According to Cowboy Bebop’s fictional description, the name of the band derives its name from the fact that the members wear seatbelts while playing hardcore jam sessions. The entire soundtrack to Cowboy Bebop was performed by the band. They also produced seven albums and one DVD. Their style is very diverse and ranges from straightforward big band jazz, blues, acoustic ballads, hard rock, country, funk to electronic, hip-hop and experimental compositions/elements. Seatbelts didn’t have a lead singer because the band was primarily instrumental. Steve Conte and Mai Yamane, from The Contes and Crown Jewels, were involved and sang many of the songs. These songs’ lyrics were mainly written by Tim Jensen, Yoko Kanno and others. Backing vocals for songs like “Blue” were provided by Gabriela Robin and Soichiro Oka (rumoredly a pseudonym for Kanno). After several years of hiatus, Seatbelts returned to the stage in 2004 to record the soundtrack for Cowboy Bebop 2. After the release of their last album, they all split up. Many members of Seatbelts worked together with Kanno on other projects, while others went on to create their own work. Tsuneo Imahori, the guitarist, also contributed to the soundtracks of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’s and Wolf’s Rain’s soundtracks. Kanno also composed the soundtracks for Gungrave and Trigun. Many internationally renowned musicians have been guests on Cowboy Bebop albums and are often credited as Seatbelts members. Bio taken from Wikipedia
