Seanine Seven: Crafting Beat-Based Folk with Wit, Waves, and Heart
Seanine Seven is a singer-songwriter hailing from Vista, California, whose music defies easy categorization. With a distinctive style he dubs “beat-based folk,” Seanine blends the dreamy textures of psychedelia, the sophistication of neo-soul, the nostalgic charm of exotica, and the laid-back grooves of lo-fi-hip-hop. Drawing inspiration from both his seaside upbringing and a wide array of musical influences, Seanine crafts songs that are equal parts witty, melancholic, and introspective. His latest self-titled album, released in late 2024, encapsulates the essence of San Diego living through a mix of biting humor and heartfelt reflection, promising listeners a uniquely immersive experience.
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND IN MUSIC? HOW DID YOU GET INTO SONGWRITING?
"I have no formal background in music aside from a few drum lessons a family friend gave me when I was a teenager. Everything else has been self-taught. I picked up my brother’s guitar and ukelele around the same age as the lessons and just started messing around with them. This would snowball into discovering Garageband and becoming familiar with DAWs and how to compose music through the computer. Songwriting-wise I started out in my teenage years with predictably moody compositions, writing songs about feeling depressed and whatnot, composing with no real original voice. However, my songwriting would progress over time, and would really start to ripen while attending college. Believe it or not, one of my major songwriting influences is Randy Newman, and I remember getting into him around my junior year up at school. I would listen to his records while walking to the grocery store along the Bear Creek trail in Merced. What I got from his stuff was a real sense of comedy and mordancy. The way he was able to write songs from different people’s perspectives, oftentimes to poke fun at their line of thinking, was a really different and exciting way of writing a song I hadn’t considered before. From that point on, my own writing became a little more topical, witty, and overall funnier than the stuff I composed before, though I still like to keep little touches of melancholy sprinkled throughout my current work."
HOW DID THE PROJECT FORM?
"I was on vacation off of college, and I distinctly remember driving on Via Rancho Parkway right off the I15 when the song ‘Ocean Morning’ by Jaeden Camstra started playing. I was immediately drawn to the quirky, stripped-down sound of it, that nevertheless had such a strong sense of style and character. I loved the sea-themed flavor of the piece, and not so long after, I thought that such an aesthetic would be an interesting one to incorporate into my own music. This seemed like a natural fit for someone who had lived in an oceany environment such as San Diego. I additionally thought it was clever to compliment this music with topical lyrics about my hometown. The cool, wistful music of lo-fi hip-hop being combined with the darker, more biting lyrics about society was an interesting mix to me. Soon after break, I immediately downloaded a third-rate DAW onto my laptop and started experimenting with creating Lofi sounds. My song ‘Robert Frost’ was one of the tracks I recorded during this time, and the only one that has been released from it."
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR INSPIRATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO THE MUSIC YOU MAKE?
"In addition to (the) aforementioned Randy Newman, some of my favorite songwriters include John Lennon, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Stephin Meritt, Leonard Cohen, Courtney Barnett, and Faye Webster. Mostly old guys I know, but they still hold up nonetheless. I think the thread through all of them is some form of humor, some form of wit, and a natural sense of telling a story. I don’t usually write romantic stuff generally. It’s already 99.99 percent of songs! Why not write something different? So I think the above definitely offers something a little more fruitful than the basic relationship writing. Sonically my influences are all over the place. Of course, I learned a lot from the Lofi people like Jinsang, Camstra, and more, but I never limit my genres to any one source. I absolutely love Odd Future and am interested in anything Tyler, The Creator puts out. Other influences in this vein include Dirty Art Club, Frank Ocean, JPEGMAFIA, Bonobo, FKA Twigs, and Thundercat. The folkier elements of my influences can be traced back to artists like Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Smog, Joanna Newsom, Simon and Garfunkel, and even Arthur Russell with ‘World Of Echo.’ I could go on about the stuff I like, but I feel like I have to stop somewhere before I get too excited!"
TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR LATEST RELEASE, YOUR SELF-TITLED LPSEANINE SEVEN WHICH WAS RELEASED IN LATE 2024. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CORE MESSAGES/OVERALL THEMES THROUGHOUT THIS COLLECTION OF SONGS?
