Seefeel

Event information

Seminal band Seefeel are set to return to the UK this September with their first new material for nearly 14 years (their first on Warp for 15 years) and a special one-off headline show in London.

The catalyst to regroup with new members Shigeru Ishihara and E-da (a former Boredoms drummer) and record new material came after the band were asked to play Warp20 in Paris in 2009, as guitarist Mark Clifford explains: “We always said that we wouldn't record a new Seefeel record unless we could present something that we felt was new. When 'Quique' was re-issued a couple of years back myself and Sarah did some interviews together and we talked about recording new material. We exchanged a few ideas which were OK and things slowly got into gear but it was being asked to do the Warp20 show in Paris that really forced us to step up a couple of notches and since then, with the addition of E-da and Shige, things have developed and grown.”

The band’s relationship with Warp Records began in 1994. Warp co-founder Steve Beckett explains: “Seefeel were the first band that Warp signed who had guitars – they were brave to sign to us because they became the ‘older siblings’ in the family and took all the flak by breaking the unwritten rules of an (up until then) purely dance label. After 1995’s ‘Succour’ they stopped performing live, but we always kept in touch and then for the first Warp20 show in Paris we asked if they would play”.

Describing their performance in Paris as ‘unbelievable’, he asked the band to make another record as they came offstage. “They came back six months later – not just with a record, but a great record. This band needs to be heard, they need to be seen so that’s why we got involved again. Family members might leave for a long time but they always come home.”

Mark says of the band’s immediate future and the addition of Eda and Shinge: “Having two new members has really helped the dynamic of the band. There is a real dynamic, creative process that’s exciting. We are growing as a live band, adding elements of improvisation and looser structures unimaginable to us a few years back and with continued touring - I'm excited to see how we develop in that direction.”