A summer Main afternoon in Kreuzberg. In front of the doors of the Ramones Museum at the Silesian Gate, sun-hungry capital city hipsters stroll around or pedal in a crowd. Inside the pub museum Sel Balamir has made himself comfortable. In conversation, the 44-year-old seems like one who is deeply in tune with the winding path of his band, which always moves below the mainstream radar.
eclipsed: You've lived in London and Manchester, but now you've turned your back on the big city. How did the city escape?
Sel Balamir: That's right, I now live by the sea, in a small town near Brighton. One of the new songs, "Horse", tells about this life. As for London, it became increasingly impossible to live there. If you live there with a family, you can hardly afford it anymore. When my son was looking for a school, an endless journey to school would have come up to him. So we thought about moving away. A friend from the neighborhood brought us to Brighton.
eclipsed: For a metropolitan like you, it's certainly a rough transition.
Balamir: And how! It's very small and contemplative. When you leave the house, everyone says hello. The beach is around the corner, I surf almost every day. When we were still living in London, the attraction in our neighborhood was the shopping center, it formed the core of life there. If, on the other hand, you go out the door with us, you will quickly reach places where there are no more houses. I think sea life is changing you. It affects your sense of happiness.
eclipsed: You don't look like a surfer, though.
Balamir: But it was always my childhood dream. Back then I had two dreams: I wanted to play guitar and surf. I must have forgotten the second dream at some point. Surfing and making music causes about the same feeling in me. It has to do with freedom.
