Northern Ireland's wonderful Brand New Friend - Lauren Johnson, Taylor Johnson, Aaron Milligan, Luke Harris - at Music News' North London HQ for an interview and session on June 21st 2018.
Check out the full uncut interview below.
Session tracks below.
'Seatbelts For Aeroplanes' was the second single from the album of the same name to come out, following the track ‘Girl’ which received great airplay from Annie Mac, Huw Stephens and Phil Taggart on Radio 1, John Kennedy on Radio X and 6Music’s Steve Lamacq.
'Seatbelts For Aeroplanes' is a song about two people desperately trying to keep a relationship alive” explains vocalist Taylor. “The opening line (where the song and the record gets its title!) comes from an off the cuff remark my little brother made on a flight home from Newcastle. He turned to me and asked "What's the point of having a seatbelt on an aeroplane? It's hardly going to save anyone's life if we fall out of the sky". I just thought 'I'm having that!. It became the central metaphor for the whole song. I was going through a bad break-up at the time and I remember thinking that even if I can't be with that person forever, I'd love to at least be a happy memory for them one day”.
The 13 track album was recorded with producer Rocky O’Reilly at the end of 2017 and is a collection of classic catchy pop rock tunes celebrating their youthful exuberance and excitement.
The band, who began as a duo with brother and sister Taylor and Lauren Johnson started off playing and writing when Taylor received his first guitar for doing well in his GSCE’s. After releasing an EP ‘American Wives’ they hooked up with Aaron Milligan (bass) and Luke Harris (drums) and developed a fuller, punchier sound which transformed the gigs they had been playing to much more energetic affairs. Playing their first Irish tour in January 2017, they soon followed on with shows on the BBC Introducing Stage at Hull (during its City of Culture year), festivals and support slots with local bands. In the meantime BBC Radio Ulster and Radio 1 were taking note and giving support and the new year kicked off with a sold out show at the Duke of York in Belfast.
