# Chrystabell

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystabell
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{{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](/source/San_Antonio%2C_Texas), U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|musician}}
| website            = {{URL|chrystabell.com}}
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| genre             = {{hlist|[Synth-pop](/source/Synth-pop)|[art pop](/source/art_pop)|[dream pop](/source/dream_pop)|[ethereal wave](/source/ethereal_wave)|[ambient pop](/source/ambient_pop)}}
| instrument        = Vocals
| years_active      = 1998–present
| label             = {{hlist|[RCA](/source/RCA_Records)|La Rose Noire|Meta Hari|Love Conquered|[Sacred Bones](/source/Sacred_Bones_Records)}}}}
<!-- following parameter not available in Template:Infobox person
| past_member_of    = [8½ Souvenirs](/source/8%C2%BD_Souvenirs)
-->
}}

'''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](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal)}}</ref>}} is an American singer and songwriter, known for her collaborations with filmmaker [David Lynch](/source/David_Lynch). Before working as a solo artist, she was the lead singer of the swing band [8½ Souvenirs](/source/8%C2%BD_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''](/source/Twin_Peaks_(season_3)) 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](/source/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](/source/San_Antonio), Texas in the United States on April 20, 1978. She was named after ''[Christabel](/source/Christabel_(poem))'', the poem by [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](/source/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](/source/bed_and_breakfast) and flying [hot air balloon](/source/hot_air_balloon)s.<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 jingle](/source/advertising_jingle)s.<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](/source/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](/source/kung_fu_film) ''[Once Upon a Time in China and America](/source/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_China_and_America)''.<ref name=":0" /> After high school she moved to [Austin, Texas](/source/Austin%2C_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](/source/8%C2%BD_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](/source/Oakland%2C_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](/source/David_Lynch) in 1998 at the age of 20, by an agent at [RCA Victor](/source/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](/source/Inland_Empire_(film))''.<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](/source/Twin_Peaks_season_3)'', 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](/source/John_Parish). She was inspired by her family's [natural burial](/source/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'' <small>(with [8½ Souvenirs](/source/8%C2%BD_Souvenirs))</small> (1998)
* ''Twisted Desire'' <small>(with 8½ Souvenirs)</small> (1999)
* ''Bitter Pills and Delicacies'' (produced in 2010, unreleased until 2021)
* ''This Train'' <small>(with [David Lynch](/source/David_Lynch))</small> (2011)
* ''Somewhere in the Nowhere'' <small>(with David Lynch)</small> (2016)
* ''We Dissolve'' (2017)
* ''Feels Like Love'' (2019)
* ''Midnight Star'' (2022)
* ''[Cellophane Memories](/source/Cellophane_Memories)'' <small>(with David Lynch)</small> (2024)

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chrystabell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystabell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystabell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.