Boo Seeka talks Midnight Highlight Album Tour & Upcoming Marketta Show

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Boo Seeka as we explore the creative process behind his latest album 'Midnight Highlight' and gear up for his nationwide tour
Boo Seeka talks Midnight Highlight Album Tour & Upcoming Marketta Show.
Boo Seeka talks Midnight Highlight Album Tour & Upcoming Marketta Show.

In the realm of contemporary music, Boo Seeka stands as a refreshing force, consistently pushing the boundaries of genre and sound to produce an emotional yet feel-good experience.

With the recent release of his highly-anticipated third studio album, Midnight Highlight, Boo Seeka invites listeners on an immersive journey through uplifting beats, dreamy melodies, and introspective lyricism. I sat down with Australian singer-songwriter Ben “Boo” Gumbleton to uncover the inspiration and stories behind this brand-new album before he embarks on a nationwide album tour.

Congratulations on the release of your new album! How does it feel to have this new chapter of your music out in the world, and how do you think it compares to your previous album, ‘Between The Head & The Heart’?

Midnight Highlight has been so different from ‘Between The Head & The Heart’ in so many ways; to start, I had my best mate and long-time collaborator Jay, who I look at like a brother, in the studio with my producer Luke Palmer, another one of our best mates, along for every step of the way in the process, and I found doing it like that this time around incredibly rewarding, and I am honoured to have them a part of Boo Seeka.

For as long as I can remember, I have always gone away to write the songs and then come back to the studio just to record; that was always my process. But this time, I wanted the ones I love and respect to be a part of it all.

How do you see your Boo Seeka’s evolving with this album, and what aspects of your music do you feel have remained consistent?

I think the world in which Boo Seeka lives has always stayed the same. I use music to escape, and it is always a paradise where I go in my head. In terms of the music itself, I have not and will not ever have rules when it comes to the process and what we can and cannot make. I am a fan of all kinds of music, and looking at my contemporaries inspires me a lot. I believe I have said this before somewhere, but I love rock, I love folk, I love dance, so why not take parts of them all and see how it goes? I think that’s what we’ve done with ‘Midnight Highlight’.

The album took me through a range of different moods and intensities, ranging from super catchy ‘Are You All In’ to the emotive ‘Come With Me’ (that one really got me in the feels!) Do you draw inspiration from real life experiences – and can you share any of the experiences or stories that inspired any of the tracks?

Honestly, I think COVID stirred up a lot of emotions in me. Being on the road is my catharsis, and being out there, inspired by a million different things and people, and then taking it all home to write and record is something that I have been doing since day one. To have that taken away for two years was really tough.

A lot of the album’s early days (including ‘Are You All In’) were born around the time that we were all starting to come out of isolation, and it was almost like those emotions were coming out of isolation as well. ‘Are You All In’ is super in-your-face, and I guess that’s why—the emotion of it all. ‘Come With Me’, on the other hand, was born a few months later when we were in full swing in the studio with Luke. It was like holding a mirror up to myself, reflecting how I felt at that time as well.

Among the tracks on “Midnight Highlight,” do you have any personal favourites, and if so, what makes them stand out to you?

Obviously, I love them all, but I am really happy with how ‘The Birdie That Never Was’ turned out, and I’ve been thinking of playing it live when we land back in Australia for the National Album Tour and putting it on the setlist. Even though we haven’t given it the live treatment yet, I’m super keen to see what people think of it live. I got a bunch of messages before we went over to Europe asking what songs we’re gonna be playing on the Album Tour, so I think this one is a strong contender.

Boo Seeka talks Midnight Highlight Album Tour & Upcoming Marketta Show

Can you reflect on your creative process during making ‘Midnight Highlight’? Were there any unexpected challenges that shaped the album’s direction?

Look, there were mostly good days, but there were undoubtedly hard days. I guess every artist knows there are difficult days in the studio when you feel like nothing you want to say is coming out of your guitar or the lyrics or anything. Sometimes I can feel like I’m in a bit of a rut when nothing seems to want to come out. But that’s why I loved having Jay and Luke along for the ride every day this time.

One day, when we’d been in the studio since the crack of dawn, and we were having one of those days, we were about to call it a day when Jay told me to just pick up a guitar and start strumming. Neither of us knew that Luke was still recording, and right then and there, we made up the chords that became Come With Me.

