5 Questions With: Seablite
5 Questions With: Seablite
The Bay Area based indie-pop band stop by to talk about their Lemon Lights LP, and what's coming next.
Good morning!
Today we’re talking with Bay Area-based band Seablite
San Francisco-based Seablite is a four-piece pop band that draws a lot of inspiration from the early 90s Brit Pop and Shoegaze. Their sound also draws inevitable positive comparisons to bands like Lush. Though one can hear influences of several bands —and eras— in Seablite’s sound, there is nothing derivative about it.
The band first formed in 2016 when Lauren Matsui (vocals/guitar) and Galine Tumasyan (vocals/bass) met & bonded over a love of the same bands. Jen Mundy (2nd guitar) and Andy Pastalaniec (Chime School) on drums round out the lineup. Lemon Lights is the follow-up LP to 2019’s Grass Stains and Novocaine (with a single & EP in between). This latest record represents a fuller, expanded sound and is 12 tracks of 100% pure dream pop.
It's also fantastic; readers may recall it being one of On Repeat’s Top 10 records of the year:
I recently had a chance to catch up with Lauren Matsui (vocals/guitar) and Galine Tumasyan (vocals/bass) via email. In a wide-ranging chat, we discuss how the band got its start, how this record came to pass, and what’s next for the band.
Our chat has been lightly edited for clarity/flow.
Lemon Lights is a slightly new direction for us; we really focused on expanding our sound and trying a lot of new things. We were able to dive further into experimentation on this album. We recorded drums and bass with Robby Joseph in his studio, and then we were able to take our time layering the overdubs later. I think this gave us a lot of space to feel out how we thought the songs would take shape.
~Lauren Matsui
KA: Can you fill in a little bit of your backstory? Walk us through what made you get started playing. Are there any other bands that you are/were involved in?
LM: We’ve all been playing in bands for years, but I think something really gelled when we started playing together. We all bring something different to the table. Galine and I really bonded over our love of shoegaze and Britpop and decided to start playing together. When Jen and Andy joined us soon after, they completed our sound! Last year, I started playing bass in Neutrals, which is composed of our good friend Allan and my husband Phil. Neutrals and Seablite have done a couple tours together. It’s been super fun!
KA: Congrats on the new record! Do you think this picks up where your last record left off, or is it more of a turn in a new direction?
LM: Lemon Lights is a slightly new direction for us; we really focused on expanding our sound, and trying a lot of new things. We were able to dive further into experimentation on this album. We recorded drums and bass with Robby Joseph in his studio, and then we were able to take our time layering the overdubs later. I think this gave us a lot of space to feel out how we thought the songs would take shape.
KA: I can hear quite a few different influences on the record- Lush in particular, and even a bit of Single Gun Theory (maybe that’s just me?). Who would you include here?
LM: I’d say Ride was a pretty big influence on this record. Blur is another big one for me. Graham Coxon has the best guitar riffs and tone.
GT: Definitely a lot of Ride! I’d also say some Charlatans and Inspiral carpets. I dove back into my roots during the pandemic and listened to a lot of classic British dance records like Orbital, Chemical Brothers, and Future Sounds of London- these records definitely helped to shape a layering aspect for some of the songs and build them out in a fun way.
KA: To piggyback on that a little bit, I really love the sound on “Melancholy Molly.” Can you share a little bit about how that track came together?
GT: Ha! This one is funny as people were making jokes whether we sing about a substance or a friend. The answer is neither. The melody came to me one morning during the pandemic when I was making coffee and watched coffee steam dancing away towards the window. I was envious that it was able to go outside and I wasn’t. That’s what shaped that funny, melancholic feel of the song. It was always intended to be baggy, and we drew a lot of inspiration from our favorite shoegaze and dance records for that song.
KA: For anyone coming to your music for the first time, what do you want them to take away from it? For fans of the previous records, what should they expect?
GT: This record has something for everyone. Lemon Lights is definitely a more mature self-actualized sibling of Grass Stains and Novocaine.
KA: What's next for the band? What does the rest of 2023 look like for you?
LM: We’re taking it easy for the rest of 2023, but hoping to do some touring in 2024! We’ll probably start hashing out new song ideas as well; we’ve always got something cooking.
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Seablite | Lemon Lights, 2023
Click on the record to listen on your platform of choice.
To connect with the band and purchase their music, click here:
| Bandcamp | Instagram | Threads |
5 Questions:
1. Describe your music style in one sentence.
LM: You’ll find me sitting in a sea cave watching VHS recordings of 120 Minutes from the 90s.
2. What music played in your house(s) growing up?
LM: A lot of prog (dad) and new wave (mom) and Beatles (both)
GT: Lots of disco, Abba, Bee Gees, and Boney M!
3. What are you listening to these days?
LM: I’ve been listening to a lot of Factory Floor - ‘S/T,’ Amateur Hour - ‘Krökta Tankar och Brända Vanor,’ Nothing Natural - ‘NN/EP,’ and Duncan Marquiss - ‘Wires turned Sideways In Time’
GT: I still can’t get over Suede’s ‘Autofiction,’ even though the record came out in 2022, it’s a solid record, and I can’t get enough of it. The new Andy Bell record is pretty great! The new Ladytron record is also on a heavy rotation! There’s so much more and all over the place, to be honest, but those rise to the top at the moment.
4. What are your 5 Desert Island Discs?
LM:
Blur - ‘The Great Escape’
Pulp - ‘His ‘n’ Hers’
New Order - ‘Power, Corruption & Lies’
Ride - ‘Nowhere’
Yo La Tengo - ‘I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One’
GT:
Suede - S/T
Pulp - ‘His ‘n’ Hers’
Chemical Brothers - ‘Surrender’
Serge Gainsbourg - ‘Histoire de Melody Nelson’
Ride - ‘Nowhere’
5. If you could collaborate with any artist/band, who would it be?
LM: I’d love to collaborate with Damon Albarn, it could go in so many directions!
GT: I love that Glok remix by Andy Bell! Everything he does is amazing!
Thanks to Lauren & Galine for stopping by, and thank you for being here,
Kevin—
