Sebya is the brilliant solo project of Demetry Malahoff. Recently releasing his long-awaited debut self titled EP, Sebya. It's a beautiful, mellow slow burn that has you ebbing and flowing between melancholy and optimism. Hazy Days Music would like to thank Demetry for taking the time out and having a chat.

 I’m really loving all the music you have been releasing. When did you first start playing music? How have you found starting this project?

I grew up making music, learning guitar, singing in choirs and stuff like that throughout school, and I started entering talent contests around seventeen. I grew up in central Queensland in Mackay, and talent contests and the Eisteddfod were the only performance opportunities you’d get up here other than playing cover shows at local cafes that stay open late. The pubs didn't really have any interest in live music. 

When I was seventeen, I moved to Brisbane to study music. I studied at QUT and met a lot of musicians that were a lot better than me. It was a bit of a reality check. 

When I moved down here, I started this project, Sebya. I had recorded music before under my name Demetry Malahoff. It was a lot different. In Brisbane, I was writing music that was a lot different from that old project, so I wanted to start new, change the name and disassociate myself from that old product. It has taken a long time to release my debut EP. I guess I was super precious about the whole process. I wanted to make sure I was reaching out to the right people when releasing it. I was pretty anxious about it all. It has been a big learning process for me and being away from my family, who have supported me from the beginning.

I am seeing you was your first single released back in 2019. Do you remember how that recording experience was?

I Am Seeing You was one of the earlier songs written. I wrote most of the songs off the EP over a one year period. I had this big writing frenzy when I first moved to Brisbane, where I wrote over 150 songs in two years. Working out how to cut down all those songs was an interesting process.

I recorded I Am Seeing You between a studio at uni and my apartment. There wasn't a lot of consistency throughout the recording; I recorded the drums on different kits. I played different guitars through different amps and the same with microphones. Back then, I didn't really know anything about consistency with engineering. It took me a long time to mix everything cohesively together. It was a mess haha, I have definitely learnt a lot from that process and from recording other artists. My recording process is wildly different now.

That must have taken some time refining down your big catalogue of music into a six-track EP. Could you walk us through how you tackled that challenge?

It took a long time. I spent days and flights going through the voice memos on my phone. I had lots of demos of my songs on there, stripped back versions of chord progressions and vocals. I did that for a long time trying to figure out what fits. A lot of the songs are in the same key, which wasn't intentional. I think I ended up choosing songs that sounded the same and put them on the record. I spent a lot of time listening to the songs and choosing my favourites. I went through a really healthy stage of recording songs and getting rid of them straight away if I didn't like them, not wasting any time and just moving on to the next one. I felt that was a huge thing, being less precious about each individual song. I think you'll always have another song to write. So you don't have to attach your feelings every time. 

The way I approach my music now is very different.

Were these songs recorded pre COVID? And how has your experience been getting ready to release this EP?

I recorded these all years ago. I have had a couple of roadblocks along the way. I always wanted to tour with the release of this EP. I always wanted to take off a period of time where I could travel around Australia playing my music. At the end of 2019, I went to Iceland to intern at a studio over there. I spent a year and a half saving up for that trip, and releasing my EP got pushed back because of that. I didn't have the money to do both, so I put my money towards Iceland.

What does Sebya stand for? How does this represent the way you approach creating music these days?

I needed to sit and figure out what kind of sound I can make and what I can do for myself. That's where the name Sebya comes from; it means myself in Russian. That's kind of the whole project, me trying to be myself, present myself in what I believe is accurate for myself. 

I was really young when I was working on my old project. I didn't really know about putting instruments to songs back then, so I kind of just paid for a really rushed studio session. We recorded five songs in five days, and it was really rushed and a stupid thing for a 16-year-old to try to get through something that quickly. Most of that ended up written by the energies and people working at the studio at the time. I didn't really enjoy the finished product afterwards because it didn't feel like it was my own anymore.

Thunder Nights is one of my favourite songs off the EP. What’s the meaning behind this one?

Thunder Nights was actually written for a uni class. We got about nine weeks to write a song for that subject (way too much time to write one song). One of my friends just told me about how his grandfather had gone out to feed a possum in his backyard the night before and fell and broke his wrist. I guess that imagery has kind of always stuck with me. I wrote Thunder Nights about growing old, but growing old with a lot of love to give to other people and other things. I think feeding a possum is a very kind and loving thing to do. I feel like most Australians love possums. That's sort of where the idea stemmed from, I was in the middle of falling in love too, so I was pretty obsessed with all that sort of romantic stuff.

Not upload your music to Spotify and Apple Music is a big statement. Could you share why that is?

When I can get away with not releasing my music on streaming services that are continually taking advantage of artists and musicians, I will. It's just ridiculous that these new services can't redistribute the cash flow in a much fairer way.  

SoundCloud and Bandcamp are great platforms! You can find all my music there.

It must feel great to finally have your debut EP out! How did you celebrate that night?

It was a massive weight off my shoulders. I didn't realise how shit I had been feeling about myself because I hadn't released it yet. It had been so long and put off for so long. I celebrated by having some friends over, we put on some wood fire pizzas, and a few of my friends played music, and I played some songs off the EP, just a super lovely night. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the release of this EP.

I’m very jealous about your Iceland trip. How was it? What’s the tea on how you got to go over to Iceland as an intern?

I got the opportunity to intern for three months at Valgeir Sigurðsson’s incredible Greenhouse Studios, located in the suburbs of Reykjavik, Iceland. He's worked with so many brilliant Icelandic artists like Múm, Björk, Sigur Rós and Of Monsters and Men, and mainly composes for film scores, interactive exhibitions and operas these days.

I've had this growing obsession with Iceland for a very long time. I love how Icelandic people make music, the way they value their art and hold integrity towards it all. They prop up the weird and value the outsider highly. I was introduced to Múm when I first moved to Brisbane, and my obsession grew from there. I knew that I always wanted to visit Iceland, but for a while, I didn't know how that would happen, if it was just going to be a holiday or something. For a while, I thought maybe I'll try and record an album over there, and I started saving towards that. One afternoon on a YouTube deep dive, I was watching this Spitfire Audio interview with Valgeir. They were going through his studio, talking about the different gear he owns, showing off the studio spaces and why they chose it all. That was the first time I saw Greenhouse Studios. It's a beautiful space that overlooks a terrific mountain range and parts of Reykjavik. Towards the end of the interview, Valgeir mentioned quickly in a passing conversation that's why we take interns, and he kept talking. I just reached out to him, emailed my portfolio and got accepted. A year and a half later, I went to Iceland. They have new interns every three months and are constantly looking for female and non-binary engineers. Contact info - here.

What do you have planned for the rest of 2021? Can we catch you playing anywhere soon?

I’m in the middle of booking a tour for later in the year. I want to play in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, New Castle, Brisbane and Mackay. I also have a few shows in Brisbane coming up soon. I’ve just opened a sustainable recording studio here too. I’ve been working on the next Sebya record there.

Stay up to date with Sebya on Facebook, Instagram and SoundCloud.

Posted on the 26th of May by Jake Taylor.