Untitled 909 Podcast 208: Seb H.

An early Sunday morning club session from Seb H. recorded live from Laak in The Hague.

Originally hailing from Essex, Seb H. moved to Amsterdam shortly before the implications of Brexit were put in place, living there for two years before moving to Rotterdam, where he still resides. Quickly becoming immersed in the historic local scene, Seb H. has been volunteering at the local radio station Operator since 2021 where he has met lots of inspiring and creative people as well as hosting the station’s in-house radio show, Culture Radio. Documenting the cultural landscape of Rotterdam alongside his co-host Cara, the show shines a spotlight on the city’s music scene and beyond, inviting individuals who are involved with the city’s cultural events/organisations, speaking to them about their experiences, their motivations, the challenges they face and so on. Seb also hosts his own show on the station, Can’t Mix FM, which has been running for just over a year now. More free flowing and a good showcase of the kind of sounds Seb is into, the show also offers one-off artist spotlights such as a recent Shackleton special. As a DJ, his mixes and sets often lean towards the dubby, bassy side of electronic music, whether that’s more techno-leaning or more wonked-out, trippy half time / drum & bass numbers. I managed to catch Seb close out a kinetic party earlier this year and honestly felt like he peered into my soul with what I wanted to listen to at that time; lots of spacey, atmospheric jungle and drum & bass, so I’m super happy to be hosting this live recording on 909 today!

Hey Seb! How are you doing? What have you been up to lately?

Hey! Doing good thanks :) I just did a radio show with 5RVZ for his Echobox residency where we discussed the influence of Youtube on UK rap culture. So for the last couple weeks I’ve been preparing for that - watching a lot of old Youtube freestyles and taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Much love to Raj for the invitation!

Let's start from the very beginning, what was your first introduction to music in general and then more specifically electronic music?

I guess everyone’s early influences are whatever their parents are into. My mum’s a big Bowie & Rolling Stones fan so I grew up listening to all that kind of stuff. Early teens I was in a band, playing a few gigs around town, but once I discovered electronic music I got sucked in pretty quickly.

When I was about 16 a friend gave me a ripped CD of Burial’s Untrue and the Dubstep Warz episode of Mary Anne Hobbes’ Breezeblock show on BBC Radio 1. I used to hammer that CD, every time we’d get in the car it would go on and from there I was totally hooked on dubstep, 140 music and then electronic music more broadly.

Who was the first artist or band that you were a fan of?

First band would definitely be Green Day. I remember being obsessed with the American Idiot album, and from there got into their back catalogue. Their track Brain Stew is pretty simple on the guitar so I’d play that a lot in the early days when I was learning.

In terms of electronic music it’s Digital Mystikz. The atmosphere, the sparse beats, the big bass - I think you can find signposts of their sound in all of the electronic music I’ve fallen in love with since. They’re the blueprint for me.

They’re also the reason I buy records. Their philosophy in the early days of cutting dubplates and spinning records really caught my attention. It felt connected to a long lineage of musical history extending all the way back to dub sound systems in the ‘60s, and I guess I wanted to be a part of that in my own little way.

Was there a formative moment growing up, whether that’s seeing your favourite band live or an incredible DJ set, that led you to this path?

Growing up in Southend we had a lot of really terrible ‘chart music’ clubs, but there was one party where the music was good. From 2011 to 2013 The Kool Kids Klub was like a religion for me and my friends. You couldn’t miss one.

They’d invite DJs like Ben UFO, Oneman, Jackmaster, Joy O - that nucleus of post-dubstep, UK ‘bass music’ DJs and producers - before they were all big superstars to this tiny 150-cap room above a bar just off the highstreet. And it was amazing. Truly formative experiences that just got me totally hooked on clubbing and nightlife and DJing.

Originally hailing from Essex, you’re now based in Rotterdam, what motivated the move and how has Rotterdam influenced your artistry?

I first moved to Amsterdam, essentially to escape Brexit and get into the EU before it became really difficult to get a visa. I lived there for two years and relocated to Rotterdam during the pandemic.

