New music to listen to this week: Olga Bell

Now Hear This

Press image/Noah Kalina (Press image/Noah Kalina)

You may have seen/heard Olga Bell's work in the American group Dirty Projectors, but she also happens to be a composer, producer and solo performer who also collaborated with Tom Vek under the moniker Nothankyou.

The latest offering from this Moscow-born, Alaska-raised artist is the EP Incitation, released on 16 October. She says "personal violence" is the main force at work, but it's "more of a brawl with fear" than something "confessional".

Her work is stirring and strange, richly dynamic; a vibrant range of instruments including glockenspiel, synthesizers and vibraphones, and she melds traditional Russian folk melodies with western electro-pop.

Listen if you like: Tom Vek, Chet Faker, Weyes Blood, Honne

Q&A with Olga Bell

- Which contemporary artists have you been listening to recently?

Deradoorian, Kelela, Empress Of, Laurel Halo - lots of great women. Also still in deep with the Kendrick Lamar and Tame Impala records, like everyone else.

- What was it like working with Tom Vek?

I have a lot of artistic and personal respect for Tom: He manages this impossible balance between warm, casual, conversational vocals and incredibly meticulous sound design. He’s not afraid of repetition (I am, sometimes) and he always calls me out for overcomplicating things (which I do, all the time). He’s the best.

- How have you found the experience of working as a solo artist?

It's not so different from what I’ve always done. I started playing the piano when I was seven, and I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t serious about music. Being a pianist can be very lonely, just spending every day in a room by yourself, practicing while your friends are out running around, snowboarding, etc. I spend the same amount of time at the computer now, writing and producing, but what I’m doing never feels like “work”… it feels like a privilege.

- First gig, best gig?

The first gig I ever did was at the Sidewalk Cafe in the East Village! I booked it right after I played their open mic, which was terrifying. As for “best”, that’s hard. One of the most memorable, to be sure, was with Dirty Projectors at Carnegie Hall, on the 10th anniversary of the band. That was an incredible night on many levels. I’ll never forget it, and I’m grateful to have been part of that show.

Incitation by Olga Bell is out now.