Chris “SESE” Cobb is a fresh face on the Sunny Coast music scene, but has performed in front of thousands in his home country of Papua New Guinea (PNG), and amassed an impressive social media following. SESE’s smooth vocals and stories have garnered him a new following in his home away from home on the Coast. YELO chatted with the 33-year-old ahead of his performance at Maleny Lane with legendary local songstress Andrea Kirwin tomorrow night.

Artist name: Chris Cobb is how people in PNG know me, however I’m beginning to re-brand myself as “SESE” which is an ancestral name from my grandfather (and also my surname by birth).

Where are you based? Diamond Valley, Sunshine Coast.

Where did you grow up? Bulolo, Morobe Province and Rabaul, East New Britain Province in
PNG.

Where can we see you play? Maleny Lane tomorrow, and any of the local open mics. I’m just new in town so I’m looking to play at as many new places as possible.

Have you got new music? Yes. I’e been penning a new album, “Songs about Nating”, and have been trialling the songs during my performances on the Coast.

What do you play? Primarily I play the acoustic guitar and muck around a bit on the keys, but I recently found a violin in an OP shop which I’m teaching myself to the disappointment of my family! I have also been spending more time playing with guitar pedals and loop stations to build layers into my one-man-band performances.

How long have you been playing? I’ve been playing music since I was a boy in Bulolo, learning from my uncles who were in a local string band. Professionally I started singing with a popular PNG band called, Barike, in 2009 which really formed my early experience on stage as we toured around our country during the five years I sang as a lead vocalist with the band.

Why do you love what you do? It’s a part of me. Music allows me to tap into my creativity and my alter ego and be that confident guy on stage, when otherwise I can tend to hide behind a mask. Music has always been a part of my life.

What has music taught you? I’ve learnt that anything is possible and to dream big. My life started in a settlement setting in Bulolo, living in makeshift homes and surrounded by violent rascals and incredible poverty. My life took a big turn when I was a young boy after my mother married my now step-father and I took on a completely different life thanks to the opportunities put in front of me.

Unfortunately life hasn’t always been easy, and I took a lot of hard lessons from the early days, and shadows followed me into my adult life, but music has always been a great friend.

Music has always been my safe space. Music has been a tool I’ve used to give me self-confidence and an avenue where I can express my feelings when I can’t explain myself to the world.

Music has given me my sense of identity. Music has saved me through my darkest hours. Just a few months ago I took part in Men’s Medicine, where we used breath-work and other interpersonal skills to tap deep into our subconscious and truly connect with ourselves. Even throughout this experience, I sang to release the things that weren’t serving me and to express the intensity of the energy running through my body. I emerged out of this experience a different man: for the better.

What made you wanna be a musician? First, when I was a young gun, I just wanted to be famous. Then when I scored a lead vocalist role in Barike, I started to gig and it brought in money, and I saw music as a way to make ends meet.

As I got older, I used music as a way to express myself better and find self confidence. Now I’m at a stage where in the same way I use my music as my medicine and I hope that I can find a way to make it a gift that offers healing and comfort to others as well. This part is still evolving.

Is it everything you expected? I think I was a bit naive and thought it would be rainbow and butterflies, but it’s come with its many hurdles and challenges.

Until you’ve made it big time, the struggle is real. Sourcing (paid) gigs, finding time to write new material, rehearsing, being disciplined in my craft, especially with three homeschooled children!

But with the challenges comes growth and I’ve taken time out on the Coast to really dive into
my creative side, write more, rehearse more, connect with more venues and festivals, people, musicians, and music lovers, and I really want to expand on artistry and the experiences I’ve had in PNG to date.

What kind of music do you love playing? Oh, I always find this question difficult to answer. I play a lot of different genres when I’m singing covers from old-time classics to Aussie rock to traditional and contemporary PNG music and pop. But to narrow down to the stuff I produce for myself and where I feel really connected I’d say acoustic ballads and traditional chants are my thing.

In my songwriting I draw inspiration from everyday life and my personal experiences. In my
music I am often drawing on the beats and rhythms of traditional sounds and rhythms of PNG but I like to add my special contemporary touch or a soulful twist to make it my own and appeal to the modern audience.

When was the first time you played in front of an audience?

There was a community meeting at the settlement compound, and after the meeting my uncle
wanted to break the tension so he got up and he played the Colin Ray song, “Love Me” and
asked me to singalong.

That was back in 1999 and I was nine years old. That was my first performance and I felt shivers down my spine as I sang this country and western song to a crowd of PNGians who had no idea about the genre and were giving me strange looks. It was terrifying! I’m getting butterflies just remembering that moment.

Have you put albums out? Yes, I have a self-titled album which was produced in 2010 in PNG. It’s super fresh. I was so young in life and the industry, and to be honest, I’d love to do a remake of it now that I have more experience and understand my own personal style a bit more.

Do you have a day job as well? Last year I quit my corporate job to do music full-time. I now run a music and entertainment business in PNG which I can run remotely so I can also focus on my personal creative pathway.

What’s the biggest gig you’ve had? Earlier this year I sang on stage with Ronan Keating. But that was an unexpected call-up not a gig.

I’ve opened for Daryl Braithwaite in Port Moresby at a Heart Foundation fundraiser event, and then my earlier gigs with Barike were played in front of thousands of local fans at big events like the Solwara (Saltwater) Festival.

Biggest accomplishments? My children. They inspire me and my music everyday.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I hope that I’ve ticked off some major international
gigs, before heading back to PNG, where I have some ambitions to take on leadership roles for
my communities.

Although my heart is set, there’s a raging war in my mind where one side is battling to go back and represent my people as a political leader and the other side is telling me there is another way where you can serve your people through your musical talents. We’ll see which side wins in five years time!

What do you love about the Sunshine Coast? Where we are in Diamond Valley is really peaceful, it’s great for quiet creativity. But but in general, the Coast has such a great live music scene and it has been great to be able to just jump in and be part of it all, and meet heaps of really nice people.

The kids love the beaches and swimming holes, and the Rollerdome!

Is there anywhere in the world you’d love to live or visit? Where do I start? Since meeting my partner, who’s an avid traveller, I’ve been able to get out and about on more travelling trips. I think I have the bug! But as for bucket-list destinations, I’d really love to get to some of the big music festivals around the world and immerse myself in the music, food and culture in each destination.

What do you hope to get out of your time on the Coast? As someone who supports emerging artists in PNG, I’d love to see if I could facilitate with some local partners some opportunities and pathways that would see some exchanges between PNG artists and the music scene on the Coast – a musical and cultural exchange that could be beneficial to both sides.