EMQ’s With SEEK HARBOUR

EMQ’s With SEEK HARBOUR
Hi Everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Kent, UK based Post-Hardcore band, Seek Harbour. Huge thanks to their Frontman/Clean Vocalist, Edwin, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Hi Ever Metal! We are Seek Harbour, I’m Edwin, I am one of the frontmen of the band. I am what is referred to in the industry as the “clean” vocalist, who does all the whiny high bits. Hah.
History of the band! An interesting story that sort of spans a few years of us knowing each other which started as a running joke to be in a band together. We have all grown up in the same town together over the years and have been in several other bands over time as well. Some of us go further back than others in the band as we have worked together as well as drank together and hung out together in the past.
It got to a point around 3 years ago I started joking around with CeeJay (Chris) each time I saw him that we should be in a band together as I was aware of his talents as a musician, so playing along, we thought of other friends who we knew and mentioned Simon, our drummer, and then we mentioned Loz, our other vocalist, as we all thought we could bring a bit to the band, and the joke for us four to become a band began.
CeeJay did originally say no from the get-go when I mentioned it with less jest, but nevertheless this reverted to a joke that must’ve lasted a long while. He then started bringing it up whenever he saw me play in pubs (as I used to play acoustic guitar and sing in a few local restaurants/bars) until one day a random WhatsApp group started with CeeJay stating something along the lines of “Okay guys. Let’s give this a shot, anyone game?” which happened after he saw Being As An Ocean at the Impericon ‘Never Say Die’ tour. That inspired him into wanting to re-create music within that genre we’ve always liked!
How did you come up with your band name?
Oh wow we had no idea for such a long time! We kept bringing the idea back into the WhatsApp group every so often, and tried our best to send ideas we might randomly think of throughout the day or every so often, but to no avail. Then the release of the first single was fast approaching and we needed to sort it!
I remember CeeJay, again, wrote a list he had of a collection of ideas and shared it and I randomly saw Seek Harbour in the middle of it and sort of went BAM – it had a great ring to it. The idea of the name derives from the fact we are by the sea, the name could suggest being lost at sea and in searching(seeking) for Harbour you find home – comfort. I tried to entice the guys by saying “whenever a band has their name a while it sort of becomes forgotten as to what the name means, it’s more about the ring to it and all you need is for fans to picture you when they hear it, not the original meaning of the name” – perfect example here is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I don’t think of a vegetable!
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We are all from the South-East of England, Kent, in a little seaside town called Deal. There used to be a bigger music scene in our hometown and surrounding areas, it’s still going but it’s very much more relaxed genres. I haven’t seen Metal or Rock for a while now. We all sort of met around the pub that did the only metal and rock we had, old bands that some of us were in have even played there.
If you venture further out from Deal though up to 30-40 minute drives in different directions you will hit towns such as Folkestone, Margate, and Broadstairs, to mention a few, and the city of Canterbury where, again back in the day, was much bigger on Metal and Rock, but still definitely has those places you can go to find it. I always find it’s better to venture out of Kent nowadays, to London and beyond, but I don’t search for gigs and things much myself now, it’s more the other guys – they’ll know! I’m normally the one that tags along.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our latest release just came out actually! ‘Dagger Like Eyes’ a song essentially about vices, but with a twist, it focuses on an inability to overcome the final hurdle of abstinence, or being fearful of re-lapse and being dragged back into a negative situation.
It came out on the 17th of December, it’s the start of our debut EP and is available everywhere on all major streaming platforms, including an official music video on YouTube via Dreambound!
Who have been your greatest influences?
I have my own influences – where I have shaped my own voice from, and also looked up to, which would be Hayley Williams, Josh Franceschi, and Johnny Craig as some of the top few, but, as influential bands for us and our sound they would have to be thecityisours, Alazka, Alexisonfire, Being As An Ocean, Deaf Havana and Slaves- but again, our influences also vary from person to person within in band too.
What first got you into music?
Oh, good question! I haven’t thought about this for years but it has to be around year 5 or 6 in school, (not sure what Grade that is in America etc?) when a ‘music man’ visited our school with a load of instruments from the brass/woodwind section of an orchestra, everyone queued for trumpets and trombones alike and I was one of few queueing for the Saxophone, which I then went onto play for 6 years in a street band and various places. I have an alto sax to this day! I almost convinced CeeJay to let me sneak it into one of our EP songs, but I’m a bit out of practice.
If we’re talking about this genre (and just for interest) then I started on bass, moved to guitar and then I went to college. That’s where the magic happens! You get into all kinds, and I found a love of Pop-Punk, Metal and Post-Hardcore. The scene in Canterbury back then was big on Hard Rock music and nights out. I even formed a band similar to us now!
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician, who would it be?
