Catch up with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist SEE and watch the video for "Potions" off her debut EP, Ties, out now.
What first got you interested in music and in songwriting?
SEE: I always had this pull towards it. I started playing piano when I was 5 years old and then when I turned 13 - I'd been begging my parents for years to get me a drum set - they got that for me and so I started playing the drums around then and I started really getting into live music and going to shows. It was this gradual thing and I just wanted to teach myself all of these instruments so that I'd be able to write a song by myself and just say that I had done that; it was like a weird competition with myself [laughs].
Do you remember the first concert you went to?
Yeah! My first big, real show was No Doubt and Paramore when I was in middle school and that was amazing because it's two really great female-fronted acts that I had loved growing up. I was really excited about that one.
Which musicians have you been influenced by?
Definitely Radiohead for a while. Coldplay. There are a bunch of more indie bands, I guess; I listened to a band called Moving Mountains and I listened to a band called MuteMath and I love those two. Just a lot of alternative pop people too, like Marina and The Diamonds and stuff. So, pretty much all over the place, but I just like well written songs; I'll listen to anything as long as the songs are good [laughs].
Is there an artist you're hooked on now?
I've been really into Meg Myers, she's really great. She put out her debut, I think, last year and she's really awesome, so I've been digging that.
How would you describe your own sound?
I would say it's a blend between alternative pop and rock, somewhere in between there, and there's some acoustic vibes in there, too. It's really tough [laughs] it's hard to describe my own music... I would say alternative pop is probably how I would classify it.
What were your inspirations behind your single and the video for "Potions"?
I basically fell in love with this girl and it was just this whirlwind of feelings and stuff. I was 18 at the time and it was just right at that age, I guess. It just all felt crazy and I was really into this person and so I wrote this song about it and then I wanted the video to portray a real relationship between two girls without it being something that it wasn't allowed to happen. Just because a lot of LGBT representation in the media is always representation of people overcoming being gay or going through the struggle and that's a great story to tell, but it's too overdone; I just wanted a video where people were just happy to be with each other and that was the focus, instead of the fact that they were two girls.
Could you tell us more about your debut EP, Ties?
Yes, Ties is an EP and I think it encompasses the scope of my sound. It has two songs that lean in a more acoustic direction - which I'm really into - and then the rest of them vary from indie rock and pop and it's very ambient and very song driven. There's a bunch of different hooks on there and I think it's just a good blend that's somewhere between rock and indie pop so I think people interested in those genres would like it.
Is there a track off that EP you would call your favorite?
Most of the time it's "Closed Eyes Open", which is the second track. I'm always a huge fan of songs that build up: that one starts off really quiet and then gets really loud and turns into this very spacey, rock kind of thing at the end. And it personally mean a lot to me, too.
Could you sum up Ties in one sentence?
Wow [laughs]. Yeah, I would say: it's a record that is based off of a bunch of real life experiences that take the form of an indie pop rock sound.
What do you hope listeners are able to take away from your music?
I just want them to feel like it's a genuine art coming from me. Because there's always people who listen to records and songs of people who poured some of their stuff in there that doesn't come naturally and this is all real art that I have worked on for a really long time and everything's written by me and I just want it to seem like it's very genuine, real emotions. So, hopefully people can translate that and take that into their own lives and do with it what they will.
