Think about the best ’90s birthday party you’ve ever had: X-Men cartoons on a Saturday morning, cereal for breakfast and all your best buds coming over to play Nintendo 64. Garbed in colorful tracksuits and luminous sunglasses, local musicians Glenn Bell and Schuyler Horn time travel back to that birthday party through their rhythm and blues project SEA.LVL (pronounced “sea level”). The self-described “bad boys of instrumental R&B” evoke this nostalgia with smooth jazz guitar, cool rhythmic trumpet, and by adhering to the golden rule of SEA.LVL: no rehearsals.
“SEA.LVL is self-care; self-care is SEA.LVL,” Bell says.
This is a music project that invites you to put on their EP as you draw up a luxurious – albeit simple – bubble bath. Their repertoire mixes gentle instrumental ballads like “Daydream” with hard grooves and experimental funky sounds found in their singles “Stunna” and “Diggin.” The duo draws inspiration from several modern R&B tunes and musicians, including the likes of jazz trumpeter Theo Croker.
The no-rehearsal rule emerged from the circumstances under which the band formed. Bell and Horn also perform as members of the popular local group the BASSment band, but the pandemic put a hard stop on all performances in March 2020. “It was dark, because I was sitting at home and I couldn’t do what I loved which is to play for people and to share the gift of music in a communal space,” Bell recalls.
Horn and Bell found themselves on the phone one day, talking about how R&B made them feel. Soon, the pair recorded their first independent, self-financed EP, which was released in 2021.
SEA.LVL’s live performances are full of youthful energy, which is symbiotic with both Horn and Bell’s day jobs as youth development professionals. “It’s about the next generation and that’s something that SEA.LVL can stand by,” says Bell, who teaches music at the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Horn, meanwhile, is co-founder of the non-profit Lacrosse the Bay.
Thus far, SEA.LVL has released two EPs, both of which are available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music. A third is on the way, and a new single “Diggin’” (recorded live in Sand City) is out now.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.