'Seatbelts' are made up of half of 'Hooton Tennis Club', James and Ryan, and began as a side project to their 'main band', a purely creative endeavour that they just couldn't ignore. They are essentially a quartet with Ryan Murphy and James Madden who found towards the latter end of 2017 they had made a set of songs that felt like they had a different vision or set of feelings to those they had previously been writing. James was working with Abi Woods, who performs on keys, guitar and vocals, as Visitor Assistants at the British Music Experience on the docks and he invited her to help them finish vocals on a track called 'Capitalist Confession'. They also met talented musician and sound engineer Alex Quinn, who plays drums and percussion, when mixing their songs in Parr Street Studios with Chris Taylor. When it came time to name the band, Ryan had become so enamoured with The Beatles that there was a huge discussion about using some rearrangement of 'The Beatles' spelling to moniker the band. They morphed into a 'band' in 2018 and played loads of gigs in Liverpool, as well as Sound City, Getintothis' Deep Cuts night at Buyers Club plus supporting 'Boy Azooga'. They are not really a settled band in as much as Ryan and James will perform as a duo, singing and playing guitars, then also as a quartet, but they have also played as a sextet with James' girlfriend and her sister singing backing vocals in Spanish. Also Abi has her own project, 'Galileo Girl', with her sister and has a beautiful voice. However they seem to be enjoying this project so much it seems now to have taken their focus away from 'Hooton Tennis Club' which doesn't seem to be making a comeback any time soon with 'Seatbelts' now being their main focus.
They released their debut single 'Hey, Hey Tiger!' on Rooftop Records in April 2018 from their first EP 'Songs For Vonnegut' released in June 2108. The EP took over a year to write and was recorded in Ryan Murphy's bedroom before being taken to Parr Street Studio's master mixer Chris Tambo Taylor for a final polish. The album is dedicated to legendary writer Kurt Vonnegut who inspired many of the lyrics and themes found in the songs.
Though they've only done a handful of shows so far, and are reluctant to settle on a defined line-up, Ryan is revelling in the freedom that the looseness brings. He says, " 'Hey,Hey,Tiger' and 'Song For Vonnegut' are great fun to play live. Both songs require us all to swap around instruments, keeping things fresh and exciting with a measure of unpredictability. The feeling of creating something is the best. It's always for the 'self', but it’s rewarding, which is influential in itself. We're mostly focused on making something we enjoy playing and would want to listen to." James adds, "However, it's an ever-changing target and seems to move faster the older one gets."
February 2019 saw them headline 81 Renshaw Street where they seemed invigorated by their new material, performing their latest single, 'Spanish Songs', the second single from their forthcoming EP, 'Please Slow Down', the backbone of which was as recorded at Parr St. Studios and was co-produced and mixed by Chris Taylor (Bill Ryder-Jones, Our Girl, The Coral). A new EP was recorded during 2019 up in Helmsdale, Scotland at Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice / The Cribs / Teenage Fanclub) studio, the title 'Edwyn EP' was coined by the band when simply referring to the songs recorded with the King of Indie. Until 2020 these intricately layered songs have been left to mature, like a fne single malt. Each song has been lovingly mixed by master mixer Chris Taylor (Bill Ryder-Jones, Our Girl, The Coral) at Liverpool's legendary Parr St Studios. Abi says, "We were only at Edwyn's for a week, but the setting and comfort of knowing your being afforded the time for once just brought out so much in our songwriting,"
In an interview with Bido Lito James Madden confirms, "We're definitely a band now. Everyone has got their own corner in it. I sing my perspective, Ryan sings his, so does Abi." Alex Quinn adds humorously, "I just play the tubs don’t I?" However it's Quinn who forms the band's backbone both on stage and in the studio, spending the majority of his time working as a professional recording engineer. His presence with the sticks is quietly acknowledged as the prize asset.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2020/12/pool-of-sound-fernweh.html?q=Seatbelts
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