Rewrite and translate this title Sebastian Schub Documents His Breakthrough Year to Japanese between 50 and 60 characters. Do not include any introductory or extra text; return only the title in Japanese.

The German-born, London-raised singer-songwriter discusses his emergence, early origins, and new single.

From humble origins in Hamburg to a move to London and a pursuit of artistry, Sebastian Schub’s journey is off-kilter and inspiring. Putting in the work on the busking circuit, the experience and acclaim he accumulated doing such has propelled his popularity tenfold. His debut official release, the cinematic and cascading “Sing Like Madonna”, was an immediate hit, and now the singer-songwriter has shared a second single, “I Can’t Believe We Never Went Out Dancing”.

The sophomore cut is simply stunning. The rich and depth-filled tones of Schub blend seamlessly with a stripped-back, piano-led palette. It’s intimate and dramatised, nocturnal yet larger-than-life. The work of a highly talented songsmith whose rise towards pop music’s summit is starting to feel inevitable. Wonderland chat to Schub about his emergence, origins and new single.

Watch the visuals of “I Can’t Believe We Never Went Out Dancing”…

Read the interview…

Hey Sebastian! How’s your year been?
Hey! It’s been wonderful thank you. Quite transformative. At this time last year, I was playing cover songs in half-empty hotel bars and doing pub gigs. 
So this is a welcome change. 
 
Talk us through your musical origins? What did you grow up listening to? When did you first discover the strength of your voice?
I actually started singing at the Opera House back in Hamburg. I was part of the Youth Opera Academy there from the age of 5 till 15. Between that and my mother blasting The Police, Supertramp and ACDC in our flat on the weekends, I managed to get a pretty broad musical education. Back then my mother was very much a bit like Mr Schneebly in School of Rock trying to lure me away from Bach and Mendelssohn into the arms of Jon Lord and Brian May.

What are your core sonic influences? 
The first artist that had quite the profound impact on me was Glen Hansard and I still turn to his records whenever I find my head spinning. His music grounds me more than anyone else’s.  But sonic influences are plenty. I listen to music pretty much non-stop all day.  Hozier, Florence + The Machine, Jeff Buckley, Alabama Shakes, Adele, Michael Kiwanuka, and Leif Vollebekk probably litter my reference playlists the most. 
 
You were born in Germany but are now UK based—how did the combination of cultures shape your song approach?
More than anything it has influenced my lyrics. English really is a second language to me and I have always found myself feeling quite insecure about my lyrical abilities.  Some of my closest friends are incredibly well spoken and quite scintillating writers themselves.  So I’m constantly overcompensating, spending weeks changing around lines and vigorously poking at every word. Growing up in Germany has also left me with an acute understanding of how non-english speakers experience english music. And how tone, energy and sound is sometimes more important than “making perfect sense”. 
 
You’ve purposefully focused on a more traditional route towards recognition with a focus on busking and open mics. Why so?
I have never done well in classrooms. Infact, I dropped out of music school after less than 3 months.  I have always been better at learning by doing.  So, diving in the deep-end just made a lot of sense to me at the time. But beyond looking at it as my education or a road to anywhere, busking and gigs have first and foremost been how I have made a living.  Since 17 I have always been a working musician, the work wasn’t always glamorous – but I have always been very happy and grateful to be able to play. 
 
What would your advice be to anyone wanting to begin busking?
Oh just start. The first time I did it, I spent 30 minutes just standing on the street with my guitar in silence. Literally petrified. It got easier and easier each time until eventually it just felt incredibly freeing. Definitely get a card reader. Makes such a difference. Thermals are essential in the winter. Game-changer. 
 
The streaming numbers on “Sing Like Madonna” are massive – did you expect the song to be so well received?  
Oh I didn’t really know what to expect. There was a certain hype for it online, but I dragged out the release for quite a  long time. So I was terrified that I had missed my moment. I’m so relieved and grateful that people were willing to wait for the song. 
 
