Olga Bell (born Olga Balashova, russian: Ольга Балашова, 3 October 1983) is an American musician, music producer, composer, and singer-songwriter. She was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, raised in

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and is currently based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. A classically trained pianist and self-taught electronic music producer, she has worked in a wide range of genres, including classical, electronic pop, and Russian folk. Best known for '' Край (Krai)'', a tribute to her Russian heritage, and ''Diamonite'', an album she produced with Gunnar Olsen and Jason Nazary under the moniker BELL, she has also played in

Chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

and

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The b ...

and collaborated with

Tom Vek Thomas Timothy Vernon-Kell (born 10 May 1981) is an English self-taught multi-instrumentalist musician who works under the name of Tom Vek. Career Born in Hounslow, London, England, he signed to the small label Tummy Touch Records in 2001, hav ...

under the name Nothankyou. In 2016, Bell released her third studio album ''Tempo''.

Early life

Bell started playing the piano at age seven, after moving with her mother from Moscow to Anchorage, Alaska and made her public debut two years later. Bell's studied under Svetlana Velichko, a former Moscow Conservatory professor and

Samuel Feinberg Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre ...

student, and at age twelve performed an original composition for piano and orchestra with her hometown Anchorage Symphony. At sixteen, she performed as a concerto soloist with the Anchorage Civic Orchestra. In high school, she attended the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

on a scholarship. She was also a fellow of The

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

and Yale's Norfolk Festival, where she studied with

Claude Frank Claude Frank (born Claus Johannes Frank; December 24, 1925 – December 27, 2014) was a German-born American pianist. Biography Of Jewish ancestry, Frank was born in Nuremberg, Germany. His father emigrated to Brussels after the advent of the ...

and members of the

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, Tokyo and St. Petersburg String Quartets.

Career

2005-13: Beginnings and ''Diamonite''

In August 2005, having graduated from the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

but not been accepted to the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

's graduate program, Bell moved to New York City to pursue music outside the classical realm. She bought a laptop and started recording herself, singing into the built-in mic and making beats. From 2005 to 2010, Bell split her time between piano teaching and theater accompaniment gigs and pursuing her new musical project on the side. As she wrote new material for the project, she performed at open mics and formed a band, BELL, with Jason Nazary, Mike Chiavaro, and Grey McMurray to perform the songs with her. In 2007, they self-produced and self-released the six-song ''Bell EP''. In 2011, with Chiavaro and McMurray having left the band, Bell worked with Jason Nazary and Gunnar Olsen to produce and release her first full-length album, ''Diamonite''. ''Diamonite'' received positive critical reception, with

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

praising its "bubbly, glitchy electronic

pop songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

" driven by Bell's "powerful" voice.

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

remarked that "while moments on ''Diamonite'' might recall other artists, the band never sounds imitative or even descendant of those influences". Aside from her work on her own music, she produced remixes of tracks from

Son Lux Son Lux is an American experimental band. Originally the solo project and moniker of founding member Ryan Lott, the band's first three albums, '' At War with Walls & Mazes'', ''We Are Rising'' and ''Lanterns'', shaped the band's unique sound th ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer, violinist, and singer. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her a cappella piece ''Partita for 8 Voices'' and the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary ...

, and others. In 2009 she was selected by composer

Osvaldo Golijov Osvaldo Noé Golijov (; born December 5, 1960) is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work. Biography Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family ...

and soprano

Dawn Upshaw Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contempor ...

for a workshop and concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

2013-15: ''Край (Krai)'' and Nothankyou

In 2011, Bell received the Jerome Fund Grant from the

American Composers Forum The American Composers Forum is an American organization that works for the promotion and assistance of American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minn ...

to aid in the completion of her first large-scale composition ''Край (Krai)''. The album was released to critical acclaim in 2014, following a sold-out live premiere at the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

in Minneapolis. Though originally arranged for a twelve-piece electro-acoustic ensemble, it has also been adapted for solo voice with orchestra. ''Край'' was considered "fresh and new" by

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

. During the same period as ''Крайs recording, Bell pursued side project Nothankyou with British musician

, releasing three dance tracks between 2012-14 through

Moshi Moshi Records Moshi Moshi Records is a small London-based record label founded in 1998 by Adrian Pike, Michael McClatchey and Stephen Bass. The label has released music by bands including Lykke Li, Fimber Bravo, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Late of the Pier, Hot ...

and independently on Soundcloud. In 2013, she directed a video for their single ''Oyster''. From 2011 to 2013, Bell toured as a keyboardist and vocalist for

and

2015-present: ''Incitation'' and ''Tempo''

In mid-2015, Bell toured with

and premiered live versions of songs from ''Incitation'', an EP she released on

One Little Indian Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In th ...

later that year, and ''Tempo'', a full-length album to be released the following year. On 12 August 2015,

Nowness Nowness (stylized NOWNESS) is a digital video channel that was launched in 2010 by its founder Jefferson Hack as a brand of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.

premiered the video for "Goalie", the last track on ''Incitation'', which Bell co-directed with Christina Ladwig. Bell also worked with

Noah Kalina Noah Kalina (born July 4, 1980) is an American art photographer. Much of Kalina's work focuses on the passage of time including his well-known project '' Everyday'' which shows the aging of a human. His photographs have appeared in ''The New York ...

to produce a lyric video for the EP's title track. ''Incitation'' was released on 16 October 2015.

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

compared it to works by

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...

and

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, saying it "has an economy of purpose and more serious bent than her previous electronic work" and praising its "melismatic melodies and damaged electronic architecture" while also lamenting that it "hints in plenty of promising directions but hesitates from going all the way toward them." On 9 March 2016, Bell released "Randomness", which Pitchfork named Best New Track. After releasing videos for "Randomness" and "ATA", Bell announced that ''Tempo'', her third full-length album would be released on 27 May 2016. On ''Tempo'', Bell explored dance music genres in order to create a record "first for the body, then for the mind."

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

said it "takes the recognisable features of a genre and subverts them, playing on our conceptions of musical familiarity and never letting the audience grow complacent." In the summer of 2016, Bell toured in the U.S. and Europe supporting

Empress Of Lorely Rodriguez (born October 19, 1989), known professionally as Empress Of, is a Honduran-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer based in Los Angeles, California. To date, she has released three studio albums via XL Recor ...

, and

Yeasayer Yeasayer () was an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2006. The band consisted of Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder. They announced their split on December 19, 2019. History Formation The band's thr ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Diamonite'' (as BELL) (2011) – CD, digital * '' Край (Krai)'' (2014) – 12" vinyl, CD, digital –

New Amsterdam Records New Amsterdam Records is a record label in New York City that was formed in 2008 by Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and William Brittelle to promote classically trained musicians who fall between traditional genre boundaries. Often abbrev ...

* ''Tempo'' (2016) –

EPs

* ''Bell'' EP (as BELL) (2007) – CD, digital * ''Incitation'' EP (2015) – 12" vinyl, CD, digital –

Singles

* ''Magic Tape'' (as BELL) (2009) – 7" vinyl, CD, digital – twosyllable records * ''Dialtone'' (as BELL) (2012) – digital * ''Know Yourself / Oyster'' Single (with

as Nothankyou) (2013) – 7" vinyl, digital –

* ''Randomness'' (2016) – digital –

* ''ATA'' (2016) – digital –