Interview with Sebastian Smith

We have been waiting for so long to get a chance to talk with Sebastian Smith and finally he has found a slot in his hectic schedule for us. He took a daring step releasing his album Universal Happiness, with it being so divergent to his first, ‘Is My Mother Trying To Kill Me?’ And having only been in the business for 1 year this would seem a risky step, but for Sebastian it seems there are no limits to his success.

Hello Sebastian thanks for taking the time to chat with us here at Staged today
That’s fine. It’s my pleasure in fact.
How are you today?
Pretty good. I can feel my creative juices flowing, everything’s getting on well and the world is still rotating. It’s ace.
Moving quickly into the questions, when did you first know you wanted to be musical? Who are your inspirations?
Well, my Dad used to be in a band so he was always you know, trying to get me to play. As for inspirations I’d say my dad, John Lennon was always a pretty big deal. Oh and Ghandi. Nice guy all round I reckon.
So what’s your favourite chat up line?
Haha! I don’t really do chat-up lines. They always seemed a bit tacky. Sounds stupid but the fact I’m in this cool business does help rather a lot in that department.
What would you spend your last £20 on?
Beatles records, no question.
If you weren’t in the music business where do you think you would be now?
If I wasn’t in it I’d probably be trying to get into it. It’s all I’ve ever really been able to do and all I’ve ever wanted to do really.
So tell us about your new album ‘Universal happiness’
Well, it’s basically got the soul of the first one but with a few new bits and pieces. We’ve had some amazing guest producers on some of the tracks. Thom Yorke was amazing. He’s such a clever guy and I think he added about twenty percent of brilliance onto most of the tracks
There are a lot of diverse tracks on there like Moonfish spectacular but they all seem to work well with your voice
Well, for Moonfish Spectacular, it was actually Thom who wrote the song for me. It went into new territory for me as a vocalist but he seemed to know exactly what I was capable of and I actually think it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever done so far.
So who is it that writes your songs?
Well, mostly me and I get help from around. After the first album i had a bunch of people asking to write songs for me which was flattering, but me and the team figured i had a pretty good thing going on anyway. So you know it’s just me unless something special comes along, like Thom.
How many instruments can you play?
Oh, umm, well there’s guitar, the violin and the harmonica so three. Yeah, three.
What do you do in your spare time when your aren’t on the road?
I just love to play video games and go to really un-cool discos mainly, there’s nothing better. The rock n roll lifestyle gets way exaggerated.
You’re just nineteen years old and are already so successful; you can’t have gotten here all on your own. Where your parents a big help?
Yeah massive. As I said, my Dad has always driven me along, teaching me instruments and how to write songs to compliment my voice rather than drown it out like a few mistakes in the past. My Mum is like a rock. I’ve had some rejections from record companies and she always knew what to say to cheer me up.
What's your biggest secret?
Haha! Not sure I can tell you! Oh alright then, I once got beat up by a girl. In my defence I was like four and she was a big girl!
What's your favourite flavour of ice cream?
Oh, umm, coconut. Very underrated.
If the world was about to end what would be the last thing you do?
Get drunk and welcome the apocalypse!