With the release of his debut single High Heel’d Shoes at the beginning of the month, Seann Miley Moore is now preparing for the release of his self-titled debut EP on August 1st and will be having an EP Launch event in London to mark the release. Having moved to the UK from Australia, Seann auditioned for Series 12 of The X Factor in 2015, making it to the live shows, and he was then invited to join the line-up of The X Factor Live Tour which included dates at The O2 Arena. We caught up with Seann in London recently to talk about his new EP, touring and his ideal evening out.

What can you tell us about your new EP releasing August 1st?

Oooh, well there are four songs on the EP and I’ll be dropping a few soon after, but most of it’s been inspired by the 70s music, very disco pop and if you guys heard my first single, High Heel’d Shoes, it’s super fun and funky. It was definitely inspired by all of the prides, because it’s such fun energy that I wanted to sort of sing about that as well.

How long did it take to record?

Well, I have been in the studio for about a year, so about a year really! It’s the first time I’ve been in a studio setting so with all the stuff I’ve created I’m 100% behind it. I know it’s the beginning of it all, to really find my sound and how I want to do it because it’s all just a learning curve but it’s amazing I did it, so it’s great.

Is it all your own work?

All my own work – lyrics, melodies… and I’ve had a fabulous producer called Neil Brock who helped bring that to life. I usually just bring in a memo of me and my piano and I say this is what I’ve got and we sort of just play from there and bounce back, so it’s good.

Were there any songs you kept off and didn’t put on the final tracklist?

Yeah, I’ll release them a bit later. I really wanted to put out this really stripped version, it’s called What Was I Fighting For, it’s just me and the electric guitar and it’s super raw, just sung from the heart which I hope to sort of rework, but I’ll definitely put that out after. Just to show this is the sort of vibe I’m working with, because at the end of the day, I always start just me at the piano or just me at the guitar.

You have your EP Launch event coming up, have you got your outfit sorted for it yet?

Oh my God, I have no idea what I’m going to wear. I think I have this fabulous couture piece to start with, after my fashion film comes on, but I’m trying to just figure out what I want to do when I take it off. I have something just a bit more casj but chic underneath but I’m not sure yet.

Do you have any plans to tour around the UK?

Ooh I hope so. I’m going to Derby, Doncaster Pride, and I have a little gig in Monaco which will be fun, so I sort of need to. I think after the EP’s done I have someone to talk to, to organise an actual tour, or I hope so. My focus is just to get past the fact that my EP’s out and then from there I can start. It’s super exciting!

The judges all gave great comments at your audition for The X Factor, was the experience on the show everything you had hoped it would be?

I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into really. The X Factor in Australia is not the same. I always wanted to audition so I thought why not do it on the biggest stage that is London in front of Simon Cowell, it was a thrilling experience. Very stressful but I sort of stuck to my own guns. It’s very important to know who you are or just be strong in your aesthetic and authenticity because they can throw curveballs, or sort of manipulate you to do things that you shouldn’t. At the end of the day, I stuck to my own accord and I had a fabulous time.

You were asked to go on The X Factor Live Tour, had this been discussed previously or was it a complete surprise?

Complete surprise! My management actually knew about it before they brought me back on ITV. I went back and they just surprised me on air and I was like oh my god. It was a bit of a shock to leave that early but it was amazing to do The X Factor tour. I got to sing The Show Must Go On and Life On Mars just after Bowie’s death at The O2 Arena, wow, so it was spectacular!

You moved over to the UK before entering The X Factor, how different is it living here than in Australia?

The weather, first of all! I didn’t really know what to expect, I mean I’ve seen Notting Hill, so my vision of London was British movies… Notting Hill, Love Actually… so yeah, very romantic. When I first got here I think the main thing was the culture shock, especially with so many mix of ethnicities. Australia’s very white, like on TV watching Eastenders I was like, oh my god! On Australian TV it’s just blonde hair blue eyed people and even the mannequins when I went into a store, so it was just like wow, not in Kansas anymore, darling! I think especially just like the sunshine and the spaciousness. It’s very active in Australia because of the weather, and here it sort of gets a bit claustrophobic at times and a bit suffocating, but especially here there’s the thrive for arts and musical theatre and music. You can go somewhere at 2am and find amazing drag artists just performing her life out on stage, you never get that in Sydney.

Do you ever get chance to go back to Australia and are your family still out there?

I haven’t been back in two years, but I definitely want to go back, definitely. My family are still in Sydney but they’ve come over, seen me at The O2 and they’ve come here because my dad’s half British, so he comes back and sees friends.

What have you been up to since The X Factor?