In Amsterdam I found the music scene frustratingly impenetrable. Even trying to get involved at a very grassroots level I found to be very difficult. But Rotterdam has been the total opposite. Everyone I’ve had experience with has been a lot more welcoming, supportive and encouraging. So that has been a big influence on me - Rotterdam has given me the belief that if you keep trying and keep working hard, you can make steps along the path you want to travel.

I also need to give a mention to Operator. Volunteering at the station from 2021 onwards has been a big game-changer for me. I’ve made a lot of friends and met a lot of inspiring and creative people. I’m incredibly grateful for their support - big love to Jeff, Osman, Pim, Kris & the whole team.

You also work within the tech and distribution side of music, do you find that this influences how you approach your DJing and musical output in general?

Yeah I’ve been working at Triple Vision Record Distribution for about 18 months now. The biggest influence I guess has been my record collection has swelled quite considerably since joining, which has been great.

I’ve discovered a lot of music that I probably otherwise wouldn’t - especially techno. I was into techno before but wouldn’t necessarily buy that many records or play it that much, but that’s changed now. I now put a lot of focus on mixing techno records with the more dubstep-influenced records in my collection.

When it comes to your show on Operator Radio, Culture Radio, what’s your motivation behind the curation here?

Culture Radio is Operator’s in-house radio show about the cultural landscape in Rotterdam. I host it alongside Cara, and we both work in a team with Jeff & Pim to produce each episode, research topics, invite guests etc.

The motivation is to promote Rotterdam’s cultural scene, both in music and beyond. We invite individuals who are involved with the city’s cultural events/organisations, speaking to them about their experiences, their motivations, the challenges they face and so on.

The show’s been running for two years now and in that time we’ve spoken to club owners, promoters, DJs, musicians, visual artists, the Rotterdam night council, festivals like Motel Mozaique and the International Film Festival Rotterdam, movie directors, architectural historians and loads more.

It’s an audio collage of what Rotterdam has to offer and I’m very proud to be involved.

Where do you look for sources of inspiration outside of music?

Exercise is always a big boost for me. Inspiration, motivation, general life-satisfaction - all of them increase after exercise. I’m not a fitness fanatic or in peak condition by any stretch of the imagination, but getting the blood pumping and releasing the endorphins a few times every week helps me in so many different ways.

What has been your most recent musical discovery that you’re obsessed with?

The first that comes to mind is Nick Bärtsch. He’s a John Cage-esque pianist and composer that really blew me away at Houghton festival this summer. Shouts to Joe & Jacob for taking me along because I’d never heard of him before that. His music is like a crazy blend of modern classical, minimalism, jazz and funk.

I have a ticket to see him perform in Rotterdam next weekend with his band, Ronin. Super excited!

You’ve also contributed a mix for the 909 series, what’s the story behind this one?

Yeah! At the start of November I was kindly invited to play at Laak in The Hague. The club’s been around for a little while now but it still feels pretty new, they had to close for a while due to licensing issues but now they’re back and hopefully for good.

The place is wild. Really dark, lots of smoke, big custom sound system from Kantarion Sound. Everything you want. I played in the second room on a sunday morning to a crowd that felt up for anything. Had the best time.

I recorded my set and thankfully the sound quality is pretty okay, so I thought I’d send it over and I’m really grateful you decided to share it :)

When was the last time you were on the dance floor?

Last weekend! Garage Noord in Amsterdam for a Shackleton live set. Amazing as expected. Need to give a mention to phil in a maze, he played before Shackleton. I’d kind of seen the name on lineups but didn’t know anything about him. He was proper sick! Killer 140 tunes and razor sharp mixing.

What are you most excited about right now?

Christmas with family & loved ones. Mince pies. Mulled wine. Mariah Carey. Love it.

What’s on your vision board at the moment?

Releasing my first EP is a big motivation right now. Maybe that will come in 2025 but I won’t rush it, whenever it feels right it’ll feel right.

And there are a bunch of clubs around Europe that I want to visit - I want to hear the sound system at Open Ground and I want to check out Planeta Manas, Ankali, Robert Johnson…