Q&A: Seagoth
By Isabella Vega
TOUCHING ON EVERYTHING THAT COMES WITH ADOLESCENCE - Seagoth’s upcoming EP, Internet Cafe, serves as a voice for many. Georgia Ochoa, the individual behind Seagoth, writes about her own experiences of “feeling sorry for herself”, creating a space where synth melodies (which were carefully crafted on the Garageband app) and a constant underlying feeling of dread come together, finally exploring the sides of teenagedom that aren’t exactly movie-worthy, like dreading the end of the world and crying in the shower. The Luna Collective chatted with the dream maker about existential crises, her musical evolutionmand her surprising hope for the new year - read below for more and check our her new EP Internet Cafe, out Friday.
LUNA: Can you introduce yourself and what lead you to pursuing music?
OCHOA: My name is Georgia, I'm 18 and I like to go by 'Seagoth'. I started really getting into music like most people when I was around 13, at first I listened to a combination of things, from Avenged Sevenfold to Taylor Swift - and I still do! I started playing piano when I was around 14, and that's pretty much when I started writing music. I couldn't study music in high school because my audition went that bad. So out of spite I decided to dedicate myself to developing my musical skills and along the way there I realised performing and writing songs was what I wanted to do in the future.
LUNA: Who are your go to set of artists & creatives for inspiration for you?
OCHOA: Right now what's helping me to continue moving forward is seeing female fronted bands rise up and succeed so naturally I'm a big fan of The Regrettes, Girl In Red, Clairo and Beach Bunny. I'm also a big fan of Dayglow, Wallows and Cage The Elephant.
LUNA: How would you compare your creative process for Internet Cafe to your previous music?
OCHOA: Internet Cafe has felt like quite a slow process since I released the first single 'Internet Cafe' back in September and I've been writing most of the songs since the summer. I'm a perfectionist so it's just been constant shuffling around of chords and lyrics for 6 months. The creative process was really different for this EP than for my previous EP's since I made my last one on my iPhone, but this time I had some actual equipment.
LUNA: Which song means the most to you from Internet Cafe & why?
OCHOA: 'Ballad for the End of the World' means the most to me because I think it's my most universal existisitential song. During difficult environmental or political events most people feel as if they're just watching helplessly and that's a common feeling for me lately.
LUNA: Is there a common theme or narrative going on in this EP?
OCHOA: Definitely nihilism and frustration.
LUNA: What other elements do you like to bring into your music? Is having a visual aesthetic important to you?
OCHOA: Visual aesthetic is super important to me, for this upcoming EP the aesthetic is very soft and sparkly. I decided to go for this aesthetic just because of how many sounds I used throughout the EP that made me visualise the ocean, glistening water and just warmth.
LUNA: What do you want 2020 to bring you?
OCHOA: I'd like 2020 to bring me some tough love and balance. I want it to encourage me to get up in the morning, understand when I'm having bad days - but never let me fool myself. Because if it was up to me I'd play The Sims for weeks straight and never leave the house.