Boo Seeka bring new era to Freo with free gig

Boo Seeka, the Australian alternative electronic project led by Ben “Boo” Gumbleton, are heading to Western Australia for a free show at Gage Roads Fremantle on Friday, June 26. Arriving with a brand-new live set, Boo Seeka will showcase unreleased tracks from their upcoming project Cigarettes on Sundown alongside fan favourites from their previous three studio albums. Blending warm, organic textures with psychedelic indie-electronic production, acoustic songwriting and sun-soaked nostalgia, the new material marks an exciting evolution in the project’s sound. Ahead of the show, which also features local supports Teischa, CNTR and Misticia, BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with Gumbleton to discuss the new record, touring regional WA, his new endeavour ‘Food Seeka’ and finding happiness in the present.

You’re bringing your WA tour to Gage Roads in Fremantle, a pretty unique spot right on the harbour with the massive ships going in and out. But what’s the most unusual place you’ve ever performed?

That’s such a hard question. The beauty of touring is that on your way up, you end up playing some of the weirdest and most wonderful places imaginable. We’ve played tiny bars where the crowd outnumbered the staff by one, community halls in the middle of nowhere, beachside venues that felt like someone’s backyard and everything in between.

Looking back, those are actually some of my favourite shows because everyone is there for the right reasons. There’s no ego, no expectation, just people turning up to share music. So while I can’t pinpoint one place, some of those smaller regional shows and unexpected venues will always stick with me more than the big flashy stages.

You arrive with new material from your upcoming album Cigarettes on Sundown, including the very lush title track. How do these songs differ from what we’ve heard from Boo Seeka in the past?

This album is probably the most honest reflection of where I’m at in life right now. It’s really a celebration of happiness, gratitude and learning to appreciate the simple things. Over the last few years I’ve gotten married, travelled a lot of the world and found myself enjoying moments that I probably would’ve rushed past when I was younger.

If you listen back through parts of the Boo Seeka catalogue, there were definitely periods where I was processing heavier things, and I think that naturally found its way into the music. This record feels different. It’s brighter, warmer and more reflective. It’s about appreciating life for what it is rather than constantly searching for what’s next.

The album has been described as your ‘most personal and expansive’ project to date. Who is one electronic artist and one non-electronic artist that helped shape its sound?

Honestly, I don’t think there was one artist from either world that directly inspired this record. We’ve always tried really hard to create something that feels uniquely Boo Seeka rather than chasing a particular sound or trend.

Of course you’re always absorbing music and culture from everywhere, but when we sit down to write, the goal isn’t to sound like anyone else. It’s more about capturing a feeling, a memory or a moment and translating that into music. If anything shaped this album, it was life itself rather than a specific artist.

From what I’ve read, we can expect a strong sense of nostalgia running through the record. Is there a particular song that instantly takes you back to a specific time or place?

Not really, to be honest. I think the nostalgia comes more from the album as a whole rather than one specific song.

This record is about slowing down enough to appreciate the people, places and experiences that shape your life. When I listen back, I don’t necessarily think about one moment or one memory. Instead, I think about an entire chapter of life. It’s a collection of experiences, relationships, travels and moments of gratitude all wrapped into one body of work.

Running alongside the album is the continued growth of your Food Seeka platform. Can you tell us about this?

Food has always been a massive part of my life. I’ve spent countless hours watching SBS Food, learning from incredible chefs and trying to improve my own cooking. It’s always been something I’ve been passionate about outside of music.

When we started planning the fourth album, the team and I spoke a lot about how important it is for artists to have a secondary world that people can connect with. Music will always be the heart of what I do, but food felt like a really natural extension of my personality because it’s something I genuinely love.

The exciting thing is that Food Seeka isn’t just a marketing idea. It’s becoming its own creative platform, and we’ve got some really exciting announcements coming around that later this year.

After Fremantle, you’ll be heading north for shows in Exmouth and Karratha—that’s a lot of ground to cover. Will you have any time to fit in a few sundown cigarettes and some sightseeing while you’re over here?

I’m actually so excited to get up north. Our manager is from WA, and he’s pushed us to get north and experience the beauty of up there when most of the rest of the country is freezing cold. We’ve heard such amazing things about Exmouth particularly. We don’t actually smoke cigarettes, despite the album title, but we’ll definitely be finding an Exmouth sunset somewhere with a cold Export in hand. That feels like the WA way to do it.

You’ll be joined by Teischa, CNTR and Misticia in Fremantle. What do they each bring to the bill, and what made them a great fit for this show?

Teischa actually supported us on our last WA run during The Raw Files shows and absolutely blew us away. She’s genuinely one of the most exciting artists we’ve come across in recent years, so bringing her back was a really easy decision.

CNTR and Misticia were both artists that the venue suggested when we were putting the lineup together. We jumped in, had a listen and immediately loved what they were doing. That’s one of the great things about touring—you get introduced to artists you might never have discovered otherwise.

By the time we’d locked everyone in, it felt like we’d ended up with a lineup that genuinely represented a great cross-section of what’s happening in WA music right now, and we’re pretty lucky to be sharing the stage with them.