Biography
Bell Orchestre operates as a Montreal-rooted six-piece chamber group whose lineup overlaps with Arcade Fire and the Luyas. Drawing from Lee "Scratch" Perry, Talk Talk, Arvo Pärt, and the Penguin Café Orchestra, the largely instrumental band builds expansive, classically tinted post-rock textures that engage electronic elements yet stay rooted in supple, living performance. Their catalog includes the exploratory 2005 debut Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light and the 2021 return House Music, their first studio effort in more than ten years.
The ensemble coalesced around bassist, percussionist, and keyboardist Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, violinist Sarah Neufeld also of Arcade Fire, drummer Stefan Schneider from the Luyas, French horn player Pietro Amato of Torngat and the Luyas, trumpeter Kaveh Nabatian, and lap-steel guitarist Mike Feuerstack of Snailhouse. In 2002 the group produced its self-titled demo CD-R, then tracked the debut album Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light in the same studio and timeframe as Arcade Fire’s Funeral. After joining that band on the road following the breakthrough release, Bell Orchestre completed and delivered its own record through Rough Trade in 2005; the album earned a JUNO nomination for Best Instrumental Album. Two years later the group issued As Seen Through Windows on Arts & Crafts, an album recorded and mixed by Tortoise’s John McEntire that featured a version of Aphex Twin’s “Bucephalus Bouncing Ball.” Later in 2009 came the remix EP Who Designs Nature’s How, containing reworkings by Tim Hecker, Mad Professor, Kid Koala, and additional contributors.
Throughout the 2010s the ensemble appeared only intermittently, yet resurfaced in 2021 with its third album House Music on Erased Tapes. Captured inside Neufeld’s residence and built from collective improvisation, the record marked the band’s first new material in over a decade.
The ensemble coalesced around bassist, percussionist, and keyboardist Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, violinist Sarah Neufeld also of Arcade Fire, drummer Stefan Schneider from the Luyas, French horn player Pietro Amato of Torngat and the Luyas, trumpeter Kaveh Nabatian, and lap-steel guitarist Mike Feuerstack of Snailhouse. In 2002 the group produced its self-titled demo CD-R, then tracked the debut album Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light in the same studio and timeframe as Arcade Fire’s Funeral. After joining that band on the road following the breakthrough release, Bell Orchestre completed and delivered its own record through Rough Trade in 2005; the album earned a JUNO nomination for Best Instrumental Album. Two years later the group issued As Seen Through Windows on Arts & Crafts, an album recorded and mixed by Tortoise’s John McEntire that featured a version of Aphex Twin’s “Bucephalus Bouncing Ball.” Later in 2009 came the remix EP Who Designs Nature’s How, containing reworkings by Tim Hecker, Mad Professor, Kid Koala, and additional contributors.
Throughout the 2010s the ensemble appeared only intermittently, yet resurfaced in 2021 with its third album House Music on Erased Tapes. Captured inside Neufeld’s residence and built from collective improvisation, the record marked the band’s first new material in over a decade.
Albums
As Seen Through Windows
2023
House Music
2021
Who Designs Nature's How
2009
Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light
2005
Singles
