Mic Drop’s Artist Spotlight: Jacob Seeger

 

Stepping into our Artist Spotlight is an extremely talented singer, songwriter and producer. We have been keeping a close eye on the New Jersey native as he continues to progress as a musician. Jacob Seeger will grab your attention with his soothing vocals, clean productions and authentic lyrics. An artist who in constantly in the lab cooking up something fresh is one we love, and Seeger fits the part. Simultaneously creating, planning and learning as he continues to grow his sound and discography.

Before we begin, I’d like to have a brief introduction of who you are? where’d you come from? 

Hey! I’m Jacob Seeger and I go by the name Jacob Seeger for my artist persona. I’m from New Jersey although sometimes I like to say NYC because I only live about 10 minutes from the city. Anyway, I’m a Pop/R&B artist.

When did you finally decide to pursue a musical career? In another life, If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing right now? 

I’ve been playing and making music since I was 8, and I remember daydreaming about being an artist in my future. But for all of my adolescent life I didn’t really consider pursuing an actual career in music until I was 17. I knew it was unstable, risky, and the chances of actually succeeding were really low. But one day my friend was a judge for this local competition in my town called Englewood Idol where 12 contestants participated. I didn’t even initially audition to be a part of it, but my friend, the judge, later called me and told me they’re looking for a participant from my high school and asked if I wanted to audition. Given the opportunity, I said yes, and wound up winning the competition in the following months. Shortly after, I was being asked to perform in the local area and every time I did, I would just do covers. So, one day I said to myself, “ok but what am I really contributing to the world by doing this?” and that’s when I decided to start writing music. Cause at that point I realized that people are asking ME to perform, so I should be able to give them music that I made. And in another life, I’d probably be either a psychologist or physicist. I literally spend my free time watching science videos on YouTube and/or listening to people’s problems.

While you were growing up what musicians inspired you to pursue music?

I was heavily influenced by classic R&B. I looked up to all of the greats: Marvin Gaye, Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross, Isley Brothers, etc. At the same time, I was listening to contemporary R&B artists like John Legend, Frank Ocean, Drake, etc. But if you listen to my music, you’ll realize I’m not 100% R&B like the artists I just named. I tried to listen to everything, I just always gravitated towards R&B. I was also listening to pop songs (but not the David Guetta stuff that was big at the time…), some classic rock, country, the list goes on. I like to think I’m taking my favorite parts of all those genres and songs and putting them together in my songs in some sort of way.

Name one artist that changed the way you looked at music for the better and why?

Ugh wow too many to mention. Let me just say three real quick – Drake, Don Henley, and Glen Hansard. Drake taught me about vulnerability and what it means to connect with people through music. Don Henley taught me about what it means to be a versatile musician. Glen Hansard taught me about putting passion into my performance and music.

What is your favorite song that you’ve released and what is one you’d like to go back to restructure?

I think my favorite must be my latest song “Down” right now. I felt like I was able to say what I was thinking and convey my feelings clearly in that song. I felt like for the first time in my career I was able to put more of my personality in a song – making jokes, having it be more playful and light – and I liked that. I also like that it doesn’t remind me of something else. I’d always struggle when sending it out for sync opportunities because I’d have to give artists that it’s similar to and I’d draw a blank! So in a way that’s frustrating, but it’s also not the worst problem to have.

A song I’d like to restructure would probably be “Pushed” from the first EP I ever released. That EP isn’t available on Spotify/Apple anymore, I decided to take it off this past June. You can still hear it on my SoundCloud though.

Name 2 artists you’d love to collaborate with in the near future and 3 dream collaborations?

I’ve always wanted to drop a house song or EP. A dream collaboration would be with Disclosure. Or with artists like SG Lewis, Preditah, Black Coffee, etc. Majid Jordan is also an obvious one to me. Aside from house though, I’m also a huge fan of Lolo Zouai and Clairo right now. I feel like those could be really cool collaborations too.

If you could ask one producer to remix a track of yours, who would it be?

I’m a huge fan of Majid Jordan, I’d be super interested to see what Jordan Ullman would do with one of my songs. I love his sound and, in many ways, am inspired by him. But in the meantime, I’m working on collaborating with the talented producers I already know – Cairo Marques-Neto, Will Kast, Kuma Overdose, and Brandon Pascua to name a few!

You have over 8k monthly listeners on Spotify, How does that feel? Does that give you a funny feeling knowing that 8k different listeners regularly listen to your music?

Truthfully, while the number looks and feels really well, the main thing that’s on my mind now is finding ways to make sure that those monthly listeners stay to become real fans. The problem with the streaming age, especially on Spotify, is that playlists are a driving source of plays these days. And I’ve been very lucky that my music has been added to over 120 playlists just within the past couple months bringing in all those streams and listeners. But I’m also very aware of how playlist culture works in that when my song is off those playlists, those listeners are going to drop – and they already have been. So, I’ve been working my a** off coming up with new content – a music video, video games, new songs, maybe even vlogs soon?! – so that those passive listeners become engaged.

Describe a day in the studio with Jacob Seeger. What is your usual set up? Go-to DAWs and software for production?

I just finished my little home-studio setup in Jersey which I’ve been working out of. It’s really great and simple – you don’t need much these days. I’m a Logic Pro person all the way through. I use it for tracking, producing, and mixing. I only have one mic (LA-320), one interface (Apollo Twin), one pair of monitors (HS5’s), a midi controller, a keyboard, and some guitars. Actually, now that I’m saying this, it sounds like a lot haha. But, compared to actual studios, it’s extremely basic. I do 95% of my producing straight in the computer with the midi controller, and all of my vocals I record on that mic as well. I’ve realized over the years of making music that dropping $10,0000,00,000,00.2 (yes, an actual number) on recordings barely matters anymore. Your idea matters more, and if you can deliver that idea in a creative way that’s authentic to you, then you’re doing it right. You don’t need thousands.

If you had to be a domesticated hamster or a new york city rat, which would you be and why?

New York City rat for sure. I mean, they get to roam the city freely – seems like a no-brainer. Plus, I wouldn’t care much that people think I’m gross as long as I’m able to enjoy what I’m doing while hopefully not spreading the bubonic plague. You know what, and I may be thinking too much into this, but the more I think about it the more I see similarities between being an artist and a NYC rat. It’s not easy, you aren’t pampered, you have to work hard just to eat, people will judge you, but you get to do what you love, make your own decisions, and live independently and freely. Maybe in a year or two of doing this I’ll change my mind into being a hamster though, who knows.

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