A Q&A with Steve’n’Seagulls

Here’s Remmel from distinctive Finnish folk five piece playing something completely different…

How did you get the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
Another Miracle dates all the way back to the childhood of our accordionist/multi-instrumentalist Hiltunen. For us it’s a way to show some love to our roots.

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
Well, that’s a tough question. Maybe putting an end to the whole process. So that you can actually say to yourself that this album is done. It is perfect now. And every time the cover art is a total pain.

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it?
A Finnish producer Timo Kämäräinen produced this Another Miracle album. His input and influence was very strong on the whole process. I feel the biggest input was that he gave us confidence and belief that we can make a wonderful and better album than ever. He also played a big role on the original tracks on this album.

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
We hope that while listening one can spend time in the illusion of our music. So that everything around you turns into a music and you don’t have to think anything else. And if we can inspire people, that’d be cool too.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
Well the process is pretty much the same on originals and new arrangements. Someone has an idea, a demo or something like that. Then we all start to work on the arrangement. Sometimes the demo can be already pretty prepared and sometimes it is just a riff or a verse. But usually it starts from an individual and turns into a group process.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
Well, this is a tough one. Personally I’ve been influenced by many. There is a lot of amazing music in the world. But from the top of my head right now: Great Peacock, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix and Children of Bodom. And J.Karjalainen.

When the world is back to normal where would like to tour, and why?
We have a lot of tours postponed. So we hope to do those first. That’d be Europe (Scandinavia and mainland Europe), North-America and Australia. But we’d love to tour Central and South America and also Iceland would be cool! We get a lot of messages and hellos from all over these places so it’d be nice to meet the fans and play some live music.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
Oh well… From the new album I’d pick ‘Master of Puppets’ and if an original then ‘Joe’s Little Baby’. I know… that’s two but there is two sides to us as a band. 🙂 Puppets is probably the most out-of-the box and crazy track on this album. And Joe’s is a well grooving and musically strong track.

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
To make better and better albums and songs. And to explore the sounds and possibilities of our acoustic instruments. And if we can bring some smile and happiness to the world then we’re happy! We love to play live. So we wish to visit more and more places and play live. We’ve been to over 30 countries so far. So plenty more to go! 🙂

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Thank you everyone for supporting us! Take care of yourselves and people around you. See you at the live shows when possible and stay safe! And if you are new to our band. Come and check us out live. We’ll have some good times and few cold ones!

‘Another Miracle’ by Steve’N’Seagulls is out 20th November
The band will live stream their album launch show on 20th November at 6pm here: vimeo.com/472555470
For more info visit: facebook.com/Stevenseagulls