"Generally I would say the album captures the life and times of living in San Diego as a young adult, with a few weird diversions here and there. The great thing about creating your own art is that you can fill it with all the things you're interested in, so the digressions I take are filled with references to film, philosophy, retro-futurism, and sailing just to name a few. It makes the album that much more personal. One of the things I like most about the record is how the comedic snarkiness of some songs are juxtaposed with the more solemn, more quietly sublime qualities of others. To me, life isn’t interesting if it doesn’t have both comedy and drama in equal measure, and so I tried to make a record where there's a good amount of both in it. The track placement is very deliberate because of this and is definitely meant to be listened to as a cohesive piece of work from beginning to end. I also like to consider each half of the album as living through the timeline of a day for each. ‘Late Morning / Sonic Warning’ obviously starts at that time, while ‘Goblin Mode’ has a deep, nocturnal feel to it. The second half opener ‘Homeowning’ probably starts sometime at dawn, moving into night when we get to ‘December Lights / Remembered Nights’ with ‘Blige Rat’ acting as a little addendum to the whole thing."
WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS LIKE FOR THESE SONGS?
"This album first started to be conceptualized in the spring of 2024. This was a very fruitful creative period for my music in general, and pretty much everything you hear on this record is a product of around 2-3 months of writing with a few exceptions. Because this period was so creative, the ball basically kept rolling, and I decided that I had enough momentum to write an album’s worth of songs, so I began to pursue making one. I knew early on that I wanted the songs to blend into one another, and that the playing through the record from beginning to end would reveal subtle cohesive themes and subtext as it went along. I knew my tracklist and picked my album art before I started recording. I think that doing the latter actually helps shape the overall feel and sonic quality of the record; I believe very strongly in doing this first. I recorded all the instrumentals in my bedroom starting on July 1, 2024, finishing with the final overdubs sometime in late November. I recorded vocals on October 3rd and 4th at Emerald Age Recording in Vista, which I chose because of hometown pride. My favorite memory of the sessions is when I was able to invite my friends into the studio and lay down backing vocals for ‘Easy Come / Easy Go.’ It was a really great time, and everyone was just peachy! The sound turned out great too!"
WHAT SONG ON THIS LP WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT TO PRODUCE?
"‘Song 26’ was probably the most meticulous. I remember doing so many takes for the bass and rhythm guitar parts. The bass here in particular is probably the most complicated on the whole album, and I busted my ass to get the part right. ‘Cailee Spaney’ however took the most amount of days, but the process was less cumbersome."
LISTEN TO SEANINE SEVEN ON SPOTIFY BY CLICKING BELOW
IS THERE A SONG YOU ARE THE MOST PROUD OF IN THIS LP AND WHY?
"‘Cailee Spaeny, San Diego Is The Place To Be’ has a great guitar sound, and it is probably the best track overall on the record. It has the best mix of both sonic and lyrical highs and I am proud of the writing here. Also, ‘After Hours / Before Hours’ I think is well written lyrically."
IS THERE A CHANCE TO SEE ANY OF THESE SONGS LIVE SOMETIME SOON?
"Currently in the process of booking gigs right now. I will probably try to shoot for a run of shows in the summer when I can burn some CDs to take along."
ANY OTHER PLANS IN STORE IN THE FUTURE?
"I am working on some video/film work for other musicians right now. Mostly live videography and music videos. For myself, I want to try and make a short film by summertime and probably release another record not too long after. This next one will probably be more harsh, spacy, and polyrhythmic. I think I want to call it ‘Reach For The Sky!’"
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?
“Be excellent to each other and party on dudes!”
Seanine Seven’s journey as an artist is a testament to the power of self-discovery and creative exploration. From humble beginnings as a self-taught musician experimenting with a borrowed guitar to crafting a full-length album that weaves humor, poignancy, and sonic diversity, Seanine has proven himself as a storyteller with a singular voice. With live performances on the horizon, video projects in the works, and an ambitious new record taking shape, the future looks bright—and intriguingly unpredictable—for this innovative artist. Keep an ear out for Seanine Seven, where wit meets waves, and music tells stories in ways you've never heard before.
