HearSej

Seja talks to her guest Cash Savage about the new album So This is Love, the process of letting go of songs and connecting with one’s audience. Cash tells Seja about writing in interesting time signatures, the loss of identity during lockdown and some of her superstitions around live shows. They chat about the camaraderie in bands, games on tour and vocal heroes. Cash’s strange show story was illu...

Seja talks to her guest Mo’Ju about the recording of their new album Oro, Plata Mata. Mo’Ju tells Seja about the making of the album including its concepts such as the importance of the number 3 based on Filipino superstition. Seja and Mo’Ju chat about their journeys towards trusting themselves in their songwriting practices, collaboration with family and their love of the Violent Femmes as teenag...

Seja talk to her guest Astrid Jorgensen (Pub Choir) about the phenomenon that is Pub Choir over the last few years, her history of being a high school teacher and how singing in a choir the quickest way to properly experience music as an amateur. Astrid tells Seja about the mistaken notion that alcohol is a 'must' for pub choir, that she doesn’t like performing when it’s all about her, and her lac...

Seja talks to her guest Meg Mac about her new album Matter of Time, how she scrapped an entire version to start again, how she moved to the country and some of the writing tools that helped her start again from scratch. They chat about their mutual love of Enya’s vocal production, the process of working remotely with producers overseas and how it shaped the album. Meg tells Seja about the songs th...

Seja talks to her guest Missy Higgins about her new mini album Total Control, how she expanded the songs from writing for television and how it was produced. They chat about their shared phobias, how important it is to surround yourself with good hearted people on tour, and their fear of accidentally not being woke enough. Missy tells seja about fighting for women’s rights, being politically outsp...

Seja talks to her guest Joel Shadbolt (L.A.B) about the band’s 5th album release, lockdown in New Zealand, and how COVID-19 has been a weird opportunity for New Zealand bands to get good slots on festivals. He tells Seja about his dad’s country influence, studying jazz guitar in New York, and how he started singing. They chat about the beautiful simplicity of lyric writing and instrumentation, ban...

Seja talks to her guest Erica Dunn (Tropical Fuck Storm, MOD CON, harmony, Palm Springs) about the new TFS album, how the band accidentally made a movie and how songs come together in all the bands she is in. Erica tells Seja about her music related sliding doors moment, her scary piano teacher and how she joined her favourite band. They chat about her experiences with trying to learn mistakes on...

Seja talks to her guest Stu Mackenzie (King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard) about his upcoming multi-genre residency shows in Brisbane, COVID-19 admin on tour and how difficult it is to remember 75 songs at the same time. Stu tells Seja about how he approaches music like architecture, his addictive personality and how this feeds his compulsion to write, and how his dad would play him Australian Roots...

Seja talks to her guest Paul Kelly about his very special new Christmas album ‘Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train’, the journey of making the album, how the songs came together and some of the collaborations. Paul tells Seja about the post album recording flatness, how it’s always strange to talk about something once you’ve finished it and his love of sequencing albums. They chat about the album themes...

Seja talks to her guest Tim Shiel about his album Distractions One, the journey to feeling satisfied with one’s creative output and how valuable collaborations can be for both the art and when you have to talk about the art. Tim tells Seja about using elements from the past to build a through line to new work, intertextuality in music and film and his label/musical community Spirit Level. They cha...

Seja talks to her guest Zak Olsen (Traffik Island, ORB, Frowning Clouds, Hierophants) about his new album ‘A Shrug of the Shoulders’, singing fatigue, playing with new people, and things that influenced the recording of the new album. Zak tells Seja about his farm life in Wattle Bank, his time growing up in New Zealand listening to his dad’s heavy metal band rehearsing Megadeth songs, and how he g...

Seja talks to her guest Jen Boyce (Ball Park Music) about her love of the Seekers as a child, learning to harmonise with her sister and singing along to tapes in the car. Jen tells Seja about how she was drawn to Hanson as a musical goal, how her mum helped her make a business plan for playing live, and the first time she picked up a bass. They chat about learning by ear, karaoke and how to be hap...

Seja talks to her guest Charley about her new single Arizona, its themes of mental health, panic and anxiety, and how relatable these themes are amongst artists. Charley shares her stories about being a competitor on The Voice and what she learnt from these experiences about her own creative output. She tells Seja about collaborating with other artists and producers, how communication is the key t...

