Who is Lea Santee?
We’re an alternative-pop duo from Vienna that consists of songwriter Lea Stöger and producer Manuel Hosp.
Does your name tell a story?
Yeah, it does. A few years back, we wanted to travel to the US, so we used google maps to see where we wanna go. We zoomed in to California and discovered the city Santee, which is a city in San Diego County. We were sure that we wanna use the name Lea and we thought that Lea and Santee together sounded really cool. So yeah, that’s the story 😉
What got you into music?
Lea: My dad was a full-time musician (drummer), so I grew up with making a lot of music at home.
Manuel: I always was into music and went to a lot of gigs of my favorite bands. So it was a natural thing for me to start making music.
When you start a new track – what are the first steps?
Our workflow is always pretty much the same. We sit together, listen to some music and talk about the topic we wanna write about. And then either Manuel starts producing a rough beat, gives it to me and I start writing some lyrics and melodies over it. Sometimes it’s also the case that I come up with some chords on the piano or on the guitar, and then Manuel is working on the production. But we’re both involved in every process – in songwriting and producing.
What are the top 3 artists social media feeds that you dig and please tell us why?
Puh, that’s a tough one, cause we’re not that often on social media at the moment haha. But we really like Lolo Zouai’s IG feed. The editing style is really cool, and she has a good mixture of high-quality photos and low-key iPhone pictures.
Shooting music videos: What was the best music video experience you ever had?
Lea: I guess it was ‚Wine’. It was sooo cool to work with these amazing dancers, and the atmosphere on set was great, even though it was really cold haha. But every music video we shot was a great experience!
You are currently based in the US. Since when, and how long are you planning to stay? What brought you there?
We’re back in Vienna now, but we stayed there for almost three months. We do have a publisher there and wanted to connect with people, get some new inspiration and write a lot of new songs. It was one of the best times ever and definitely worth it!
If a young, talented artist starts out today. What are the top 3 DOs and DON’TS, in your opinion?
Authenticity is, in our opinion, one of the most important things – even if it’s hard to show your true self. But, find your own style – don’t copy anyone or try to be someone else. In the beginning, it takes a lot of time to find out which direction you wanna go. But people mostly don’t wanna hear a new artist that sounds exactly like artist XY. Another tip would be, not to make a deal so quickly – doesn’t matter if it’s a label, management, publishing deal etc. In the beginning, you’re probably pretty naive, and you don’t understand how the industry works, so it’s better to take it slowly than to be thrown in at the deep end.
What is next on you schedule? What will 2019 have in stores for you?
We were really productive in LA, so we’ve a lot of new songs that are going to be released this and next year. We’re already pretty excited! There’s no exact date for the release so far, but it’s gonna be very soon. So stay tuned 😉
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