Sefton are a new, up-and-coming band based in Woking. In between studying for their A-Levels, Ollie, Ollie, Emily and James have been producing indie bedroom pop tracks on their Soundcloud. You can follow their progress on Instagram, as this fresh band navigate their way into the music scene. In the meantime, find out all about Sefton in this interview with bassist Ollie!
What’s your names and who plays what instrument?
Ollie S plays guitar, Ollie H plays bass, Emily sings, James plays drums, Jamie does everything in-between from photography to social media and production.
What do you hope to achieve once the dreaded A-Level season is over?
Emily wants to do PPE at Warwick, Ollie S wants to do computer science at Nottingham, Ollie H wants to do law at Exeter, James wants to go into a business apprenticeship, Jamie wants to be a cinematographer. Also in summer we want to work on getting ourselves out there as much as possible!
You describe yourselves as an indie band, would you attach any other genre labels to Sefton?
We identify as bedroom pop because we record and produce all our music in our drummers living room using equipment we borrow from college. We go for a low-fi sound and are all influenced by different sorts of music; our drummer is heavily influenced by Keith Moon from the Who and The Stone Roses, hence the fills every other beat – he’s also self taught. The rest of us are really into Beach Bunny, Mac Demarco, Sunset Rollercoaster, Neutral Milk Hotel etc.
Why the name Sefton?
The band started with Ollie and Ollie when Ollie H moved next to Ollie S on a road called Sefton Close where we started playing together in our garage. Over a couple of months James and Emily transformed it into a proper band!
Do you think of yourselves as indie kids, or just enjoy making indie music?
We’re all sort of indie in different ways I guess, Ollie H and Jamie have been skating all their lives and that’s influenced our fashion etc. None of us have ever really connected with the mainstream culture, be it fashion or music.
Have you had much experience playing live yet? If so, what’s been your favourite? If not, what would you like the crowds response to be on your first live show?
We’ve played a little for our mates and we’ve got our first couple of gigs coming up which we are really excited for. We hope our audience connect with our music the same way we connect with our favourite artists – we just want people to enjoy coming to our shows!
You’ve said you record everything in your drummers living room and mix it all yourselves, how do you find this process? Would you be down to record in a studio, or not just yet?
It’s been very fun at times covering our singer in a duvet to absorb background noise, using improv pop filters like bog roll and we’ve enjoyed the learning process. We don’t see the need to use a studio at the moment and we sort of like the informality and freedom that home recording gives us. However, because we’re learning as we go, it can be VERY, VERY stressful, but it’s swings and roundabouts just like everything in life.
Your music ranges from groovy dance tracks (‘Yellow Cardigan’/‘No Feelings’), to zen chill vibes (‘Intro’/‘Swiftly Moving On’). Do you have a preference to play/create, or enjoy both equally?
The fast and heavy tracks would be really fun to play live and get the crowd going, but we also like the more chilled ones because you can convey a lot more meaning through them. Artists like Sunset Rollercoaster and Snail Mail do this really well!
What can fans expect next from Sefton?
We’re aiming to release around a song a week on our Soundcloud until we have enough to release an EP on Spotify. We’re playing the Boileroom, Guildford, on Friday 17th April; its a venue we’ve seen some of our favourite bands have played at, most notably Her’s (who sadly passed away last year).
If after hearing about all things Sefton, and giving their Soundcloud tracks a listen you fancy seeing this Woking band live, then keep an eye on the Boileroom, Guildford website for tickets.
