Toby Sebastian: Spanish Beginnings

Exclusive Interview with Orange Unsigned Act Finalist

Dec 19, 2008

The youngest remaining contender for the coveted Universal record deal prize talks frankly to Suite 101 about family life and his Spanish musical roots.

Toby Sebastian is blazing his way through the Orange Unsigned Act Competition with the calm level-headedness of a performer with twice his experience. He's coped with the intensifying pressures of singing for survival every week since the competition started in the summer, and his brand of innocent melodic acoustic songs is winning him fans nationwide.

At stake is every unsigned act's dream - a record deal with Universal and a £60,000 advance. Whoever wins the competition will, without a doubt, go on to sell records.

Suite 101 caught up with Toby just before Christmas as he played a chilled-out, stripped-down acoustic set with sister Bella at the new Cafe Coco in his hometown, Oxford.

Childhood Music - Tracy Chapman and Crowded House

Suite 101: So Toby, you’re just 16 years old and already singing and playing like a seasoned professional. How did you first discover music?

Toby: Music has always been played through our house, great music, some classics like Tracy Chapman, David Bowie, Crowded House. My sister, Bella, started playing piano at about 10 I think. I first discovered playing and writing music when I was living in Spain. I had to play Flamenco guitar because, living in Spain, those were the only guitar lessons I could get! I got into that, I enjoyed that. I wasn’t the best guitarist. But as soon as my sister wrote her first song, it sort of gave me an idea to do the same. From then, songs didn’t come that quickly to me, they were never brilliant, but it was more a case of just trying to get emotions out. It was very personal.

Corinne Bailey Rae and Family Support

Suite 101: On one of the Orange Unsigned Act Tour shows, your sister sang backing vocals for you on your cover of Corinne Bailey Rae’s ‘Put Your Records On’. Would it be right to say that you come from a musical family?

Toby: Bella plays piano, she’s just started playing guitar. I sometimes help with that. She’s the quickest learner I’ve ever seen! I play a bit of piano as well. But guitar has always been my main thing. My dad is into design, my mum used to be into dance and fitness – I don’t really know where the music came from, but as soon as Bella started it just seemed to pass down through the family.

Suite 101: You’ve just played a beautiful acoustic set tonight. Amongst your fans tonight you’ve got your dad, your grandparents. It seems that you’ve got an incredible amount of family support here.

Toby: My family have always been, and always will be hugely supportive of my music and my achievements, the same with my sisters. It’s great, that’s just the kind of family they are. It helps that my grandparents live close. We all live around the same area and we all enjoy each other’s company. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Suite 101: I take it then that having Bella as your chaperone on Orange Unsigned Act is a welcome part of the experience for you?

Toby: It was a bit silly really; it was all about insurance and stuff. It was fair enough. I had to have someone with me, and the fact that that happened to be my sister was brilliant. I just had a laugh with her, we played some music and it was like we were just going on vacation.

Spanish Guitar, Flamenco Influences

Suite 101: You’ve already credited your musical beginnings to the time you spent growing up in Andalucia, Spain. How long were you there for?

Toby: We lived in Spain for 3 years. We had an amazing house in Sotogrande. We just had the smallest house compared to everyone else. It was mad, it was where all these millionaires were living, and we lived in this tiny house!

Suite 101: There is sometimes quite a Spanish flavour to your guitar playing, in 'Crazy' for example. Do you think that experience has influenced your songwriting?

Toby: Flamenco music has definitely had a massive effect on my songs today. Without that, I think I would be writing completely different songs. In fact I probably wouldn’t be writing songs full stop.

Toby and Bella

Suite 101: What’s it been like watching your brother’s progress over the last few months?

Bella: Surreal! It started over the summer so it’s been much more than just the recent TV appearances. We watched him get down to the last thousand, then the last five hundred, and so on. Now he’s down to the last few, I’m so surprised at how well he’s done and so proud! He’s very grounded and that keeps him level headed. He’s aware that this is just a stepping stone.

Bella: It’s been really good. I didn’t actually know about the programme beforehand, because I don’t watch TV. When we went to the first tour show in Birmingham it was really odd and I got the whole story all at once. It was great to sing backing vocals for Toby. Everyone on the show gets on really well.

Orange Unsigned Act continues on Channel 4’s T4 on Sundays throughout December. Live finals will take place in January.