Seneko spends some quality time with The Girls From Cedarhurst on his engaging new EP — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Alt-country rocker Stan “Seneko” Olshefski continues his electric evolution on fifth release, melding seasoned songwriting, brightly crunching guitars and strong production into an inspired five-track collection that channels usual suspected like Lou Reed, Wilco, Matthew Sweet, Tom Petty, Neil Young and The Jayhawks — along with a few unexpected additions.
“I had been listening to a lot early grunge and punk,” Olshefski says. “As I began writing I realized I wanted to be more experimental with the melodies and arrangements and that process kept evolving right into the studio during the recording. I had a hand in producing along with Mike Purcell and Paul Scholten. I also worked with the same players as the last record lead by the guitar genius Jon Conley.
“The title track was co-written with an old friend, Rod Thorn. It’s the only co-write I’ve ever released. Rod is a brilliant biographer, speechwriter and playwright. One day over coffee I started sharing ideas with him about the song and he just jumped in. I’m a word guy. I always start with an idea, a title or random words. The melody kind of shows up. There’s a long backstory to the mysterious place called Cedarhurst. It will remain a semi-secret so that listeners can make it be whatever they want.
“The next two tracks, Motus est Magicae and Sugartime, really blossomed in the studio. The writing and melody didn’t change but the sonic effects along with the background vocals took some fun unexpected turns. The last two tracks are more straightforward. Of the five EPs I’ve done, this one was the most fun to do and I hope that comes through.”
For the past six years, this Connecticut creator has meticulously invested his time into the art of songwriting. His sound ranges from jangly Americana to classic power pop and everything in between. He released his self-titled debut EP in 2016, followed by True Dimension and Soul Numbers. His last EP ’69 Camaro was released October 2021.
Check out The Girls From Cedarhurst below and find Seneko at his website, Facebook and Instagram.