Why did that feel like the song to introduce yourself with? 
Writing a song can be quite the abstract thing. One rarely ends up where one intended to go. And most songs end up being a painful compromise. I once heard Glen Hansard describe it as trying to lure a bird through a window into a cage.  But every now and then the stars align and a song comes together exactly in the way you want it to. “Sing Like Madonna” to me is one of those. The song just really means a lot to me.
 
Your next single, “I Can’t Believe We Never Went Out Dancing” is out shortly—what was the process behind that one?
Producers Steve Fitzmaurice, Dave McCracken and me literally just went into Dean Street Studios in Soho, I sat down behind a big Steinway and performed the song a few times back to front. That’s it. I’m a big fan of an extensive production, a lot of the songs I’m releasing next year have a big sound – but sometimes all that just gets in the way. And with this piece in particular, I just wanted the performance to be undiluted and pure and imperfect. Not something to be fixed in post production. 
 
What is the new track about thematically? 
I guess the song is a wistful little ode to not making the most of something wonderful, when one had the chance. It’s a song about the kind of regret that keeps you up at night. 
 
What can new fans expect from your live show?
Just a little too much rumbling and ranting. But apparently I’m funny 40% percent of the time. So that’s good odds. At the moment the shows are still quite intimate, which is lovely because I actually get to briefly meet and chat to most of the people that come down. I think regardless of how things might develop, I always want to find the time to play little shows to 30-50 people in small, sweaty rooms. There is such magic to be found there. 
 
Are you a natural performer or is it something you’ve had to learn and nurture? 
Definitely the latter. I’m anything but a natural, some of my older friends can attest to that. Those first few gigs were not pretty. I started playing at a little bar in Camden called Spiritual Bar. I would play sometimes 4 nights a week just there. And those gigs could be brutal. I really learned almost everything about winning over an audience, playing to rowdy and drunk crowds there. Attention is a hard-earned privilege. I was also very fortunate to always be surrounded by artists much more skilled than myself. I learned so much from the musicians I met in London and Dublin’s grassroots venues. 
 
What else is to come from you? What does 2025 have on the horizon?
Lots more music is being released and of course I’ll be playing plenty more shows. It’ll be an eventful year for sure. 

The German-born, London-raised singer-songwriter discusses his emergence, early origins, and new single.

From humble origins in Hamburg to a move to London and a pursuit of artistry, Sebastian Schub’s journey is off-kilter and inspiring. Putting in the work on the busking circuit, the experience and acclaim he accumulated doing such has propelled his popularity tenfold. His debut official release, the cinematic and cascading “Sing Like Madonna”, was an immediate hit, and now the singer-songwriter has shared a second single, “I Can’t Believe We Never Went Out Dancing”.

The sophomore cut is simply stunning. The rich and depth-filled tones of Schub blend seamlessly with a stripped-back, piano-led palette. It’s intimate and dramatised, nocturnal yet larger-than-life. The work of a highly talented songsmith whose rise towards pop music’s summit is starting to feel inevitable. Wonderland chat to Schub about his emergence, origins and new single.

Watch the visuals of “I Can’t Believe We Never Went Out Dancing”…

Read the interview…

Hey Sebastian! How’s your year been?
Hey! It’s been wonderful thank you. Quite transformative. At this time last year, I was playing cover songs in half-empty hotel bars and doing pub gigs. 
So this is a welcome change. 
 
Talk us through your musical origins? What did you grow up listening to? When did you first discover the strength of your voice?
I actually started singing at the Opera House back in Hamburg. I was part of the Youth Opera Academy there from the age of 5 till 15. Between that and my mother blasting The Police, Supertramp and ACDC in our flat on the weekends, I managed to get a pretty broad musical education. Back then my mother was very much a bit like Mr Schneebly in School of Rock trying to lure me away from Bach and Mendelssohn into the arms of Jon Lord and Brian May.

What are your core sonic influences? 
The first artist that had quite the profound impact on me was Glen Hansard and I still turn to his records whenever I find my head spinning. His music grounds me more than anyone else’s.  But sonic influences are plenty. I listen to music pretty much non-stop all day.  Hozier, Florence + The Machine, Jeff Buckley, Alabama Shakes, Adele, Michael Kiwanuka, and Leif Vollebekk probably litter my reference playlists the most. 
 