Me personally? As the melodic vocalist I’d love the opportunity to sing with Yours Truly. I discovered them when one of our songs featured as one of those what are they called… ‘next videos to click’ that appear at the end of a YouTube video basically? From there I have gone onto liking (almost) every single song they’ve released (apart from one, sorry!) that is absolutely gold-mine rare for me. It’s never happened. I just really idolize Mikaila’s vocals, and love their whole sound, it reminds me of being in back in college.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Considering we’re from the UK, and we all follow the heavy music scene it would probably HAVE to be Download Festival, although, there would be a bitter-sweet irony in getting to play one of the ‘Impericon’ shows, because that’s where our guitar player hacked the idea to start the band as I mentioned!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Okay this is an interesting one as we have only done a couple of shows to date, and I haven’t met any in person yet, but, when we first started releasing music a person I met in a pub one night said they liked our band and said after a few that they “wouldn’t mind getting a Seek Harbour tattoo” so that’s as close as I’ve gotten so far, ha!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
We really appreciate people that have supported us from the beginning, and everyone with us up until now. All of you are still on the road to helping us build our dream, thank you for digging our tunes and taking the time to interact with us, even if that’s coming up to us in person, Instagram-story-tagging, or just simply saying they like the new tunes whenever we release them. It really helps when people follow, like and share with their friends & family, and we are really thankful for everyone who’s been with us in the journey thus far. We hope you come and see us when you get your first chance if & when we get the chance to play near you!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
This is a great question but as my music taste is so broad, I haven’t delved into the “rock star” repertoire as much as others, but, am I allowed to say Freddie Mercury? Does that count? (Beth here – absolutely counts – the best frontman to ever grace this earth in my humble opinion) I just reckon he’d still keep on giving us absolute bangers!
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
What I enjoy most is touring/gigging because I like the social side, the travelling, the laughs, hanging out with the boys, the other bands and the fans, the venues, loud music, and even the food!
The reason being is that this falls under why I like the touring as it sorta branches out; someone having a connection to the songs we play and finding a personal feeling to it. I’ve always wanted to write music that helps people through tough times, or even a song for them to just have a little moment to themselves, so I really enjoy helping the fans out through music as other artists songs have helped me out, so again, I do like hearing from them and them reaching out to say they like our music.
What I hate most? Can I hate on myself? Hah! I hate that I’m lazy. I never learned my vocal scales, I never learn to use my music programs, and I never finish my own songs. This is all fixable and part of growing and learning, I guess!
From the real-world I would probably have to say it’s the costs. It costs a hell of a lot to get up and going, and even more to stay running. Most the time you don’t see anything back for months or even years. That’s why musicians continue doing it for the love. The love and the passion of the music, and the love of spreading it.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I would definitely change the fact that there are tons of unknown artists out there with huge talents and amazingly different-sounding music that will never make it because all the talent scouts/labels/big guys do is pick the boring 4 chord one-hit wonders (as an example), boost them to the top and let that take centre stage because of some unbeknownst reason to us. Could be entertainment value or the fact that they sold a few records. There is always a certain way this type of music “sells” by the way it’s written, and the fact that the majority of listeners lap it up is quite disheartening for the future of music.
So, it’s a goodbye X Factor and all others from me I’m afraid!
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
ONE of my all-time favourites?! Oof that’s a hard one, this means I can’t pick one that’s taken my interest recently, hmm. It’s probably going to have to be Paramore’s “Riot”. Classic.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?
I do like a nice Vinyl, I really do. There’s something about playing music from Vinyl that’s taken it from ‘play a CD and carry on with what you’re doing’ to now the experience of sitting and just, listening. It’s reading that pristine shiny cover and having it in hand and listening from start to finish. I used to work in a Vinyl shop so I had the experience but I don’t own any myself, my flatmate does so it’s not out of sight, I’m all Spotify now but I do prefer Vinyl!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
We’ve only played a couple as a band so far, as I mentioned, but it probably has to be the first show we did, a big stage with 4 bands for a big charity event, great turn-out, and just a good old fashioned night of beer, sweat, rock music and dancing. The atmosphere was everything.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I am a barman/waiter by trade so I would probably be going further afield into this, I wouldn’t mind even doing some sort of food truck/food stall with someone, but, although I have been on holiday a fair few times, I’ve never actually done that “I’m young let’s travel and work” thing yet, and I really feel the pull on it still… I’d probably be doing my bar work so I could globetrot. Yeah.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Oh, can they be celebrities? I suppose that makes this more fun as people reading this won’t know my friends haha! I’m going to have to think who would work well together…
Jack Black – for the jokes/vibe/random songs
Ricky Gervais – for stupidity, mocking people in jest and that infectious laugh
Johnny Depp – for a bit of an alternative/weird/serious/fun person thrown in there
Russell Brand – let’s make this more fun and weird- weird, funny and intelligent guy
Noel Fielding – I’ve seen enough ‘Big Fat Quiz of the Year’ to know how funny this’ll be now
What’s next for the band?
We have a big year coming up we hope! We had a show on the 23rd of December for the end of theyear in our hometown at The Lighthouse Music & Arts Pub, the guys that own this place are musicians themselves with contacts all over so they put on 3-4 shows a week with the most wonderful diverse music and they asked if we’d want a slot with two other great bands ‘We Struck Gold’ and ‘Sky Cassettes’.
For next year, we’re starting to book anything we can! We firstly have the slow release of our EP to start the year off along with shows and touring around the final song of the EP dropping and I even heard CeeJay mutter the word “album…?” at one point!
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
The classics, no Twitter unfortunately.
https://www.facebook.com/seekharbour/
https://www.instagram.com/seekharbour/
https://www.tiktok.com/@seekharbour?lang=en
https://soundcloud.com/seekharbour/
And all other major streaming platforms for the music.
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
I’d say they’re a cake that are able to be eaten by the many just like a biscuit; without the guilt nor judgement!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you for taking the interest and time to get hold of us for this interview! I had fun reminiscing and answering these and I hope you enjoyed reading through!
As I said earlier it means a lot when we get follows/shares/likes so it’d be great if people can just carry on doing what they do and check our new tune I mentioned!
Oh, and keep an eye out for our tour. 😉
Much love all x

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.