Chrystabell

{{Short description|American singer}} {{Infobox person | name = Chrystabell | image = Chrysta-Bell-2018-04-22-0015 (cropped).jpg | caption = Chrystabell in 2018 | birth_name = Chrysta Bell Zucht | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|04|20}} | birth_place = San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|musician}} | website = {{URL|chrystabell.com}} | module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes | genre = {{hlist|Synth-pop|art pop|dream pop|ethereal wave|ambient pop}} | instrument = Vocals | years_active = 1998–present | label = {{hlist|RCA|La Rose Noire|Meta Hari|Love Conquered|Sacred Bones}}}}  }}

'''Chrysta Bell Zucht''' (born April 20, 1978), known professionally as '''Chrystabell''',{{efn|Previously spelled 'Chrysta Bell'<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Joanna |date=2017-06-07 |title=Twin Peaks Star Chrysta Bell on Being David Lynch’s Muse |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/06/twin-peaks-the-return-agent-tammy-preston-chrysta-bell-david-lynch |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nordine |first=Michael |date=2016-10-27 |title=David Lynch’s Musical Collaborator Chrysta Bell Reveals What It’s Like Making Art with the Legend |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/david-lynch-chrysta-bell-twin-peaks-1201740996/ |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Calia |first=Michael |date=October 26, 2016 |title=What It’s Like to Make Music With David Lynch |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-97490 |access-date=August 6, 2024 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>}} is an American singer and songwriter, known for her collaborations with filmmaker 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.

In 1999, an agent introduced her to David Lynch, beginning a fruitful ongoing creative relationship with the director. Together, they released three albums, ''This Train'' (2011), ''Somewhere in the Nowhere'' (2016) and ''Cellophane Memories'' (2024). She appeared on the 2017 revival of ''Twin Peaks'' as Special Agent Tamara Preston.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Bromwich |first=Kathryn |date=2018-03-25 |title=Chrysta Bell: ‘David Lynch is my mentor in art, music and life’ |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/25/chrysta-bell-david-lynch-mentor-art-life-music-twin-peaks |url-status= |access-date=2023-10-03 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2017-05-24 |title=Out of This World |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/chrysta-bell |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name=":1" /> Her family owns a cemetery, Countryside Memorial Park,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Orbiting the Sparkling, Theatrical World of Chrystabell |url=https://floodmagazine.com/104076/chrystabell-midnight-star-feature/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=FLOOD |language=en}}</ref> and her father had a variety of jobs, including running a bed and breakfast and flying hot air balloons.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Her mother (a singer) and her stepfather (a composer, producer and engineer) owned a recording studio that made advertising jingles.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Saunders |first=Tristram Fane |date=2017-06-06 |title=Chrysta Bell: the Twin Peaks actress on David Lynch, the female form and being 'accosted by dark entities' |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/chrysta-bell-twin-peaks-david-lynchs-male-gaze-time-accosted/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> It was at this recording studio where she first began to record music as a child.<ref name=":2" /> Later in life, her father began a natural burial business with the family cemetery, which she inherited; these businesses inspired her 2017 album ''We Dissolve''. From the ages of 13 to 18, she auditioned for film roles, getting just one role in the 1997 kung fu film ''Once Upon a Time in China and America''.<ref name=":0" /> After high school she moved to Austin, Texas with plans to become an actress.<ref name=":2" />

== Career == Chrystabell began writing music in 1995.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":2" /> She made her musical debut as the lead singer of 8½ Souvenirs, with whom she recorded two albums.<ref name=":1" /> In 2004, she relocated from Austin, Texas to Oakland, California.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Morse |first=Erik |date=2019-04-24 |title=Otherworldly Singer-Songwriter Chrysta Bell Returns to Texas |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/otherworldly-singer-songwriter-chrysta-bell-returns-texas/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=Texas Monthly |language=en}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Saldaña |first=Hector |date=2011-09-28 |title=Singer Chrysta Bell joins David Lynch for wild CD |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/singer-chrysta-bell-joins-david-lynch-for-wild-cd-2303834.php |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=SFGATE |language=en}}</ref> 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''.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2016-08-09 |title=David Lynch and Chrysta Bell Team Up for New EP |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/67416-david-lynch-and-chrysta-bell-team-up-for-new-ep/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2011, Lynch wrote and produced her debut album ''This Train'', with Bell developing melodies for Lynch's poetry.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> 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 Lynch.<ref name=":3" /> Her following album, ''Feels Like Love'' (2019), ventures into disco and post-punk, and was co-written with Chris Smart.<ref name=":3" /> She continued to collaborate with Smart for her 2022 record ''Midnight Star''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 21, 2022 |title=Midnight Star, by Chrystabell |url=https://chrystabellmusic.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-star |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Bandcamp |language=en}}</ref>

== Discography ==

* ''Happy Feet'' (with 8½ Souvenirs) (1998) * ''Twisted Desire'' (with 8½ Souvenirs) (1999) * ''Bitter Pills and Delicacies'' (produced in 2010, unreleased until 2021) * ''This Train'' (with David Lynch) (2011) * ''Somewhere in the Nowhere'' (with David Lynch) (2016) * ''We Dissolve'' (2017) * ''Feels Like Love'' (2019) * ''Midnight Star'' (2022) * ''Cellophane Memories'' (with David Lynch) (2024)

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:American women musicians Category:American women singer-songwriters

Chrystabell

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