Seja talks to her guest Ian Kenny (Birds of Tokyo) about working on music remotely, making mistakes on stage and the grossness of creating ‘content’ for fans. Kenny tells Seja about the creative hub in his hometown of Dunsborough, Western Australia, being vulnerable with band mates and trying not to think about your audience while writing songs. They share some random phone notes and chat AFL gran...

Seja talks to her guest Hayley Mary (the Jezabels) about feelings, singing from the heart and how Unchained Melody was the catalyst for Hayley’s love of singing. Hayley tells Seja about her love of dramatic melodies, how she sees singing as a game she tries to get better at, and the horror of playing solo acoustic shows. They chat about both attending Steiner schools, how to push yourself to be he...

Seja talks to her guest Matt Colwell (360) about remastering and reissuing his pop/hip hop album Falling & Flying on the 10 year anniversary of its release and his memories of that time. Seja and Matt chat about demo-its, moon walking, laughing at swear words in rap songs and yearning for the excitement of youth. Matt tells seja about embracing his Australian accent and how it took him years to fi...

Seja talks to her guest Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun, the Sleepy Jackson, DREAMS, H3000) about growing up in a blues club with his dad and learning some valuable lessons. Luke tells Seja about production ideas that never made it into a show, his experimentations with illusions and the mistakes he made as a young person. Seja shares her first memories of the Sleepy Jackson and they chat about Luk...

Seja talks to her guest Ambrose Kenny-Smith (The Murlocs/King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard) about the making of The Murloc’s new album Bittersweet Demons, mixing remotely and how the Harry Nilsson and John Lennon album Pussy Cats was a big inspiration. He tells Seja about the challenges of being a singer and harmonica player on tour, writing songs on the piano, and bring a worrier. They chat about...

Seja talks to her guest Mia Dyson about making writing a daily practice, finding your authentic voice and growing up surrounded by male musicians. Mia tells Seja about writing music with her husband Karl in LA lockdown, her recent near death experience and her gratitude for surviving it. They chat about song lyrics being premonitions, Mia’s dad Jim Dyson’s beautiful guitars and share some co-writi...

Seja talks to her guest Gretta Ray about growing up in a musical family, singing in a community choir as a child and using music as a tool for procrastination. They chat about soaking up other people’s work, being creative during lockdown and working with encouraging producers. Gretta tells Seja bout her first gigs, touring while she was in high school, getting nerdy about pop music and celebratin...

Seja talks to her guest Ngaiire about surviving a volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea as a child, how Australian life differs to PNG life, and how she started to love singing. She tells Seja about studying jazz, singing with Blue King Brown, and her mother’s influence on how she conducts herself creatively and personally. They chat about how writing a happy song is hard, getting a live show toge...

Seja talks to her guest Liz Stringer about her recent jaunt singing backing vocals for Midnight Oil, her experiences playing sessions, sober touring and her new album First Time Really Feeling. Liz tells Seja about her musical community, what makes co-writing successful and her forced travel break over the last year. They share stories about stage fright and taking stock of what is important in th...

Seja talks to her guest Bow Campbell (Front End Loader) about growing up with a folk musician father, how Guns n Roses and Motorhead changed his life and his first band the Edelweiss Pirates. Bow tells Seja about his 27 years in Front End Loader, how much songwriting gives him joy, and the band's infamous Aria Speech. They share stories about owning masters, publishing and road kill and answer som...

Seja talks to her guest Mat Watson about growing up in the country, loving metal and getting his start in music by playing drums and studying Jazz in Melbourne. Mat tells Seja about getting into experimental music as a sensory experience and how he has developed a very personal attachment to the EMS Synthi AKS; his favourite synthesiser and work horse. Seja and Mat share stories of playing togethe...

Seja talks to her guest Scott Kannberg AKA Spiral Stairs (Pavement, Preston School of Industry) about moving to Australia during the pandemic, how both his solo project and Pavement shows have been derailed this past year and the grief he’s been going through after losing close friends and band mates. Scott shares some old memories from tour and talks about his big musical influences as a kid. Sej...