Gelsey Bell

Photo by, Maria Baranova

Meet Gelsey Bell

Experimental and innovative this terrific NYC based artist recently released a walking tour of the Greenwood Cemetery. Not only that but they also have an impressive collection of other releases with some of the most enchanting vocals this fool has ever heard. In our latest interview, we chat with Gelsey Bell about their latest release, family, and dream venue to perform. Check it out.

Two Truths and a Lie

(Answers at the end of the interview)

Sometimes my eyes appear to change color.

I am related to Alexander Graham Bell.

My Great Great Aunt Eileen talked her way out of a Nazi concentration camp during WWII.

Would You Rather

be the greatest juggler in the world or the greatest hypnotist? What would you do with your new found powers?

Greatest hypnotist. I’d see if I could be of some use to folks struggling with addiction.

Some questions with Gelsey Bell

What kinds of stories do you gravitate towards in your writing?

Complicated stories. Where things aren’t quite what they seem and people are behaving in gray areas. Stories where the storytelling itself is part of the plot.

What about the Green-Wood cemetery inspired your release “Cairns”?

It's been an incredible place to spend time in since the lockdown. It is quiet and centering. And rather than feeling like I’m escaping the chaos and horror of the moment, it has given me a calm space to meditate on it. Plague, racism, climate change, white supremist patriarchal settler colonialist humanism… as well as the stunning beauty of living and persevering. It’s all present in the stories of who is there and how and why.

What does your family think of your music?

They think it’s cool. My mom is a pianist/piano teacher so there’s always been a lot of music around. Sometimes they don’t understand how I make some of the vocal sounds that I do. And sometimes they think it’s funny. Because sometimes it IS funny.

Where would be your dream venue to play?

Lascaux.

What is the current state of DIY and experimental music in NYC? Are there any other

It is alive and well! In fact I think the more DIY and experimental musical projects are having an easier time adapting to the limitations of the current moment than other musical groups. My band thingNY, which has been supremely DIY for over a decade now, has had a great time co-composing two new operas for online performance. There are so many other projects I admire. Popebama just came out with their debut album on Gold Bolus Recordings and it is killer (honestly can’t think of a more apt adjective to describe it). New singles by Starr Busby, Ahye Simone, and Anaïs Maviel have been rocking my world. I’m stoked to be going to an in-person, outside concert this week of Amirtha Kidambi, Lea Bertucci, and Luke Stewart, who are all incredible and transformative performer-composers. And the night before the election, I’m really looking forward to singing a new piece by Darius Jones, whose music continues to grab me, shake me, and lift me up. I could keep going…

What is the most useful thing you own?

This stupid and beautiful computer.

Are you a self-taught musician?

No. I’ve had some really incredible voice and piano teachers throughout the years. Even the instruments I haven’t officially studied have been nurtured by tips from the greats, like Pauline Oliveros on the accordion and gravity, or Kazuhisa Uchihash on bowing technique for the daxophone. I have also learned so much from the people I play music with! That said, there are some kinds of singing that I needed to discover on my own and in that way having a discipline of discovery – which anyone who is self-taught has – has been absolutely essential to the kind of musician I have become.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Can we all – musicians, fans, institutions, critics – take some time to change musical behavior now to help create a sustainable musical economy? With touring quiet for a little while, let’s do some rethinking on how we value our musical recordings. I think it would be great if Spotify became an island archive for old music and mainstream music, while the cutting-edge smaller scenes stuck to musician-friendly platforms like Bandcamp. Is now the moment for the rebirth of the scavenger audiophile after the Viking binging of the last two decades? It is the best interest of all music lovers for musicians to be able to make a living practicing their craft – let’s figure out how to get ourselves there.

Two Truths and a Lie Answer Key

Truth: Sometimes my eyes appear to change color.

Lie: I am related to Alexander Graham Bell.

Truth: My Great Great Aunt Eileen talked her way out of a Nazi concentration camp during WWII.