Music > Interviews

Belle and Sebastian

30/03/15

So it’s 1996 and Belle and Sebastian’s debut album Tigermilk is about to become the must-have album for any self respecting indie kid. We’re all wearing vintage Adidas tracksuit tops, corduroy flares and Brownie t-shirts. Stuart Murdoch, the main songwriter and singer for the band writes tender and comical lyrics about real life scenarios that seem to touch a nerve, and all accompanied by sweet, catchy tunes. No wonder everyone falls in love. Fast forward to 2015 and Belle and Sebastian have never gone away but they have changed and developed, and their ninth album, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance is an indication of their new sound, with a strong emphasis on the word dance. Belle and Sebastian’s gig at Open in May is sold out, and will be chock full of loyal and longstanding fans, probably wearing Brownie t-shirts and flares and singing along as if their hearts might break. I had the honour of chatting to violinist and vocalist Sarah Martin about her own musical career and the band’s new direction.

You joined the band in ‘96 just before the second album Sinister was released.  What did you do before that and how did you meet the band originally?

I met Stuart (Murdoch, lead singer) through my flatmate and friend Jason who he’d also been trying to get to join the band. They’re both frontmen though so they couldn’t have been in the same band. Jason told me Stuart was crazy and advised me to join his band! I listened to the tape that Stuart had left for Jason with the song Stringbean Jean on it and I realised that I knew her from my old Icelandic class, and she was Stuart’s girlfriend at the time. I was at uni, doing my finals at the time, and I told Stuart I would join the band after I’d finished my exams.

You play loads of instruments; violin, recorder, stylophone, melodica, guitar and flute…when did you begin your own musical journey?

My parents were both musical: my mum played trumpet and my mum played piano quite well when she was at school. It was always a thing for them, and I think when people are musical they want their kids to grow up with that sort of brain. It’s an interesting thing to be able to read music and to understand a little bit of music. I really wanted to play the flute when I was a little girl, but I was too small, so I played the recorder, then I learnt the flute for a while and when I was about 11 we had a music teacher just out of college who had four instruments they wanted to teach some kids, so I got a violin. Later on a similar thing happened with saxophone. I was always learning different instruments throughout my school years. In my teens I was a huge fan of music, I’d be there with my crappy little tape recorder up against the TV recording Top of the Pops and that became a part of my education rather than learning an instrument.

 Who have been your main musical inspirations in your life thus far?

Before the band I would say Sonic Youth, The Smiths, The Cure and Depeche Mode, and since the band…Stuart? Not just Stuart actually, but everyone in the band. We all inspire each other really.

There’s been quite a long break since Belle and Sebastian’s last album; what have you all been up to?

We were all lured into Stuart’s film (God Help The Girl, a musical drama film) to some extent, helping in one way or another. Not only helping but wanting to be around. It was a really interesting process to see, sort of like making a record but not at the same time. There were a few days I was on set legitimately but also I just liked being there. Other than that I’ve been writing songs, and Chris and I have made some music for other people’s films and animations as well. We’ve ended up being reasonably busy.

Belle and Sebastian are known for their beautifully and carefully constructed melodies – what’s your writing process as a band?

It changes from situation to situation but generally there are some songs that spring from a collaboration and others that are generated in their entirety by one person, and that’s enough variety really. Personally I don’t have a failsafe method for writing, unfortunately!

Do you have a favourite Belle and Sebastian song?

I have lots. I asked a friend the other day what his favourite David Bowie song was and he gave me the most incredible look! I suppose that’s the thing; if it’s something you really know inside out it’s hard to pick one. When Stuart first played us The Model I thought that’s one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. I really love it, I love playing it live. The recording of it is disappointing I think, as it’s much too slow. But that would have to be up there for me.

Your songs are generally narratives and observations about people and their situations and lives, similar to Auteurs, Pulp and Blur. However, people seem to want to sing about their own lives and experiences more these days; do you think that’s the case?

Stuart obviously writes from a third party perspective quite a lot, but Stevie and I don’t write in that way. There aren’t many ‘I’s or ‘me’s in Stuart’s songs. It’s something I give a little bit of thought to as the titles of the two songs I wrote for our last album both started with “I”! It was really terrible egomania. There’s no I in team!

Your new album’s called Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance - where did title come from and what does the cover represent?

Stuart had a plan for the title and was afraid it would jinx the plan if he told people what it was. He had an image in his head for a between the wars robot couple kind of thing. I think it was just the image and the title coalesced, and the day the photos for the cover were done he revealed the title.

The album was produced in Atlanta by Ben Allen III. How did you go about choosing him for this album?

We’d done the last two albums with Tony Hoffer, and we all loved working with him but folk felt we were in danger of slipping into predictable ways of working and needed a boot up the arse. There was a conscious decision to look for someone new. Ben was on an early list and then he strode to the top of it as our manager also manages the Kaiser Chiefs and he had seen Ben working in the studio with them and it blew his mind. He said this guy’s amazing, he just surprises people all the time and works in a unique way. We invited him to come to Glasgow and you’ve got to play some songs to somebody and check you could put up with their company for a couple of months really.

Your videos and record covers have always harked back to the 70’s, but it feels like you’ve moved further away from the past with this album which feels very current and I don’t think anyone would describe it as twee, which was always what they used to label you as. To me it feels like a grown up album full of wisdom but still playful. Would you say this album has taken you in a different direction?

Stevie has a side project disco covers band called Disco Shark who play weddings and at festivals, which he was really enjoying and said he wanted to make a disco record…but it wasn’t a conscious decision to make A Disco Record. We haven’t overlaid a disco filter over the songs, it’s more how people heard them when they were writing there. It’s not contrived.

The video for The Party Line has a definite nod to Northern Soul. What music were you guys listening to ahead of making this album?

The one thread that runs through everyone’s taste is actually Northern Soul. For a few years there was a real Northern Soul scene in Glasgow. There was a club called Good Foot which became Up Tight where we were living at the time and you could bank on everybody in the band being there on a Friday night. If there’s a soul club after a show, it’s the sort of thing you might get people enthusiastic about going to. But I think the music we put out is influenced by ourselves and each other; it’s not in a vacuum obviously but we’re not trying to be part of somebody else’s tradition.

You sing a lot on this album, particularly on The Power of Three and The Book of You. Have you considered releasing any solo work?

It’s never been a particularly likely thing. I’ve not really got frontman written on my forehead; I’m part of the supporting cast.

You’re just about to go off on tour, starting at festivals in New Zealand and Australia, going to Japan and ATP Iceland, as well as the States. How will you go about choosing which songs to play on tour as you have so many to choose from?

The last record there were only four or six songs off that record that we played regularly live, although I think there’s more to be mined from that record for us to play. Different albums lend themselves more to being played out and we’ve practised ten of the songs from the new album so far. It depends slightly on if people write to us on Twitter and ask for specific songs to be played at specific gigs. Stuart keeps a tally of which songs are being requested for where and we try to do some of those. But you know the show has a shape to it…a bit like joining the dots, there’ll be a few fixed points in the set but the way we get to those songs may change. It’s always Stuart that writes the set but we nag him with specific requests!

You played at Latitude back in 2010, and it’s their 10th anniversary this year...I wondered if there’s a chance you might return to Suffolk this year to help celebrate?

I’ve no idea, but I’m sure that it is under consideration. Our manager and our agent are putting the plan for the festivals together. I’m sure we’ll be doing something in the UK over the summer anyway.

Belle and Sebastian play at Open on 8th May.