My EP’s out on Tuesday, which is super exciting. I have my launch night on Monday. I’ve just been working in the studio really which has been so amazing, and also just been doing a lot of gay pride performances from Brussels to Maspalomas to Leeds to Brighton, sort of all over the place and it’s so amazing to feel that sort of love from the crowd, especially in the pride sort of setting. That’s the main thing, to be fabulous and confident and just spread that love and you just feel that from the crowd so it’s been great.

Who are some of your favourite music artists to listen to?

Ooooh, I’m really loving Lorde’s new album, it’s super, it just makes me feel super angsty. I really relate to the song Liability, and the harmonies and the beat of it just make me sit in the music and just want to sort of close my eyes and dance, I love that album. Dua Lipa in a way, she’s a bit funky and a bit cool, the new song’s great. Spotify’s amazing because I usually always put my Nina Simone Spotify on because that’s just who I like, one of my idols in music, I love her. She’s political and she’s on the piano and just wow. Yeah, just an array of things but definitely Lorde’s new album, I really like it.

Would you like to collaborate with anyone?

Oh wow, of course I would. I’m in that moment now, my first EP’s out, it’s just the start of it all now. To collaborate with artists, with new producers, and just really find my sound and just keep growing as a musician which I really love. It’s actually been really great to be at pride circuit because I get the whole extravaganza and the show. On Monday (EP launch) it’s sort of just going to be a bit more intimate and stripped back and just singing to a closer audience which I really need to get back to. Hopefully, after my music’s out, I’m just going to go around London and find any live gigs that I can go in a slot and just sing, really get myself out there with my new material.

If you hadn’t gone into music, what do you think you would be doing?

I have no idea. I sort of dabbled in everything when I was younger, so I don’t know. I love being by the ocean, sometimes I feel like if I wasn’t on stage I’d be a scuba diving instructor, just by the beach and by the dolphins. Or a tennis player, I’m really good at tennis, let me tell you! I used to play some, I just recently picked up the racket again because I just needed to destress and it’s my meditation, I love it.

You have previously performed in musical theatre, would you like to do more theatre work?

Yes, oh my god, I love theatre. I studied in WAAPA, where Hugh Jackman went, over in Perth for three years. Actually, all of my friends are here now in Cabaret which is fabulous and still auditioning, that’s just the name of the game. I was really lucky enough to be in Sweet Charity and The King and I, which are both award-winning musicals, in 2014. Musical theatre will always be there so when the time is right I’ll keep auditioning, and if it’s right then I will definitely go back, it’s my roots and it’s amazing. I think, especially being a pop artist, I want to bring that to theatre and that story within the pop realm because at the end of the day I want to be myself on stage and not be a character, which I had to do in musical theatre and sort of play someone else. Whereas I want to be myself and know that what I’m doing now is going to inspire a lot. So many people from around the world say, ‘thank you so much for being you, Seann, you have inspired me to be fearless and confident within myself’ and that’s my artist, that’s my purpose as an artist, so within any world it needs to highlight that.

What would be your ideal evening out?

Oh depends who with, all my besties, all my girlfriends. It’s actually so funny how you say that because I haven’t seen some of my friends for like five years and they’re actually here, I’m seeing them tonight. We’re going out to a bar to have a little drinkie and just chat. It really depends, I like to watch a bit of theatre, maybe go for some food, have a couple of espresso martinis, get a bit wild, I love to just dance at a club really, it’s fun.

Do you have a stylist when you are performing or do you choose all your own outfits?

I choose my own outfits. There are so many people in London, so throughout the year I’ve gone to fashion parties and all these events, they’ve recognised me from the show and said, ‘you’re fabulous, what are you up to?’ and I’m like, ‘well, I’m doing my music’. I’ve met this lovely pair, Julia Faulkner and Lorena Hyman, who helped style and photograph all my EP artwork and stuff, so if I need a few things I usually ask them or I just reach out to designers. I sort of know what I want and then I just style it myself.

Have you ever considered launching a clothing or makeup range?

Yeah, that is the dream. I mean I’m all about being yourself and being you. So many people say I stand for gender fluidity. I’m a proud gay man and I’m a man who loves to just wear fashion, to just wear clothes, to just put on makeup. Makeup and fashion is genderless, in my mind it’s just like music, to express yourself and have fun and you shouldn’t be afraid really… it’s just dress up. So yeah, I would love to have my own makeup line and fashion line it would be amazing.

What are your plans for the next year?

I’m not sure, to be honest, which is a lovely thing. I think the focus is Monday night’s EP launch and from then on see how it goes. It will be my own music but I definitely still want to be in London. I want to go back to Australia just to remove myself a bit and just have a bit of a breather. Now I have my own music, I can do what I want with it, go wherever and just sing.

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