Interview
Ero Seagull
Ero Seagull is a Canadian alternative artist. She released her debut album Evolution on June 14th with EMI Universal.
Ero first appeared in music contest, The Peoples Music Awards in London, where she won the judges’ round in the ‘Off the beaten track’ category for Unison | Breath of Life. She went on to give her first concert in Scala, London, and has also played a live gig in The World Festival of Music & Drama in Lahore with her composition, Craters On the Moon.
Her song, The Gospel, was picked up by US music bloggers, and it went viral, reaching more than 30,000 plays in less than a month.
Ero Seagull released her first single, Doin’ Our Game on the 3rd of February 2021, and has since released her second single, Requiem, which was written after George Floyd was murdered. You can read the write up on Vents Magazine.
Ero Seagull is now working on her second album, Revolution.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I started learning piano at the age of six, but music was always in the first chapter of my heart. I remember listening to soundtracks, my heart full of emotion and my imagination running wild. Through the ballets and operas that my parents would take me to see, the seed of music education started growing. On my Walkman, I would listen to Beethoven and Mozart, and I would pretend I was the conductor of the orchestra.
When I went to university in England, I would get lost in creating my own songs. There, I sang in my friend's music concert and realized how much I loved this exposure. I saw firsthand how music has an immediacy with the audience. Later, I met Leon Rhymes (Too Many T's) and his group, Queen's English. They had taken part successfully in a music contest, The Peoples Music Awards in London. This is the same contest I participated in during the following year, winning in the Judges Round.
While playing at Scala in London, I met amazing artists, and I understood that music is my element. I traveled around, living in Spain with musicians, and in the States for two years. When I returned to Athens, I started producing more and more, releasing my debut album Evolution.”
“Ero Seagull undoubtedly offers a sound that’s unique and easily recognizable. For the single, The Gospel, almost every building block brings individuality and unpredictability into the mix.
The opening, industrial-style beat is spacious and intense—attention grabbing from the offset, and interesting for its apparent lack of genre and refusal to be confined.
Following this, Seagull’s voice emerges into this ongoing outpouring of rap, lyricism, and conceptual story-telling.”
Review by Stereo Stickman
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“My songs vary in theme and genre; I don’t limit myself.
My last song, Requiem is about the assassination of George Floyd, and is dedicated to all the victims of police violence. It comments on the social injustices and violence that people face every day. When I heard of George Floyd’s murder, I was shocked, even though we are used to ugliness. I sat down at the piano, and the lyrics ‘Perhaps I'm a million bucks, but now I feel like I'm dirt on the ground’ came to my mind, as if someone was dictating them to me. It’s a song that asks you to consider your choices and make them through love. Requiem is one of the songs in the album I’m currently preparing entitled Revolution.
I wish for a system that will ensure direct democracy throughout the world, without politicians, without police. Society will be ruled by the people and by love. I can’t grasp that we still haven’t sorted out the homeless people, we still haven’t solved world famine, we still have wars. As long as we leave the few to govern us, we won’t see the light of day. We will be in the dark. It’s very simple to do it; all we need is the New World Order, and the rest will be done by the people.”
Which current art world trends are you following?
“I'm not following trends because I don’t want them to affect me and my work. I like to forge my own way in art.
A book that I read, ‘The meaning of order and the non-linear interpretation of reality’ by Kitsos Tripos has affected me. I’ve never believed in time. I believe it’s a man-made construction used to drive the masses to produce, when all we are is an existing planet that makes circles: a circle around the sun, and at the same time a circle around as it spins.
It blows my mind how everything is so harmonious in the universe and we exist in this beauty. And instead of living in peace, we have self-centered bigoted people who think for us and conquer our planet like they own it. I didn’t ask for this, and I’m sure you didn’t either.”
“From the great city of Athens in Greece, this Greek Canadian artist has shown us great tracks in the past. This time around, Ero Seagull gives us the result of her artistic evolution, and it’s cool.
I love it when artists find their sound, and their sound is something new and something fresh. There is no doubt that Ero Seagull will be noticed with this track, The Gospel. I love it and find myself listening to it over and over again.”
Review by Act One
You can read the full review here.
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“I usually get an idea in my head from various stimuli. I get out my pen and notebook and write without filtering my thinking, and usually without many corrections. For instance, I read a theory that claimed that Jesus was never betrayed by Judas, but that it was Jesus during the last supper who told Judas to do what he did. That inspired me to write The Gospel.
I wrote What's In A Romeo after being inspired by Romeo and Juliet, and because I believe in such love. I don’t really plan my work; it appears to me.”
What process, materials, techniques, etc., do you use to create your artwork?
“I create my music in two ways. In the first, I write lyrics and go to my piano to create the melody. The second method is the reverse: I have a melody in my head, and then I write the lyrics for it depending on what I wish to sing about.”
What does your art mean to you?
“My art means the world to me. The benefits are psychological. Sometimes it helps me battle my inner demons and tame the dragons. Sometimes it’s a memoir.
When I wrote Doin' Our Game, I was in a good place. I was with my then girlfriend discussing the possibility of having a child. One of my best friends read my book, ‘Ero & The Remembrance’ and told me to write a song about this decade of uprising. So I wrote the song as if our child was old enough to hear about my roaring twenties.
This decade was very intense. We lived unruly, freely, not limited. From the outside it all seemed wild—the drugs, the parties—but the basis has always been love and the deepest need to discover the world through us. We sat down with the director, Antony Glaros and discussed many ways in which we could present a visualised narrative, which is frequented with the lyrics of the song. It would also show ‘my journey’.
My art evokes my emotions, whether they are happy, sad, disturbing, or exciting.”
What’s your favorite artwork and why?
“I can’t point to my favorite artwork. In my iTunes, you’ll everything from Britney Spears to Tchaikovsky. I love the Beatles and Amy Winehouse—people with intellect; real musicians who are not trying to beautify anything. I admire musicians who have the power to be authentic.
I also love 2Pac for this reason. Initially, hip-hop came from a deep need to express what each ghetto was experiencing. Over time, we’ve all seen it become more pop or mainstream—commercial, in a nutshell—with the idea of money coming into the clips, the cool look, and having all the spotlight on the artist. I consider these to be clichés.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“On Saturday, 10th September 2022, I will be doing a concert for Japan’s Kansai Music Conference. People from all over the world can watch it here.
I’m excited about being connected with people through my music. Through this music conference, I will do a collaboration with AinaKanna from Japan. The musician Bhukhurah did the production, and Aimilia Milou and I recorded our vocals two days ago. I hope you will enjoy it!”
