Mark Bell (22 February 1971 – 8 October 2014) was a British DJ, record producer, and member of the pioneering techno group LFO. He recorded on Warp Records, and also collaborated with artists such as Björk and Depeche Mode.
Biography
Early life
Mark Bell's early musical influences came from three specific sources. One was an art teacher in school who taught art and played music by Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk, an older sister who played disco, funk music and electro from her bedroom, and a music shop in Leeds Mark described as having "arcade games like Tempest and Defender" and that it would play "loads of early hip hop like Schoolly D. I remember feeling this is mine and my friend’s place".
LFO
LFO were performing at the Warehouse, a club in Leeds, when Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell arrived and noticed the positive reception club goers had to the track "LFO". Bell was credited for the majority of the album's production, including the songs "Pluto", "Alarm Call", and the bassline in "Jóga". Björk stated that she "trusts and respects what [Bell] does for me. If I were to say who has influenced me most it would be Stockhausen, Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and Mark Bell".
Bell would also produce Björk's Selmasongs, the soundtrack to the Lars von Trier's film Dancer in the Dark.
Select discography
Albums
- Surge (R&S, 1996), as Speedjack
Singles
- 1994 "Storm", as Speedjack
- 1994 "C.T.C.", as Speedjack
- 1994 "Blue Bossa". as Speedjack
- 1995 "Lofthouse", as Clark
- 1995 Klip EP, as Fawn
- 1996 "Jigsaw", as Counterpoint
Production
- 1997 Björk – Homogenic
- 2000 Björk – Selmasongs