By Susanna Borio
As a post/melodic hardcore band from Kent, UK, Seek Harbour brings soft vocals and strong melodies to a classically hardcore sound.
With more than 200,000 streams on Spotify, they are quickly growing their following and resonating with fans through their already impressive music catalogue.
We spoke with one-half of the band’s “lead singer” duo, Edwin Matthew Hall, about the band’s formation and their sound.
Let’s begin with the meaning of the band’s name, where does it come from? Does it have a specific meaning?
Our band name actually took a while to figure out! Not the name itself but to get an actual name we all liked.
We were already writing our debut single at the time and realised we couldn’t postpone any longer. We’d brainstormed in the past and shot over names to each other of course but nothing really stood out or felt punchy enough.
We also decided to try a few nautical approaches as we all live in the coastal town of Deal, somewhere we all feel like home and all belong, even if we’ve resided in other places beforehand or even now.
Then one day I saw the name “Seek Harbour” thrown in amongst others by our guitarist CeeJay and it just felt like it had a ring to it.
My idea behind band names is that you don’t particularly think of the meaning of a band name after a certain amount of time, if it sounds right by saying it out loud and sounds catchy it’s pretty much a winner.
My constant comparison is “Red Hot Chilli Peppers”. Nobody really thinks of a chilli first when saying that band’s name, they think of the band.
The meaning behind the name is that our beloved hometown of Deal is where we all met, so, we had the thought that if you were lost at sea nowhere near home or even land, adrift amongst the open space, “Seek Harbour” means to seek out a harbour in the distant horizon, seeing it would bring a sense of comfort, a sense of belonging. To seek home. Seek Harbour.
How long have you been playing together?
We have been together since the late summer of 2019.
We first learnt our parts at home separately for our debut single, then headed to the studio.
Before any more songs were written lockdown struck, so we didn’t play together properly until our first band practice to gear up for our first show almost a year and a half/2 years later!
How would you define the genre of music you play?
This has been a tough one, we would say post-hardcore but as we have a lot more melody going on with a bit of roughness thrown on top, we do have a melodic-hardcore vibe.
(Alt-rock with a nod to 80s pop could also be thrown in!)
Do you remember the moment you decided you wanted to pursue music?
Personally?
A musician came to my junior school with brass and woodwind instruments, did a little showcase, then afterward asked us if we’d like to form a queue in front of the instrument we wanted to try out afterward.
Most people queued for the trumpets, cornets and trombones, but I was one of few who queued for the saxophone.
Since then I moved through a variety of instruments before settling on acoustic guitar and then singing.
As a band- we have all lived in the same area for a number of years and have known each other for a while, we have been through an assortment of different bands between us, stemming from different musical backgrounds.
We threw a few jokes around about being in a band together and what we could possibly achieve if we did, then one day Simon our drummer and CeeJay came to scope me out at a charity acoustic night, liked what they heard and had a little think.
The deciding factor was after CeeJay got back from an Alexisonfire show, he felt inspired, made the WhatsApp and asked if we wanted to give it a shot. The rest is history.
What’s the best show you’ve played so far?
It has to be our hometown show in Deal at a Music & Arts pub called “The Lighthouse”. Fitting!
The turnout of all the friends & family mixed with the sound and the atmosphere was just one of the best, with our songs being sung back at us, this made for a great show.
What’s next, any shows? New music?
Well we have just come back off a mini-tour with our new friends in ANIIMALIA but next in the pipeline is another hometown show, Canterbury show, then shortly after a night with Skies on the 25th May!
All upcoming gig info can be found on our socials!
I can’t say too much but we are currently behind the scenes at the moment, so we are definitely working on the future and some stuff. Stay tuned!
Anything you’d like to say to people just finding your music?
We hope you stick around for the long haul, because we only aim to improve.
The music is written for you in a way so that anybody can connect to it with whatever is going on in their life, we hope the music helps you through whatever times you’re facing.
Also, come see us at a show, we love meeting you all!
You can find Seek Harbour on social media and on their Spotify.
The Curve Magazine 