Belle of the Fest
Published 23 months ago
Chris Geddes will be DJing at the All Tomorrow's Parties film screening event as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
- Text by Calum Waddell
Chris Geddes is the keyboardist in Belle and Sebastian - a band who will need no introduction to any follower of charming indie pop. With a succession of hit albums that includes The Boy with the Arab Strap and The Life Pursuit, the group has also sold out The Hollywood Bowl and been named Scotland’s top band by readers of The List. Meanwhile, Geddes will be playing a DJ set at the upcoming All Tomorrow’s Parties event – blending music with film - which takes place on June 24th as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Dazed Digital: What can someone expect from one of your DJ sets? Do you typically play the sort of stuff Belle and Sebastian fans would want to hear such as The Smiths, The Stone Roses and The Shins?
Chris Geddes: Actually, no (laughs)… I play a lot of international music and quite a lot of that is a bit obscure. I used to feel pressured into playing a Stone Roses record just so that I would not get too many complaints from the die-hard fans but I’ve stopped doing that now. I guess it’s nice to surprise people too. I think a lot of our fans will expect to hear The Smiths and The Stone Roses and it’s quite nice to throw them a curveball.
DD: Inevitable question but what is happening with the follow-up to The Life Pursuit?
Chris Geddes: Well Richard (Colburn) has been on tour with Snow Patrol and a few of us have also been off doing our own things so we have only recently begun talking about getting together and working on a new album. It has been a while since the last one but there really is not much else to report on that front. I am hoping we can begin work later in the year though… I know that Stuart has been saying that he misses playing live and I’m starting to miss that too.
DD: Camera Obscura: Belle and Sebastian with a female singer?
Chris Geddes: Oh no (laughs). Oh man, I can’t agree with that – we’re actually friends with them and I am a really big fan. I think they have matured a lot with each album. I like each album that they have put out better than the last. We’re all really supportive of them in Belle and Sebastian. I guess I can see why people are saying that but I don’t think they ever set out to try and sound like us.
DD: Why is it that Glasgow has a reputation as a tough city but a lot of the music which has come from there – yourselves, Camera Obscura, Franz Ferdinand, Teenage Fanclub – is really quite effete?
Chris Geddes: I think it might just be a reaction to that toughness and grit – although I should say that I have never felt threatened living in Glasgow… Well, unless I go to the football (laughs). But a lot of people came to Glasgow as students and stayed in the West End, which is a really nice part of the city, and then they just remained there and started a band. I think the bands you mentioned are all quite supportive too – like when we started out I remember the Fanclub gave us a lot of support. But, then again, you have Mogwai – they’re from Glasgow and they’re quite hard aren’t they? I think they could take us in a fight anyway (laughs).
Chris Geddes will be DJing as part of the All Tomorrow Parties film event where the All Tomorrow's Parties documentary film will be screened as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 24.
