INTERVIEW WITH ... SEBA KAAPSTAD

Seba Kaapstad are a captivating band using their diverse backgrounds as a huge canvas for their music. The latest single "Africa" combines a mix of jazz, soul, hip-hop, and the music of Africa in a swirl of sounds. I chatted with band about music, their current single and upcoming album, creative processes and much more. You can read about it all below ...THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Morning Bird or Night Owl?SEBA KAAPSTAD: Zoe and I for sure Night Owls, on the other hand Manana and Pheel definitely Morning BirdsTHE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: What are some of your earliest music memories? It could be as a band or individually.SEBA KAAPSTAD: As a band there was an initial moment and also our earliest music memory, when we first came upon each other and jammed some tunes together. There was such a beautiful vibe in that room and everybody was left speechless cause we didn’t expect this kind of chemistry at all levels. That was also the beginning of Seba Kaapstad.THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: I love the music video for "Africa" how did you guys come up with the concept for the visuals? SEBA KAAPSTAD: Thank you very much, I’m glad you like it. Actually the concept for the video was created by Harry Delgas - a friend of mine -  after he listened a to the song a few times. „Africa“ is a song of contemplation and his idea was to capture this by the artists looking at their reflections in the mirrorTHE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Let’s talk about your current single "Africa". Can you tell me more about the creative and writing process behind it?SEBA KAAPSTAD: We wrote the song together. Pheel and I created a rough idea for the song and sent it over to Zoe and Manana. They then sat with the beat and just improvised till they knew  what they felt like writing about at that moment. Usually the themes vary depending on what they think needs to be said. There are so many stories they like telling that they try not to limit themselves, whether its love, pain, loss or joy and identity. Africa is a song describing how Africa is a place where people from multiple cultures can call home, no matter what is going on in the continent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpwW01NZxcYTHE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: How do you think having a band with such a diverse background drives your sound? SEBA KAAPSTAD: With two members from Europe and two from different parts of Southern Africa, we almost had no choice but to experiment. And the result is a combination of African percussion and vocal sounds, combined with European and jazz harmony with hip hop and electronic elements. We as a band have similar tastes in music and what we listen to, but our backgrounds are so different, and you can hear that in our sound.  A sound combining cultures literally on different parts of the world.THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Your full length release "Thina" is set be released this May. How has the recording and writing process been for it? SEBA KAAPSTAD: We have taken a different approach with this album. The music is more electronic and has a variety of elements that we did not explore in our debut release. However, every song is still a journey on its own. We take our listeners on a trip from the first minute, till the very last second. The writing process of our songs has been challenging at times with us having to navigate being from two continents and making it work. We write in a combination of ways. Often I will come with chords or a beat made by myself and Phil, and after a brief discussion between Zoe and Manana about what they feel the beat feels like, they write. Bouncing ideas off one another until it sounds like a good story to make a song out of. Afterwards Pheel and I will finish the song in our studio. We even do the mixing together. THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Dream musical collaboration?SEBA KAAPSTAD: We hope to get „Sampa the Great“ someday for a collab cause I’m sure her style would fit perfectly to our band sound. Also working with „Anderson .Paak“ would be definitely a big dream. Both artists influenced our sound a lot. But of course there are many more we would like to work with.THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Are there any artists that have been "On Repeat" for you as a band lately? What music have you guys been digging?SEBA KAAPSTAD: There have been many artists „On Repeat“ since we have been working on „Thina“ Right now it’s „H.E.R.“, „Emily King“ or „Oumou Sangbare“ but also Bands like „The Internet“, „Jaga Jazzist“ or „Hiatus Kaiyote“.THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: What was everyone’s favorite children's book as a kid?SEBA: It’s „Der Struwwelpeter“ a book for children from 1844 ZOE: I don’t have one. Instead was being told children’s stories called „Inganekwane“ in sisZulu MANANA: Also don’t have one PHEEL: It’s „Pippi Langstrumpf“ from Astrid LindgrenTHE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: And what's next for Seba Kaapstad as band?SEBA KAAPSTAD: After the Release there will be a small tour in Europe in June and also one in November. So the focus will be on our live setup first. But we’re already writing and producing new music. I think it’s always good to focus on multiple things at the same time to keep the workflow going.THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Anything else you guys would like to add? Thank you for your time!SEBA KAAPSTAD: Thank you too for having us on your blog. We really appreciate your work there!So that's that you can stream the new Seba Kaapstad single "Bye" below and forget to subscribe to my emails and like always for the latest and best in music, entertainment and pop culture be sure to stay tuned with The Reclusive Blogger!

Seba Kaapstad // "Bye" - https://soundcloud.com/sebakaapstad/bye

Until then,
Brittney x
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TSHEGUE // “THE WHEEL” - SINGLE REVIEW