Seja Vogel (pronounced say-ah) (born 21 May 1981) is a German-Australian musician who was a member of Brisbane bands
Sekiden and
Regurgitator
Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut studio album, '' ...
.
Early life
Vogel was born on 21 May 1981 in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2 ...
, West Germany. She grew up in
Stuttgart before moving to Australia with her family when she was seven years old. She attended a Steiner School and often credits her creativity to her early Steiner Education. Vogel learnt violin and piano at an early age, and became interested in synthesizers after hearing bands like
The Cars
The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), ...
,
Devo
Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau ...
and
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize t ...
in high school.
Musical career
Formed in 1998, Sekiden released two albums and two EPs. The band was known for high-energy live performances and they toured extensively throughout Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA, touring with bands such as the
Zoobombs. Sekiden released music through
Modular Records
Modular Recordings (known simply as Modular) is an Australian record label founded in 1998 by Steve Pavlovic that is currently owned by Universal Music Australia. It has released music from local artists such as Eskimo Joe, Ben Lee, The Av ...
, Australian independent labels
Redline Records and Valve, Japanese label Bad News, and the American Boompa! label.
Vogel joined iconic genre-mashers
Regurgitator
Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut studio album, '' ...
in 2007 as a touring member and also contributed to their studio album ''
Love and Paranoia'' that was recorded in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Vogel also played in the backing bands of Spod, Heinz Reigler,
Ben Salter
Ben Salter (born 23 March 1977) is an Australian musician currently based in Hobart, Tasmania, in addition to being a member of bands including Giants of Science, The Gin Club, The Wilson Pickers, Hownowmer and The Young Liberals.
Solo car ...
and
David McCormack
David Liam McCormack (born 25 October 1968) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as frontman of Brisbane-based rock group Custard,McFarlan'Custard'entry. Retrieved 23 February 2010.Spencer et al, (2007McCormack, D ...
.
Vogel later recorded and performed under her own name for the album ''
We Have Secrets But Nobody Cares'', released through Sydney record label Rice Is Nice on 27 March 2010.
Vogel toured widely following the release of the album and supported acts such as
Sarah Blasko
Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow (born 23 September 1976), known professionally as Sarah Blasko, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. From April 2002, Blasko developed her solo career after fronting Sydney-based band, Acqu ...
,
Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser).
Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, the ...
and
Warpaint.
In between touring and recording, Vogel started a textile label named 'Pul(sew)idth' that produces miniature felt replicas of instruments made by Vogel herself.
Alongside her own music, she is currently writing a rap album with
Quan Yeomans
Quan Yeomans (born 12 December 1972) is an Australian musician best known as the frontman of the band Regurgitator.
Early years
Yeomans was born in Sydney to a fifth-generation Australian father, Neville, and his mother Lien, a well-known Vi ...
of
Regurgitator
Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut studio album, '' ...
.
Podcast
At the end of 2016, Seja started her podcast ''HearSej'' where she talks to musicians and other creatives about their careers in a casual and intimate conversation. Some guests include
Kevin Mitchell of
Jebediah
Jebediah are an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. They were formed by Chris Daymond on lead guitar, Kevin Mitchell (aka Bob Evans) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Vanessa Thornton on bass guita ...
,
Sarah Blasko
Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow (born 23 September 1976), known professionally as Sarah Blasko, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. From April 2002, Blasko developed her solo career after fronting Sydney-based band, Acqu ...
,
Megan Washington
Megan Alexanda Washington (born 7 January 1986) is an Australian musician and songwriter who has worked mononymously as Washington. Originally performing jazz music, her style shifted to indie pop and alternative rock. She has released three s ...
and
Benjamin Law.
Discography
*''
We Have Secrets But Nobody Cares'' (2010) – Rice Is Nice
*''
All Our Wires'' (2013) – Rice Is Nice
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogel, Seja
1981 births
Living people
Australian songwriters
Australian rock singers
Australian rock keyboardists
German emigrants to Australia
Musicians from Stuttgart
Australian people of German descent