Chrystabell

Chrystabell, also known as Chrysta Bell (born April 20, 1978), full name Chrysta Bell Zucht, is an American singer, noted for frequently collaborating with director David Lynch. Before working as a solo artist, she was the lead singer of the swing band 8½ Souvenirs, with whom she recorded two albums.

Chrystabell
A woman with long hair sings into a microphone under dim red lighting
Chrystabell in concert, 2018
Born
Chrysta Bell Zucht

(1978-04-20) April 20, 1978
San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
Other namesChrysta Bell
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, musician
Years active1998-present
Musical career
GenresSynth pop
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1998–present
Labels
  • RCA
  • La Rose Noire
  • Meta Hari
  • Love Conquered Records
Websitechrystabell.com

In 1999, an agent introduced her to David Lynch, beginning a fruitful ongoing creative relationship with the director. Together, they released two albums, This Train (2011) and Somewhere in the Nowhere (2016). She appeared on the 2017 reboot of Twin Peaks as Special Agent Tamara Preston.[1][2]

Early life

Chrystabell was born Chrysta Bell Zucht in San Antonio, Texas in the United States on April 20, 1978. She was named after Christabel, the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.[2] Her family owns a cemetery, Countryside Memorial Park,[3] and her father had a variety of jobs, including running a bed and breakfast and flying hot air balloons.[1][2] Her mother, a singer, and her step-father, a composer, producer, and engineer, owned a recording studio that made advertising jingles.[4][2] It was at this recording studio where she first began to record music as a child.[3] Later in life, her father began a natural burial business with the family cemetery, which she inherited. The cemetery and the natural burial business inspired her 2017 album We Dissolve. From the ages of thirteen to eighteen, she auditioned for film roles, getting just one role in the 1997 kung fu movie Once Upon a Time in China and America.[1] After high school, she moved to Austin, Texas, with plans to become an actress.[3]

Musical career

Chrystabell began writing music in 1995.[1] She began her musical career after interviewing for a job as a cocktail waitress in Austin, when she suggested she could sing at the bar with an accompaniment. Her interviewer happened to be the wife of a member of the swing band 8½ Souvenirs, and suggested she audition for the band.[3] She made her musical debut as the lead singer of 8+1⁄2 Souvenirs, with whom she recorded two albums.[2] In 2004, she relocated from Austin, Texas to Oakland, California.[5]

Collaborating with David Lynch

Chrystabell was introduced to director David Lynch in 1998 at the age of 20, by an agent at RCA Victor who thought they would get along well.[2][6] From this meeting developed an ongoing creative relationship encompassing music, film, and poetry. In 2007, her music was featured on the soundtrack of Lynch's film Inland Empire.[7] In 2011, David Lynch wrote and produced her debut album This Train, with Bell developing melodies for Lynch's poetry.[2][7] The two also collaborated on her 2017 EP, Somewhere in the Nowhere. During the production process of Somewhere, Lynch suggested that she appear on Twin Peaks, which she later did, playing the role of Special Agent Tammy Preston in the show's third season.

Solo work

Chrystabell's first solo album, We Dissolve, was released in 2017, produced by John Parish. She was inspired by her family's natural burial cemetery, which she inherited on the death of her father. The album is more rock-oriented than her previous releases, which Parish hoped would help her "stand apart" from her association with David Lynch.[5] Her following album, Feels Like Love (2019), ventures into disco and post-punk, and was co-written with Chris Smart.[5] She continued to collaborate with Smart for her 2022 record, Midnight Star.[8]

Discography
  • Happy Feet (1998, with 8½ Souvenirs)
  • Twisted Desire (1999, with 8½ Souvenirs)
  • Bitter Pills and Delicacies (produced in 2010, unreleased until 2021)
  • This Train (2011)
  • We Dissolve (2017)
  • Feels Like Love (2019)
  • Midnight Star (2022)

References
  1. "Out of This World". Interview Magazine. 2017-05-24. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  2. Bromwich, Kathryn (2018-03-25). "Chrysta Bell: 'David Lynch is my mentor in art, music and life'". The Guardian. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  3. "Orbiting the Sparkling, Theatrical World of Chrystabell". FLOOD. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  4. Saunders, Tristram Fane (2017-06-06). "Chrysta Bell: the Twin Peaks actress on David Lynch, the female form and being 'accosted by dark entities'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  5. Morse, Erik (2019-04-24). "Otherworldly Singer-Songwriter Chrysta Bell Returns to Texas". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  6. Saldaña, Hector (2011-09-28). "Singer Chrysta Bell joins David Lynch for wild CD". SFGATE. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  7. "David Lynch and Chrysta Bell Team Up for New EP". Pitchfork. 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  8. "Midnight Star, by Chrystabell". Bandcamp. January 21, 2022. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
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