You were born in Germany but are now UK based—how did the combination of cultures shape your song approach?
More than anything it has influenced my lyrics. English really is a second language to me and I have always found myself feeling quite insecure about my lyrical abilities.  Some of my closest friends are incredibly well spoken and quite scintillating writers themselves.  So I’m constantly overcompensating, spending weeks changing around lines and vigorously poking at every word. Growing up in Germany has also left me with an acute understanding of how non-english speakers experience english music. And how tone, energy and sound is sometimes more important than “making perfect sense”. 
 
You’ve purposefully focused on a more traditional route towards recognition with a focus on busking and open mics. Why so?
I have never done well in classrooms. Infact, I dropped out of music school after less than 3 months.  I have always been better at learning by doing.  So, diving in the deep-end just made a lot of sense to me at the time. But beyond looking at it as my education or a road to anywhere, busking and gigs have first and foremost been how I have made a living.  Since 17 I have always been a working musician, the work wasn’t always glamorous – but I have always been very happy and grateful to be able to play. 
 
What would your advice be to anyone wanting to begin busking?
Oh just start. The first time I did it, I spent 30 minutes just standing on the street with my guitar in silence. Literally petrified. It got easier and easier each time until eventually it just felt incredibly freeing. Definitely get a card reader. Makes such a difference. Thermals are essential in the winter. Game-changer. 
 
The streaming numbers on “Sing Like Madonna” are massive – did you expect the song to be so well received?  
Oh I didn’t really know what to expect. There was a certain hype for it online, but I dragged out the release for quite a  long time. So I was terrified that I had missed my moment. I’m so relieved and grateful that people were willing to wait for the song. 
 
Why did that feel like the song to introduce yourself with? 
Writing a song can be quite the abstract thing. One rarely ends up where one intended to go. And most songs end up being a painful compromise. I once heard Glen Hansard describe it as trying to lure a bird through a window into a cage.  But every now and then the stars align and a song comes together exactly in the way you want it to. “Sing Like Madonna” to me is one of those. The song just really means a lot to me.
 
Your next single, “I Can’t Believe We Never Went Out Dancing” is out shortly—what was the process behind that one?
Producers Steve Fitzmaurice, Dave McCracken and me literally just went into Dean Street Studios in Soho, I sat down behind a big Steinway and performed the song a few times back to front. That’s it. I’m a big fan of an extensive production, a lot of the songs I’m releasing next year have a big sound – but sometimes all that just gets in the way. And with this piece in particular, I just wanted the performance to be undiluted and pure and imperfect. Not something to be fixed in post production. 
 
What is the new track about thematically? 
I guess the song is a wistful little ode to not making the most of something wonderful, when one had the chance. It’s a song about the kind of regret that keeps you up at night. 
 
What can new fans expect from your live show?
Just a little too much rumbling and ranting. But apparently I’m funny 40% percent of the time. So that’s good odds. At the moment the shows are still quite intimate, which is lovely because I actually get to briefly meet and chat to most of the people that come down. I think regardless of how things might develop, I always want to find the time to play little shows to 30-50 people in small, sweaty rooms. There is such magic to be found there. 
 
Are you a natural performer or is it something you’ve had to learn and nurture? 
Definitely the latter. I’m anything but a natural, some of my older friends can attest to that. Those first few gigs were not pretty. I started playing at a little bar in Camden called Spiritual Bar. I would play sometimes 4 nights a week just there. And those gigs could be brutal. I really learned almost everything about winning over an audience, playing to rowdy and drunk crowds there. Attention is a hard-earned privilege. I was also very fortunate to always be surrounded by artists much more skilled than myself. I learned so much from the musicians I met in London and Dublin’s grassroots venues. 
 
What else is to come from you? What does 2025 have on the horizon?
Lots more music is being released and of course I’ll be playing plenty more shows. It’ll be an eventful year for sure.