Seafret Return with Heartfelt New Single “Hollow”

Following on from the release of their highly-praised second album Most Of Us Are Strangers in 2020, which saw the duo top one billion streams across all DSPs and YouTube, Bridlington’s finest, Seafret have now returned to deliver their heartfelt new single “Hollow.”

Self-produced by Seafret’s own Harry Draper and Cam Blackwood (Florence & The Machine, George Ezra, Lewis Capaldi) “Hollow” sees the pair unveil another wonderfully warm and embracing new offering. Inspired by the thoughts of losing a loved one, formed in the wake of the pandemic, their newest effort looks to conjure a feeling of strength and hopefulness through a blend of rich and uplifting songwriting.

Speaking about the new single, the duo’s Jack Sedman explains, “My grandparents have always been the couple my whole family aspires to be. They had basically the perfect package and have always been the foundation in our family. I often wondered what it would be like if we were to lose one of them and how that would be/ how we would cope. This song was inspired by that feeling.”

Sometimes, to figure things out, you have to go right back to where you started. For duo Jack Sedman and Harry Draper, it took returning to their native Yorkshire to reconnect with the things that matter, and begin producing their best, most meaningful music to date.

WATCH + LISTEN TO “HOLLOW” HERE

Seafret formed in 2011, after meeting at an open mic night near their hometown of Bridlington. Upon the release of their debut project, Give Me Something, it was clear they were on to something. A year later, in 2015, they released their astounding Oceans EP. Accompanied by a video starring Game of Thrones Maisie Williams as a bullied teen, the lead single “Oceans” remains a fan favorite, with over 450M collective streams. It’s easy to understand why. Sedman sings in a grief-stricken cry over lush arrangements of piano, steady percussion and acoustic guitar strums: “You know I’d rather drown/ Than to go on without you/ But you’re pulling me down.”

“Our music always has to have something real about it,” Sedman says. He recalls his dad telling him that an audience can always tell when an artist is singing from a perspective that isn’t their own. “People can always recognize the real feeling.”

Possibly this helped provide the title for Seafret’s debut album, 2016’s Tell Me It’s Real. Released as part of a distribution deal with Columbia Records, it charted in the UK and received positive reviews from critics, who praised its “moments of real beauty” and delicate emotion. But by this time, Draper says, they’d grown wise to the bigger labels. “We kind of retreated a little bit,” he says. “We really wanted a proper home for our music.” It was a fraught time: the duo, at this point barely out of their teens, were told they’d miss their chance if they walked away from the majors. “That only fired us up even more,” Draper says with a grin. They created their second album, 2020’s Most Of Us Are Strangers, over eight weeks in a Glasgow studio with producer Ross Hamilton. “It was a big risk for us,” Sedman acknowledges. Needless to say, it paid off. The album received praise from publications including The Times, which singled out the band’s “quality songwriting” and accomplished sound.

Seafret were supporting the album during a tour of Europe, before their schedule brought them back to the UK for a string of homecoming shows. But this was brought to a screeching halt by the arrival of the pandemic. Live music venues were shuttered, the band’s tour was cancelled with three shows to go, and the duo felt as though they were back to square one. Draper was in Leeds, while Sedman was back in Bridlington: “I never ever in a million years thought I would end up back here,” Sedman says. And for a long time, they found themselves waiting. “It can get heavy on your mind,” Draper recalls. “You get in this dark space. But we just tried to carry on writing, and actually we’ve never been as productive as we were during lockdowns. And we’re really proud of these songs.”

Their return single “Hollow” is about the impact the loss of a loved one can have on the people they leave behind. Sedman wrote it right in the depths of lockdown, thinking about the grandparents he was unable to visit. “Everyone became more aware of how lucky they were, and what they had,” he says of the pandemic. “It was difficult not being able to see people, especially if they weren’t in a good place. And we all want to try and make the most out of every day.” The track begins with simple guitar strumming that sounds resigned to the inevitable. “Wish we could keep on running/ Go back to life before,” Sedman sings. Then comes a shimmer of percussion, and the guitar grows more determined, building into the uplifting chorus. “Obviously with everything going on, that was bound to have an influence on the mood of the music we were creating,” Draper says. “And there were other situations we were going through that were tough – people we wanted to see – and that definitely came through a lot in the songs.”

And so begins a new chapter for Seafret. Expect to hear lots more from the Bridlington duo over the course of 2022 and beyond.
Seafret joins Nettwerk’s expanding label roster, including artists like RHODES, SYML, BANNERS, and others. Stay tuned in the coming days for more music and info.