Seatbelts: Unconventional In The Modern Age

Seatbelts, named after a drunken phone call discussing an anagram of another late, dearly beloved Liverpool fab four (I’ll let you work out which), are ones to watch for lovers of music and words alike. With playful references to literacy and ideology, the band provides a tongue-in-cheek perspective on society in the modern age.   

We caught up with Seatbelts at this years Good Life Experience, where we spoke about their journey as a band, their plans for the new year, and Yoda on the nine-to-five. 

How has your festival experience been so far?

Ryan: We’ve just got here. 

James: Yeah just rolled in.

Just now?

Ryan: Yeah. Perfectly timed actually.

Have you ever played at The Good Life Experience before?

Ryan: We played here with our last band in… 2017 I think it was?

James: Yeah, Hooton Tennis Club. Not too long ago.

And how was that?

James: I remember it being really cold. All our parents came and we all just stood round the fire for about five hours.

Ryan: Yeah. It was a bit parent-y.

James: Yeah they came to that and haven’t come to a gig since. “What, it’s going to be that cold? Fuck that!”

I read recently that you described the band as ‘unconventional’. What does that mean to you? What’s different about Seatbelts?

Ryan: We’re all funny looking aren’t we.

Abi: Well I think it’s to do with the other musicians we have collaborating with us. We’ve got a jazz saxophone player who comes on to play at certain gigs.

Ryan: We had some female vocalists singing in Spanish with us too.

Abi: Yeah, right! We wanted to keep it totally open.

And have you recorded with them too?

Ryan: We recorded with those guys, yeah.

The singers and the sax player?

James: Yeah, exactly. The two Spanish vocalists were actually twins. They sang a verse on one of our songs.

Ryan: Well they wrote it too!

Abi: We wanted to get other influences and other inputs in to our songs, you know? Not being precious about it, and I guess not being ‘conventional’ in the sense that it’s more just like, here’s a song, what do you think about it?

James: I mean; I think we were probably over-blowing it a bit when we said ‘unconventional’ to be honest! We’re still very much just a band.

Abi: We’re still a fab four!

What about your writing process, can you tell me a bit about that? How does it work with the swapping and changing of members?

James: I guess there’s three core writers. It’s pretty collaborative, but when you do your own song, its your song, you know?

Ryan: Yeah at the moment all three of us write. You’ve written songs too Al, and I’ve seen you play them. So yeah, Al is going to be on board too at some point.

James: Yeah we’re waiting for it. Then we won’t be conventional!

You’ve recently released your EP ‘Please Slow Down’ in April, what was the recording process with that? How has it been received?

James: So the first EP we did was pretty much just me and Ryan actually. We played all the parts; bass guitar, we had a drum machine, then we took it in to Parr Street, and they sort of made it louder. Chris who had worked on Hooton Tennis Club just boosted it up a little bit, but kept it totally organic and to how we wanted it. We met Al after that, and I was already working with Abi. She was writing stuff and I was asking her to sing on some of the songs. I wanted that Lee Hazelwood, Nancy Sinatra sort of thing, playing off each other. Then we got Al in and it became a band.

Al: We didn’t want to stray too far from the first EP, because that was literally just them two in a bedroom. So we went to Parr Street to have the bass and drums done there, but then basically just carried on in the bedroom.

Abi: We did videos as well. I think they really drove the second EP.

In what sense?

Abi: Well the first EP was a video for 'Hey Hey Tiger', and that was like our introduction to the band. We made two videos for Please Slow Down and Content Crush, which sort of started the process.

Ryan: Yeah we really got in to the filming of it.

Can you tell us a little bit about the videos?

Abi: Well the concept of 'Please Slow Down' was focused around living in a capitalist society and just being crush by it basically. 'Capitalist Confession' finished that EP, it’s just sort of getting you to ask yourself: “What do you really want?”, when every day we’re blasted with ‘buy this, buy that’ everywhere you look. So it was just talking about that.

Ryan: Yeah, when it’s so fast it’s like: can we just slow down? Everyone’s just a bit erratic.

Do you think there are any differences between Seatbelts are your previous bands? In terms of the message you’re trying to get across, or just your general style?

James: You just change don’t you, you live life more.

Abi: Yeah it’s way more abstract. I remember James coming to me and being like: “Listen, I want you to be a capitalist genie!”

Ryan: I’ve heard someone say before that Hooton was very autobiographical. You could see people’s names. We were writing about real people and their lives, whereas now it’s more observant of the bigger picture I guess.

In terms of your influences, what sticks out to you?

James: As a writer, definitely Kurt Vonnegut. Also Henry Miller, Black Springs. We took a lot from that, asking questions like: ‘What are you going to be? What’s your role?’

Ryan: AI taking on jobs… 

James: Yeah, just writing songs about that really. It’s sort of cooled down a bit now though. I feel like I’ve got those lyrics down now and it’s the time to move on to something else. You’ve got to accept everyone goes through those thoughts and I guess your writing perspective changes a little bit.

Abi: There’s an Oscar Wilde quote: “Be yourself, because everybody else is already taken”. So, it’s that celebration of you. I got really close to a lot of Liverpool’s drag community, and it’s that notion of, you’re not ordinary you don’t fit in to society, but that’s okay.

You’ve got a show coming up in Phase One in Liverpool. Is there anything else in the pipeline?

James: We’ve been recording with Edwyn Collins at the start of the summer. We’re just looking to build a body of work and then I think he wants to take us on a tour of Scotland, so that would be really cool.

Speaking of Liverpool, it seems to be producing a stream of great new bands – what is it like being in that creative atmosphere?

Abi: It’s a great place to be a musician. It’s got people playing and studying music, there’s a lot of young music and and you’ve got Bido Lito of course. They do a lot – there’s a social every month. I’ve got a gig with them soon for my solo project, Galileo Girl.

Ryan: Keep an eye out – Galileo Girl!

Abi: There’s a lot of bands coming out of the Wirral. They’ve got Future Yard festival, which is great. Eggy Records are there and bands like Eyesore and the Jinx. There’s a big DIY scene.

Ryan: That’s the thing about the creative scene, it’s really spilling over into the Wirral and Birkenhead. 

Yeah, our mate Zac Smith played there with Strawberry Guy! You might know him?

James: Yeah, little Zac! 

Lastly, are there any tales or funny stories from your time touring this year?

Abi: Well it’s like Ab’s Cabs! I drive a Fiat Punto and I’m constantly lugging around gear and that’s just funny in itself. 

James: It’s like how many band members can you fit in a Punto.

Abi: We did a Janice Long session for BBC Wales and I ended up in an industrial estate and hit this big kerb…

James: It was an island!

Abi: It’s always funny with Seatbelts, we have a good sense of humour so we’re always laughing. Not taking it too seriously and not making any sense.

Ryan: What about baggy Ry? The birth of my alter ego.

Do tell us more…

Ryan: We spent some time up in the Highlands doing some recording. It was chilled man! I was taking like three baths a day, keeping it cool! Rocking a kimono with Reggae on.

James: You were also quite seriously ill.

Ryan: I was baggy because I couldn’t get out of bed!

James: You were also doing a lot of Yoda.

Ryan: Yoda?

James: Yeah, the self service tills at Poundland have the voice of Yoda. Ryan does a good impression!

Ryan: Receipt you need! It’s quite sad though, his fall from grace. He was this all powerful super-Jedi. Now he just works in Poundland. Nine to Five on the grind. It’s the Capitalist crush!