As an artist who values experimentation, were there any risks you took with this album that you feel paid off particularly well?

I think trying to take the elements that I liked from different genres that I had (or hadn’t, in some cases) played with before and see what we could do turned out to be super satisfying and in the end, turned out to be a collection of songs that we were all really proud of. I think the tracks that most clearly show this are ones like ‘Make It For Love’ and ‘Are You All In’. We had never done anything like either of those songs before, and I am really happy with how they turned out.

Have you had any memorable fan interactions or feedback regarding specific tracks or moments ?

I actually asked some people from my Instagram story the day the Midnight Highlight dropped, and the results were actually pretty mixed! There were dozens of people per song, which I kind of liked, as there was no clear winner and all the tracks were getting the same amount of love. I actually had someone recognize me in Europe, which was crazy, and they told me that they are loving ‘Somebody’, which was just so crazy to me.

Can you tell us about your upcoming tour and what fans can expect from your live performances?

I think this tour will be like nothing that people might have come to expect from a Boo show quality-wise. This time, we really wanted to put as much time as we could into upping the production, the lighting, the whole works. Of course, though, it will still be classic Boo at the heart of it all: a bottle of red, and music (both old classics and some of the new stuff from the album) to dance and have a good time to. I’m so thankful to everyone who has bought a ticket so far, and we might be adding a few more shows at the end if they keep selling like they have been. I love all of you legends!

You’re taking the stage at Miami Marketta on February 25, and this isn’t your first visit to Marketta (it’s actually my local!). Is this a venue that holds a special place for you?

It’s now my local as well. I think it’s a seriously special venue, and we’ve had the privilege of playing there a few times, and it’s always so packed. I honestly think that when it comes to Australia at least, Miami Marketta is the best Sunday arvo venue.
You can just head on down there on a cruisy Sunday, grab a drink, and there’s always something good going on there. Not to mention it’ll be the easiest date on the tour because I live so close to it!

Do you have any anecdotes or memories of the Gold Coast fans you can share with me?

My favourite Gold Coast crowd we have ever played to would have to be at SPRINGTIME Festival a few months back. It felt like the GC had finally reawakened after a few years of sleeping during COVID, and I loved how keen the fans were to see everyone, not even just us. Newcastle will always be my home, but the coast is a close second and is where I’ve been with my friends for a few years now and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

Is there a particular venue, event, or festival that has a special meaning for you?

Honestly, there are too many to count. Some that come straight to mind are obviously Miami Marketta, the Cambridge in Newcastle, and the Corner Hotel in Melbourne; those would have to be my favorites from each state.

The Corner was the first-ever venue that we played as Boo Seeka. We were supporting Kim Churchill and have played it and sold it out heaps of times since then. I never get bored of playing there. Speaking of memories, I have a lot of history with the Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle, and it was really sad seeing it close down last year. I honestly cannot remember how many times we have played there, but I can assure you it was a lot. A lot of memories at that place, and thankfully, we were able to send it off at its farewell festival last year.

I heard that you are a big Prodigy fan (I am too!) and wondered if you have managed to catch one of their live shows since we lost Keith? Do The Prodigy still influence your music today?

I love this question, and the answer is yes to both! I still listen to The Prodigy all the time when I’m on my way to the studio, when I’m cooking a nice meal, or just hanging out with my friends. In hindsight, it was pretty crazy when all that happened; none of us really expected it. It showed me that you have no idea how long you have someone you love around for.

Finally, is there a message you’d like to share with your fans on the Gold Coast leading up to your show?

I know it might be a bit of a cliché, but thank you, thank you, thank you to every single one of you beautiful people for supporting me, for buying a ticket, for listening to the album, buying the merch, even the people who have never heard of me but have only heard one song and it connected with them.

You make my job the best in the world, and I am so humbled by that. Let’s have a good time at Miami Marketta in two weeks!

Catch Boo Seeka on the Gold Coast – Midnight Highlight Album Tour on Sunday, February 25 at Miami Marketta. For tickets and more tour dates,

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Ky Mi

Ky Mi is a Radio show host and music blogger at Electronic Music Australia as well as an independent record label owner with a passion for all things music, but particularly electronic music.