Bella (band)
Encyclopedia
Bella is a Canadian indie pop
band from Vancouver
, who formed in 2003, and have released two full-length albums. The band signed to Vancouver's Mint Records
in 2006 and released the full-length "No One will Know" featuring guest musicians Roddy Bottum (Faith No More
), Will Schwartz (Imperial Teen
), John Collins (the New Pornographers
) and Jason Martin (Starflyer 59
).
compared the band's sound to 1980s bands Martha and the Muffins
and Altered Images
. Music from the band's debut album has been featured on CBC Radio 3
and on MuchMusic
. The album was mixed by Colin Stewart (Hot Hot Heat, Black Mountain). Bella has performed with the likes of The Breeders
, Pretty Girls Make Graves
, The New Pornographers
, Phoenix
, Imperial Teen
, Viva Voce
, 54-40
, and The Organ
.
, and the second album, No One Will Know—produced by Dave Carswell (Tegan and Sara) and featuring contributions from Roddy Bottum
, Will Schwartz
and Jason Martin—was released in 2007. It received mostly positive reviews from music critics. In a favourable review of the album, the Edmonton Journal
likened the band's sound to that of Tegan and Sara
. Exclaim!
called it "futuristic indie pop at its most danceable." No One Will Know reached the top ten of multiple alternative and college album charts in Canada.
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, who formed in 2003, and have released two full-length albums. The band signed to Vancouver's Mint Records
Mint Records
Mint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in January 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker....
in 2006 and released the full-length "No One will Know" featuring guest musicians Roddy Bottum (Faith No More
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
), Will Schwartz (Imperial Teen
Imperial Teen
Imperial Teen is a San Francisco-based indie pop group made up of Roddy Bottum primarily on guitar/vocals, Will Schwartz primarily on guitar/vocals, Lynn Truell primarily on drums and backing vocals, and Jone Stebbins primarily on bass and backing...
), John Collins (the New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
) and Jason Martin (Starflyer 59
Starflyer 59
Starflyer 59 is an alternative rock band from Riverside, California that was founded in 1993 by Jason Martin, brother of Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric. While Jason Martin has written nearly all of Starflyer 59's songs, the band has included a number of different musicians over the years, including...
).
Pretty Mess
Recorded in singer-guitarist-keyboardist Cameron Fraser's bedroom, their 2004 debut release was Pretty Mess, on the indie label Hideout. Tom Harrison of The ProvinceThe Province
The Province is a daily, tabloid format newspaper published in British Columbia by Postmedia. It has been a daily newspaper since 1898.According to a recent NADbank survey, The Provinces average weekday readership was 520,100, making it British Columbia's most read newspaper...
compared the band's sound to 1980s bands Martha and the Muffins
Martha and the Muffins
Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian new wave band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and the core members of the band also charted in Canada and...
and Altered Images
Altered Images
Altered Images were an early 1980s Scottish New Wave / post-punk band. Led by lead singer Clare Grogan, the band branched into mainstream pop music, and had a string of chart hits between 1981 and 1983.-Early career:...
. Music from the band's debut album has been featured on CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
and on MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
. The album was mixed by Colin Stewart (Hot Hot Heat, Black Mountain). Bella has performed with the likes of The Breeders
The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal , her twin sister Kelley Deal , Jose Medeles , Mando Lopez Todd the Fox...
, Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves was an art punk band, formed in Seattle in 2001, named after The Smiths song of the same name...
, The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
, Phoenix
Phoenix (band)
Phoenix is a Grammy Award winning French indie rock band from Versailles, founded by Thomas Mars, Deck d'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz.-Formation and early years:...
, Imperial Teen
Imperial Teen
Imperial Teen is a San Francisco-based indie pop group made up of Roddy Bottum primarily on guitar/vocals, Will Schwartz primarily on guitar/vocals, Lynn Truell primarily on drums and backing vocals, and Jone Stebbins primarily on bass and backing...
, Viva Voce
Viva Voce (band)
Viva Voce is an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed by Kevin Robinson and Anita Robinson. Their music draws on several influences including psychedelic rock, classic rock, folk and R&B.-History:...
, 54-40
54-40
54•40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, British Columbia.The band takes their name from the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", coined to express the expansionist agenda of James K...
, and The Organ
The Organ
The Organ was a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2001 in Vancouver, British Columbia. They officially broke up on December 7, 2006, due to illness and personal conflicts in the band.-Early years:...
.
Mint Records and No One Will Know
Bella was signed to Mint RecordsMint Records
Mint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in January 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker....
, and the second album, No One Will Know—produced by Dave Carswell (Tegan and Sara) and featuring contributions from Roddy Bottum
Roddy Bottum
Roddy Bottum , is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist for the San Francisco rock band Faith No More...
, Will Schwartz
Will Schwartz
Will Schwartz is an American pop musician, and a member of the band Imperial Teen, whose debut album Seasick was released in 1996.Of the "queer alt-rockers Imperial Teen," one New York Times reviewer wrote that "though every song on the album is good, the best are the ones about homosexuality ,...
and Jason Martin—was released in 2007. It received mostly positive reviews from music critics. In a favourable review of the album, the Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Journal
The Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.-History:The Journal was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as a rival to Alberta's first newspaper, the 23-year-old...
likened the band's sound to that of Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
. Exclaim!
Exclaim!
Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
called it "futuristic indie pop at its most danceable." No One Will Know reached the top ten of multiple alternative and college album charts in Canada.
Band members
- Tiffany Garrett Sotomayor– drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Cameron Fraser – guitar, keysKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals - Charla McCutcheon – keys, vocals
See also
- Band's website
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
- Canadian rockCanadian rockCanadian rock describes a wide and diverse variety of music produced by Canadians, beginning with American style rock 'n' roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern popular music called rock...
- List of bands from Canada
- List of Canadian musicians
- :Category:Canadian musical groups