You may know Seeb through their game-changing remix of Mike Posner’s I Took A Pill In Ibiza or their work with the likes of Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Tove Lo, OneRepublic, Bastille and Dagny. They’ve scored billions and billions of streams across all platforms to the point where statistically, “every other person in the world has heard one of our songs,” explains Seeb’s Simen Eriksrud. All of that noise and mass communication was just chapter one though. Now, they’re taking their signature blend of melancholy and euphoria, dance music with a human sensibility, to the next level and down a more considered and artful path.
Kicking off the new year, Seeb have released their debut album Sad In Scandinavia, out now via EMI. The lead single ‘Run It Up‘ features highly acclaimed artists, K Camp, Tim North and Marty James.
We chatted with Seeb on how they’ve been using Sequential instruments in their music:
What made you choose Sequential?
We have been into analog synths since we were kids in the 80’s, and have always been dreaming about owning a Prophet-5. In our main studio we have a 4 year old Prophet-6 and a hot-wired Prophet 600 with the Gli-Gli Mod and the Pan Mod installed. They are being used so much it’s crazy. They are on every single track we have been releasing – we also had a Pro One years back but unfortunately sold it. Now we are looking forward to getting a brand new Prophet-5, for about half the price of a used one that is. The best synth reissue ever.
How are you using them?
They go directly into a UAD Apollo x8p, occasionally through a bunch of outboard or guitar pedals, and we record it into Ableton Live. The Prophet-6 shines on plucks, basses and atmospheric leads and the slightly wobbly Prophet 600 is all pad heaven, especially with each voice panned left and right from the Pan Mod. But the Prophet-6 also gets used a lot for pads and thick sounds. We actually have three Prophet-6’s in our studio complex here. Its the one getting the most use by far, even compared to other classic synths.
What are some of your favorite things about them?
The Prophet-6’s Poly-Mod section; it can add so much strangeness to otherwise plain and simple sounds, and really makes it unique. Its the one thing we always loved about the Prophet-5 as well so we really can’t wait to get our hands on one. But the 6’s stay too! It’s also really cool that you can pan the voices, creating wide sounds without the use of pitch effects.
What do they give you that other synths might not?
Its warm and special with the Poly-Mod section applied, and the effect section takes it to a whole new level. The chorus effects sound great, and with the newest firmware the effects are capable of taking it into so many sonic spaces you never would have done without a whole array of outboards. It’s a vibe machine, and it has all the ingredients needed to create a modern fresh sound.
Any interesting tricks or techniques you would like to share?
What we do a lot on the Prophet-6, is that we use the pots often for controller data and do lots of tweaks before recording the audio into Ableton. Its so easy: loop the MIDI-part and then go off on filter movements, sustain, modulation, etc. and try to liven up the MIDI part as much as you can. Its so easy with the great pots and buttons, sometimes we also randomly go through patches after recording the track just in case something insane pops up on a preset that we stumble across.
https://open.spotify.com/album/116cozWS2DlOUFwYDSCovA?highlight=spotify:track:6KQYQ5ycUHmDYFjL2jLXYC
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