Interview: Seneca B (+ mini mix)

Not sure how I came across Seneca B's beautiful and extremely spacious beat work, but Celine's music has been an extremely warm friend in many working evenings lately. Her tracks and a cup of tea is the perfect chill combination.

Since our mission and goal here at Stereofox is to discover and share with you amazing new artists like her, she agreed to create our Stereofox Mini Mix:// 46 (tracklist at the bottom of the post) and also hop in for a quick interview.

I hope you enjoy the interview and find out more about this amazing producer and the person behind the beats.

Hi Celin! Before anything, could you tell us a bit about yourself? Anything you feel random people on the Internet should know.

Well my name’s Celin and I’m from Boston. I just graduated from UMass Lowell and am planning on hitting up law school in September.

How would you describe your mix in a sentence?

It’s what I’d want to listen to late at night.

By the way, is this your voice on in the beginning of "May"? Whether it's yes or not... can you elaborate on the quote?

No, it’s actually a quote from an interview with Grimes. Grimes was one of the people who got me back into producing because I found her super inspiring. I was heavy into music in my freshman year of college and it definitely was a big influence. The quote itself is important to me because I feel that’s how music works for me. I don’t necessarily make the music I want to make but the music that I have to make at that moment and I can’t avoid it no matter how hard I try.  

How did you start producing?

I started playing drums when I was about 11 or 12. I liked playing with people but bands were hard to organize and it was difficult to get everyone together. I started producing when I was 14 on FL because it was easier to manage. I liked being able to control all parts of the song and figuring out all the different things you could do with virtual instruments. Plus my neighbors didn’t complain about the noise like they did when I played drums.

Urban Dictionary's definition for "seneca" is "A beautiful girl who is always there for you. she doesn't give up and is strong enough to stand up to anyone..no matter the case. she is caring and extremely nice. tends to be always happy about everything, dont mess with her or get on her bad side though....she has a bad temper for people she doesn't like. overall a loving girl who says she will do something and do it.". Accurate?

Maybe a little close haha. I’m optimistic about things most of the time but every once in a while I can have a bad temper. I’m also really bad with time and I tend to be super slow on projects, but I’m working on it!

What does the B stands for?

I honestly couldn’t tell you. I remember changing it one day but I have no idea why I did it. I think it was about copyright because I thought I’d get sued because someone already had the Seneca name but I realize now how dumb that is. Now I just think I’m stuck with it.

I just spoke with your guitar. She's asking why it took you 6 months to pick her up again and write songs?

Because my trunk is a bottomless hole and I forget all the things I throw in there :( It’s also not actually even my guitar. My friend left it at my house when we were in high school and I forgot about it until I cleaned out my mom’s house.

You did a collab with ADMB (number 26 in our mini mix series) - a producer I really love and respect. He's based in UK. How did you guys meet?

We met on soundcloud when he asked to work on a song with me. We made the song and started talking more on Facebook and working on random projects. He’s probably the best friend I’ve made through music and we talk all the time now. Last year I took a trip out to London with my family and we ended up meeting in person and having a blast. I met another one of my producer friends based around Brighton too which was really awesome.

What has been the hardest thing you ever sacrificed in the name of music?

The biggest thing I’ve given up is time and money. I couldn’t count how many hours and days I’ve spent sitting on the couch working on songs but honestly it doesn’t even feel like a sacrifice because I love doing it.  

What's on your playlist nowadays. Any producers we should be checking out?

I’ve been listening to stuff all over the place genre wise lately. My playlist lately has included tracks from one of my favorite bands in high school Gardens & Villa to YG and MNDSGN. I think honestly there’s way too many producers doing their thing to do them all justice but some I’ve been listening to lately outside of the groups I’m in are kaizen, e e v e e, 90s flav, O.S.L., ntourage, and mndbd.

What inspires you when it comes to beat-making?

Definitely seeing people going outside their genre and just experimenting. It takes a bit of courage to get weird with your music so I love to see it.

How does Seneca B's 2017 look like?

Currently I’m just working and hanging out. I graduated college in December but I’m starting law school in September so I’m trying to get some free time in now before I get back to school.

If Trump's America falls down, new elections are on and you happen to become a senator. First thing on the job?

Try to get every single homeless person somewhere to live.  

Thanks Celin! Any last words of wisdom?

I just want to say that I’m incredibly grateful for everything that music has done for me. I’ve met a lot of great people and made a ton of good friends and I really don’t think I’d be the same person I am now without that. No matter what happens, I’m happy with where music’s taken me and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Stay up to date with Celin's journey and follow her on her Stereofox artist profile. Hope you enjoyed the interview and the mix which you can download for free here.

TRACKLIST