VI.BE

Seelien began playing harmonica around 2018, teaching herself through countless online tutorials and videos by some of the greats—Adam Gussow, David Barrett, Indiara Sfair, Will Wilde, Joe Filisko, Dennis Gruenling, and Jason Ricci. Their playing and teaching styles inspired her to dive deeper into the instrument.

After a couple of years of self-study, she decided to take some in-person lessons with Olivier Vander Bauwede, a highly talented Belgian harmonica player. He introduced her to the vibrant blues jam scene 💃 at the blues bar Missy Sippy in Ghent, Belgium, which soon led her to other jams in Kortrijk and beyond. She still regularly attends these jam sessions, which have been a great place to connect with other musicians and grow as a performer. Over time, she has had the chance to make guest appearances at various events—including living room concerts (f.ex. with Malvin Moskalez) and some wedding performances.

Seelien also takes part in the online harmonica challenges hosted by Konstantin Reinfeld (a great German harmonica player) via Discord and Twitch. It's a fun and motivating way to stay engaged—and occasionally win cool prizes like a new harmonica! She also took a few online lessons with Konstantin.

Musically, she is active in a few projects. At the moment, Seelien performs with guitarist Mathieu as the duo Seelien & Maco, playing pop, soft rock, and blues covers at festivals and private parties—or sometimes just on the streets. They were also selected as city artists for Kortrijk and Ghent.

She's also part of a blues duo, called Strings & Reeds blues, with guitarist and singer Idriss, focusing on classic blues repertoire.

Most recently, she started rehearsing with a new blues and soul band, Hot Corn Dip. Gigs are planned for 2026.

In 2024, she attended the Hohner Masters Workshops in Trossingen, Germany, and took a workshop with Joe Filisko—an unforgettable experience. She had the chance to see many incredible harmonica players up close, including Steve Baker, Joel Andersson, Bonny B., and others. The atmosphere and community were truly inspiring. One of the highlights was sharing the stage with the fantastic Belgian harmonica player Steven Troch. She also toured the Hohner factory while she was there.

Over the past year, she has continued to broaden her musical foundation with lessons in music theory and singing. She had some music theory background from her childhood, when she played the flute, and it felt great to return to that. She also attended a workshop on Ableton Live to explore music production and recording.

Since she's always open to new ideas, Seelien was asked by Sarah Saputri, an amazing Indonesian harmonica player, to give an online harmonica workshop for her students.