Acclaimed British electronic music producer Mark Bell has died, according to reports. Bell was part of the hugely influential group LFO, which helped pioneer bass-heavy techno, IDM, and acid house in Northern England in the late-’80s and early-’90s.
“It’s with great sadness that we announce the untimely passing of Mark Bell of LFO who died last week from complications after an operation,” wrote Warp Records in a statement. “Mark’s family & friends request privacy at this difficult time.”
As Gigwise points out, Bell also collaborated with several notable artists over the past few decades, including Bjork (on 1997’s Homogenic) and Depeche Mode (for 2001’s Exciter). He recently produced two tracks on Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas J. McCarthy’s 2012 record, Kill Your Friends.
Boston electronic music producer André Obin recently completed a remix of LFO’s 2003 track “Blown,” but did not post it because “it didn’t feel right, for some reason.” Obin may soon post the track as a tribute to Bell.
“He might not be a household name like Aphex Twin, but for fans of Warp Records, he is truly beloved,” Obin tells Vanyaland. “Amazing grasp of melody, atmosphere, and rhythm.”
Earlier today, Fact Magazine declared LFO “one of the most important of the ‘bleep-n-bass’ acts to emerge from the North of England in the early 1990s, and the group behind the still-classic 1991 LP Frequencies — an easy pick for one of the best electronic LPs on the 1990s.”
Fellow pioneering group the Black Dog chimed in on Bell’s death via Twitter a few moments ago…
Goodbye Mark Bell, you made a difference.
— TheBlackDog (@TheBlackDog) October 13, 2014
Can't tell you how much we loved LFO, we played our edit of LFO in Japan for the last time this year. It always made it into the set 🙁
— TheBlackDog (@TheBlackDog) October 13, 2014
Would often see him on his way to tDR with the latest gadget in his hand, we try to talk about BASS and he would want to talk about games
— TheBlackDog (@TheBlackDog) October 13, 2014
Really sweet, intelligent guy… 🙁
— TheBlackDog (@TheBlackDog) October 13, 2014
Jagwar Ma as well…
R.I.P Mark Bell, a great inspiration https://t.co/rqgvqNODcU
— Jagwar Ma (@JagwarMa) October 13, 2014
Here is more of Bell’s handiwork…
[embedvideo id=”pFSelvCtObM” website=”youtube”]
[embedvideo id=”3s8Lxl2aKxw” website=”youtube”]
[embedvideo id=”HROMVIHGpLE” website=”youtube”]