Seekae

The force now known as SEEKAE came together in 2006, when primary school alumni Alex Cameron and George Nicholas, then fresh out of high school, met again after eight years by chance. Alex introduced George to his then-bandmate John Hassell, and the three, who had all been conducting bedroom experiments with electronic music, decided to start making noise together.

For the next two years, the trio, first as Commander Keen and then as SEEKAE, honed their sound, fusing elements of IDM, hip-hop, indie pop and ambient post-rock into an entirely original brand of organic electronica the three dubbed, only half-jokingly, as ‘ghetto ambient’. At the same time, the band set about finding ways to bring their downbeat electronica alive on stage — to translate midi signals and digital bits into something compelling and alive. It didn’t take long. Soon, word spread through Sydney and beyond of SEEKAE’s wholly intoxicating, unpredictable live show, a mix of live instrumentation and pre-programmed electronics that makes use of everything from drum machines, synthesizers and samplers to melodicas, guitars, drums and glockenspiels.

In 2008, after a couple of years of recording, SEEKAE released their keenly awaited debut lp, The Sounds of Trees Falling On People. A strikingly assured collection of intricate, dynamic electronica, SEEKAE’s debut lp was rich in its detail and, at 73 minutes, ambitious in its scope, running through 8-bit electronica, buoyant pop, ambient wash and surging, noisier workouts. The album was met with near unanimous acclaim, with Rolling Stone calling it ‘as ambient and mesmerizing as an iced-over forest’, and Sydney radio station FBI dubbing it one of their best Australian albums of the decade.

To support the release, SEEKAE played a host of sold-out headline shows, as well as supports for the likes of PVT, Broadcast, Cloud Control, Decoder Ring, and Midnight Juggernauts, their ever-evolving live show garnering them a growing fanbase and an award for Best Live Act at Sydney’s 2009 Music Arts and Culture Awards.

After recording an ep of remixes — which took in signature reworkings of local lights Pivot, Ghoul, Megastick Fanfare, Parades and Bearhug — in 2010, SEEKAE headed into the studio to record the hugely anticipated follow up to The Sound of Trees Falling On People. Where their first lp was recorded in patches, SEEKAE’s sophomore release found the trio working more deliberately.

True to their makers’ intentions, +Dome is a more experimental record than its predecessor, but, being a SEEKAE lp, it retains the warm, immediate charms that have endeared the band to so many. From the opening jittery, precisely processed guitars of ‘Go’, to the glitch-pop of ‘Blood Bank’, to the droning strings of ‘Underling’ and the gorgeously spare closer ‘You’ll’, +Dome is the sound of a band unwilling — some might say unable — to stand still.

+Dome’s 12 tracks reflect the band’s far-reaching passions, from the 808- and bass-heavy club sounds of the new decade to the scenes and sounds of Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago and London. Shot through with samples and field recordings collected over two years of writing, touring and recording, +Dome is an album that demands and rewards repeat listening.