Interview with Olga Bell

New York City seems to be so full of musicians these days, it is a wonder that anyone can rise to the top of the fray. It is a credit to singer/musician Olga Bell that she is steadily gaining musical acclaim in what could be one of the most over-saturated musical markets in the country, Brooklyn. After recently releasing some terrific Björk and Radiohead covers, as well as her first EP, Bell found some time to chat with Culture Bully’s Jon Behm about where she comes from, what she’s all about, and where she is going.

Jon Behm: Your vocals have drawn some comparisons to Björk, and you have covered at least one Bjork song. Is that a comparison you welcome, or is there a point where you get fed up and think “I have my own unique talents, stop constantly comparing me to this other singer?”

Bell: I try think of it more as a point of entry, as a mutual friend might make an introduction go over more easily. I love Björk’s music, I feel very close to her compositional style and harmonic language, and I think we share an interest in sounds and forms outside traditional pop conventions. (I feel like I should do the Best In Show bit now, “we both like soup…we could talk or not talk for hours…”). I’m flattered by the comparison, but of course I’m trying to do something unique, and I hope as people become more familiar with my music they take interest in pointing out the ways in which I’m also completely different from Björk.

JB: You recently played at the famous SXSW festival. What was the experience like? Any good stories?

B: It was crazy! Emotional, aural and gastronomical overstimulation everywhere. Not enough sleep, too much alcohol, etc., etc. I got to meet a few people from bands I’m really loving at the moment, and I think my favorite bill was the Flosstradamus/Kid Sister/A-Trak/Cool Kids/Clipse show. Hooray Chicago/ (and Toronto and Virginia Beach) for hothousing such good hip-hop. Living in NYC, it’s easy to fixate on all these great Brooklyn bands, SXSW was a great reminder that vibrant music is happening all over the place.

JB: Are you currently putting together a full length album, or is that something that will be in the works for the future?

OB: Yes. Yes on both counts. There are plenty of songs that aren’t on the EP, sketches for new music on my laptop, on napkin pieces, on a voice recorder, in a notebook, on my cell phone. So yes, now and forthcoming…

JB: You were born in Russia and grew up in Alaska, what events transpired to get you to New York City?

OB: I only planned on living here for a year, as a break after undergraduate conservatory, while I took deferrals from several graduate schools. And now, I guess…almost three years have passed. Egads. I think all deferrals have disintegrated by now.

JB: Consequently, do you ever and Regina Spektor ever get together for Pelmini?

OB: No, but I’d love that.

JB: You live in Brooklyn. Can you let us Midwesterners in on what’s cool right now, so that we can impress our friends with our hipness?

OB: Hmmm…what’s hip? You want to know about hipsters? I suppose nonchalance is always very hip. I mean, personally, I don’t care. I don’t care about coolness or cool people or hipsters. If I cared, I might say something about Ray-Ban Wayfarers, or Phillip Lim, or mid-nineties prints, hammer-pants, dresses, chokers and the impending return of Doc Martens, which I suppose you can now personalize, which I think is a terrible idea (I’d much rather personalize t-shirts with bubble paints and the bedazzler I got for Christmas)…

JB: In an ideal world, what comes next for you and your band?

OB: Some new sound-producing things, a tour (preferably in something that doesn’t use very much gas), a music video, BELL slap-bracelets.

JB: You seem to have an affinity for the music of Thom Yorke and Radiohead: have you met Yorke and the band?

OB: In my head we’re best friends.

JB: Have they let you know what they think of the covers?

OB: Again, only via mind-waves.

JB: In your myspace page you claim to be influenced by Bach. Do you find a lot of influence in Classical music, or are your more drawn to the modern?

OB: I’m drawn to all of it, with the exception of Schumann. Everyone in school always gave me a hard time about this, and some of his lieder and chamber music is OK, but on the whole I just really don’t dig Schumann. On the other hand Bach, for me, is absolutely necessary. I can’t go more than a few days without playing or listening to something of his.

JB: What advice do you have for the youngsters?

OB: I don’t feel that I’m in any position to dole out advice right now. The music world is changing so rapidly, I get two cents from so many people on what to do next and how to do it, I’m just trying to keep up and process everything…ummm, eat your daily Bach?

Official | MySpace

Also: Asobi Seksu & Bell @ 7th St. Entry