of SEB’s “seaside_demo,” which rose to success in early 2021 and has since amassed over 120 million streams on Spotify alone. The rising LA-based musician has had quite the whirlwind of a career over the past few years, garnering nearly 400k followers on TikTok and playing a set at Firefly Festival. We caught up with the singer after his Firefly performance to learn more about his journey and the future of his music.

Since we’re at Firefly today, are there any other artists that you’re hoping to catch while you’re here?

Right now, it’s definitely Isiah Rashad and Bleachers.

I love Bleachers! So excited to see them again.

I’m a huge Jack Antonoff fan. 

Everything he does is phenomenal. Those are great artists to pick. You were saying during your performance that these are some of your first shows ever, so how has that experience been?

It’s been way more fun than I was expecting. Sunday I woke up with my heart pounding like, “Next Saturday, I’m gonna be performing,” and this was my third performance ever. I didn’t know what to expect or how the crowd was gonna be, but everybody was immediately into it. It was fun.

I heard some girls saying they got there an hour early to see you!

No way!

Have you been able to connect with the fans to say hi or anything?

It was awesome. One person even had me autograph their arm, and they’re gonna get it tattooed. 

And this is only your third performance ever - that’s huge!

They were all really nice and sweet. 

One of the things that I loved about your performance was how you were discussing therapy and being able to get help when you need it. How do you go about speaking about that so publicly and feeling comfortable about being vulnerable like that?

I guess I figured, why not? I feel like that’s been my whole approach to everything: trying to be as transparent as possible. There have been moments where artists that I look up to talk about something that changes my mind or makes me approach something like therapy in a new, more open-minded way. I figured that if I’m going through it, I might as well talk about it.

Do you have any advice for fans who are currently going through something mentally?

If you can, definitely go to therapy. That’s been really big. Some issues I didn’t know I had, when talking to somebody, I understood, “That’s why I reacted this way to that.” 

Getting to know why you do the things you do and having that outside perspective can be so helpful because you often don’t recognize it or just brush it off as just your way of being. I know that you released your EP a few months ago, so how has it been to release that larger body of work?

I would say those six songs were the longest I’ve held on to songs that were totally finished, so there was a lot of anticipation. As I put the songs out and had people reach out to talk about how those songs affected them, it’s such a surreal experience. 

Do you have a favorite story that a fan has connected with one of the songs or just any story that has stuck out to you?

There’s this one dude who lives out in Oregon, and he was telling me about how he grew out of the foster care system and COVID hit him at the same time. He said that my music helped him through that. To me, that’s crazy. It’s so cool that these songs could help in that way.

Are there any songs or artists that have made a difference for you that way?

Childish Gambino’s album Because the Internet is a huge album for me. It’s super important. I would say IGOR by Tyler, the Creator, too. 

Yes! I just saw Tyler two weeks ago.

He’s one of my idols, for sure.

What about your other favorite artists and influences?

Ooh, let’s see. There’s Childish Gambino, Tyler, the Creator. Frank Ocean, of course. And because he’s playing now in Bleachers, Jack Antonoff.

In many of your songs, you write about various locations, such as New York and Chicago. Is there a reason you choose to write about your experiences in different places?

When I approach writing a song, so much of it lives in a certain time of my life. I just associate that time and song with that place. In New York, that’s where I wrote “3am.” When I did the cover of “Paranoia,” I was visiting what that would sound like in Chicago.

Are there any other places that you can envision writing about or that you’d love to see and get inspiration from?

Definitely more Los Angeles songs coming - that’s where I’m at now. If I spend some time living out in Paris, that’d be awesome. Maybe when I get to go on more tours and get to spend time in new places, music will come out of that.

I know people always mention wanting to go to places like Japan and gain inspiration from different places and cultures, so those experiences are definitely important.

I definitely want to go to Africa. I don’t know where in Africa, but I want to go there. I want to spend some time in Haiti when it’s a little tamer out there because that’s where my family’s from and where I lived the first few years of my life. I haven’t been back since then, so I definitely want to go back and eventually spend some time.

I noticed on Spotify that you have several songs with over a million streams. What has that experience been like to have your songs out and gain that exposure? 

I don’t know if it’s fully registered yet. Up until now, it’s just been me recording in my bedroom and putting these songs out. Seeing those numbers go up and seeing the faces behind those numbers is incredible. Seeing those reactions and how the songs have affected them is making me rethink the music I make because these songs have the potential to really reach people.

Do you have any long-term goals as an artist?

I just want to keep going and see where it goes. I want to eventually put out an album. I guess a cool accomplishment would be when I put out my tenth album and people are still anticipating that.

First, you gotta put out one album! Have you been able to look into the playlists that your fans have added your songs to and seen any cool playlist names?

I’m totally blanking on titles right now. I do go and check them sometimes, but they always leave me speechless. It’d be the craziest titles, but it’s cool though.

If there was a signature food or drink named after you, what would it be?

It’d be between two things: either a cream soda or gummy worms. I’d have to approve them first because I’m very particular about them.

Would there be a specific flavor?

No specific flavor, but maybe a tropical blend, like mango and pineapple.

I feel like that’d work so well with your music! Do you have a favorite hype song?

Right now, it’d be off Chief Keef’s last album, and it’s called “Bitch Where.” Something about that song gets me hyped.

Dream tour lineup? You can either headline or be an opener.

I’m gonna think more realistic and short term right now. I’m opening, Steve Lacy next, and Tyler headlining. I don’t think that lineup would ever happen, but I’m putting it out there. It’ll hopefully happen one day.

Is there any message you want your fans to take away from your music?

No matter how rough or bad things get, always look for that silver lining to get you through. Try to find some joy in whatever you’re gonna do, even though it does get really hard.

Although he’s a relatively new name in the pop scene, SEB has already been making his mark, accumulating over a million streams on Spotify for several of his songs and playing shows around the country. Recently, the singer has been gaining quite a few views on TikTok with his renditions of popular songs, the latest being an indie spin on SZA’s hit “Kill Bill.” With catchy melodies and carefree lyricism, it’s no wonder that his music has caught the attention of so many new listeners and loyal fans over the years. Be sure to keep an eye out for new music and catch him at a live show near you in the future!