SEAKA
A journey through songwriting, the creative process, magic and meaning.
Many years ago, in a life that feels far far away, I was signed to a major record label with my of the time, Out of my Hair.
I was young, wild, somewhat untethered, trying to find a way to express myself inside a high-end recording world that didn’t always suit my lo-fi, ramshackle approach. I wrote quickly. The machine moved slowly. I was caught in the mechanisms of a large company that didn’t really suit where I was with my music, or who I was becoming.
There were undoubtedly fantastic moments, and it was a wild ride, but the expectations were high and the letdowns were low. At a certain point I had what one might call a serious creative and personal crisis and realised that, for the sake of my life, I needed to step away from what I was doing and explore something else.
So began The Seaka Project.
The name holds the journey: selling off what I had, travelling East, trying to dismantle the identity that had defined me, and searching for something underneath it all — meaning, love, truth, and a way back to music that felt alive again.
It led to some of the most magical and transformative experiences of my life. Only now, with distance, can I see how extraordinary that journey was. And with that perspective, I want to share the story no longer consumed by it.
Through all this time, I kept writing. Countless songs were never released, and many were never properly recorded. Seaka is my way of bringing them into the light — while sharing reflections on songwriting, creativity, love, resilience, and what it means to find your way when you are lost.
For reasons I will explain, this story has a kind of beginning and a kind of ending in one song.
It is called Everyone Knows.
It is a song I wrote close to one death, and right after another.
I have to start somewhere, so I’ll start here.
About Simon Eugene
Simon Eugene is a songwriter, producer, composer and performer with over 25 years’ experience in music. His work includes major-label releases, touring and recording with Out of My Hair and International Love Corporation, support slots with artists including Radiohead, music for BBC Storyville, and current international songwriting and production work through SoundBetter.
Seaka is the next phase: a focused return to artist-led practice, bringing together music, writing, archive and creative renewal.