Seekers International’s musical journey charts the creation of unique electronic music developed from the influences of New Wave, House, Hip-Hop, and Dub music. With three previous projects largely unnoticed, and a series of self-released titles under a previous alias, Seekers International’s time seems to have arrived.
Early Career
Seekers International, born Spencer Ocampo, can trace his musical influences back to his early years in Manila. He grew up in the Philippines, right in the thick of the chaos of Quezon City. “Living in Manila was always nuts and hectic. The region’s overpopulated with bumper-to-bumper traffic, ultra-compressed housing and commercial structures, pollution, just a sheer sense of saturation.” Seekers main musical influence was his brother, the man responsible for putting him onto New Wave and progressive music from the UK. They would talk synthesizers and bass guitars, would anticipate new albums, break down song arrangements, and listen carefully to how instruments were used. Seekers says Filipino culture is a large mix of a variety of influences, cultures, and traditions. “I grew up where people still tuned into the radio, listened to the radio, anticipated a certain radio show, talked about radio shows, called and wrote into radio shows – it was a very interactive thing.” Music had no definition or division between genres in Manila. Pop, Rock, Dance, House, R&B, Techno, and Hip-Hop were all the same to Seekers and his friends.
The Call From Below Is Released
Seekers project The Call From Below was picked up by independent American record label Digitalis in August 2012. Five hundred copies of Call From Below were distributed worldwide, with one hundred of them in a limited edition purple vinyl. These one hundred copies were sold out in the first month. “It was a blessing on so many levels, not to say the least of which was having the record mastered tor vinyl cutting at Dubplates and Mastering in Berlin, which is an establishment renowned for their quality of work.” Dubplates and Mastering was created by artists Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, two very influential artists on Seekers. In less than a year his album has become a collector’s item, with fans and progressive music lovers proclaiming The Call From Below as the new breakthrough sound, an original piece of work that no one has ever heard.
The Future
Ultimately, Seekers goal is to push his own label and help the artists he discovers get noticed too, now that he has first-hand experience with releasing a record for worldwide distribution. Additional projects are on the horizon, a second record release is slated for 2013 under Digitalis, and an independent release under his house label Transmolecular. As for the future, nothing is set in stone, but Seekers is certain that, “my modus operandi [will] remain the same; keep doing it, progressing, and staying inspired, travel, and see new places, absorb it all.”
