Local Needs was developed after my exodus from my hometown of Trail, British Columbia. Though I found little appreciation for the sore sights while growing up in this small company town, the lead particles in the breath of my youth would serve as creative fuel years later. I found myself entranced by the gentle hum of Cominco, the monolith which has served the region for decades, and wreaked havoc on the health of all life around it. The sacrifices and obeisance to this monstrous smelter were not unlike the dedication some have made to an organization I was once immersed in.
I was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses from birth. As if growing up in an isolated industrial town wasn’t lonely enough, I ended up as a member of one of the most controlling religious organizations in the world. As I got older, I allowed myself to fully examine my beliefs, and my worldview experienced a massive shift. At 20 years old I made the most difficult decision of my life. Leaving behind family, friends, and the comfort everything I ever knew, I moved to Vancouver in 2017.
The following years gave me the highest and lowest feelings imaginable. But my creativity was beginning to take a form that would give me a real sense of purpose. Experimental music would become my passion, and I was surrounded by people who could help me realize the story I needed to tell. I slowly began to understand my identity as a former industrial pawn, as well as an ex-cultist with nearly nothing left after a rebirth of sorts. As time went on, I had tapped into my creative potential just enough where I finally had the nerve to release my first album in 2022.
Local Needs is the repurposed ashes of my former life that I have formed into something that makes sense to me. It represents the collapse of my structured system of beliefs, and the loss of my family. It also touches on a different side of British Columbia, whether it be the natural wonders of the region, or the destruction of them through unbridled greed. But more than anything, it is an outlet for me to express myself when words simply won’t do.
Sebastian
Contact: sebastian@localneeds.ca
