In the Summer of 2021, BIMM Berlin welcomed a selection of its students to the House of Music to record the ‘BIMM Berlin Album 20/21’. Eight projects, hand-picked by industry panels to showcase the best music emerging from the college, each recorded one song over the course of two weeks.
With the legendary Pete Smith (Stevie Wonder, Sting, Sheryl Crowe) on board as producer and giving extensive feedback and input, the students enjoyed access to a wealth of industry experience. With genres ranging from ‘jazz metal’ to electro-pop, the songs make an eclectic and awe-inspiring body of work.
We caught up with each of the eight acts featured on the record to find out more about the meaning behind their track. Here Selkie tells us about ‘Seeking’
How would you describe your music?
Dreamy, haunting, ethereal. Songs that make you sway like the ebb and flow of the ocean.
What made you want to become a musician?
Music is the one thing I can count on to make me feel alive and to help me explore and remain curious about the world. I started writing songs and had acapella bands as a tiny, tiny kid, and despite being fairly quiet offstage, there has always been an internal urge to create, perform and share my music with others.
Who or what inspires you as an artist?
I tend to be inspired in quiet, unplugged spaces with only the sights and sounds of nature to distract or enthral me. I find something special in the overlap between stillness and movement that usually sparks inspiration for me. Musical influences include Björk, Lamb, PJ Harvey, Tori Amos… What can I say? I’m a child of the 90s!
What’s the meaning behind the song you recorded for the BIMM Berlin Album?
‘Seeking’ is about keeping your eyes and heart open in order to welcome and embrace the unexpected in life. Finding the magic in seemingly insignificant encounters and events, and knowing that there is excitement and wonder waiting for you at any turn if you are willing to receive it.
How did the song come about and how did you write/produce the song?
I don’t remember very clearly! I feel like it might have been one of those ones where I woke up at 3am and had a bit of a melody and lyrics in my head for no reason at all, so I got out of bed and quietly made a guitar accompaniment in the dark. The production bloomed from my initial dabblings with Logic as I explored the software and used something other than a guitar or a piano to enhance my songs. During the recording session for the BIMM album, Pete and Fabio suggested several additions and encouraged more vocal harmonies that make it sound like a whole of itself.
Can you describe your songwriting process?
I will usually find a phrase or a sound that I warm to. Sometimes a song will develop effortlessly from there if I have a quiet space on my own to work. Other times I will have to carefully plan and build the song section by section, chiselling away at it day by day, little by little, using various lyric-writing techniques or much needed clear-my-head-and-take-a-break techniques! It’s rarely – possibly never – the same process twice, but the music and lyrics unfold harmoniously.
What projects are you currently working on?
Selkie is my main project at the moment. I have written and performed my music for years and am at a point where I am most happy with the sounds I can create and my ability to experiment with different types of instruments and software. I am ready to finally complete a full album of songs which I am working on for release next year.
What are your future plans as an artist?
I would like to continue to develop my songwriting and production skills. I look forward to performing live again, especially incorporating technology into my performances. I am interested in collaborating more with different producers and musicians to continue to grow as an artist, and I would love the opportunity to be able to score movies in the future.
Selkie’s track ‘Seeking’ is featured on the BIMM Album from Berlin. You can read more about the album and the other artists + tracks featured here.
