Chrystabell

Whether acting or singing, Chrystabell radiates an otherworldly charisma that never detracts from her versatility. She may be best known for her role as FBI Agent Tammy Preston in the third season of Twin Peaks and musical collaborations with that show's visionary director <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">David Lynch</a> like 2011's hazy, twangy This Train. However, her range extends to her time with the swing revival band <a href="spotify:artist:1GJklgIRVZp9UKIBUXjKmZ">8½ Souvenirs</a>, the eerie drama of 2017's We Dissolve, the starry eyed post-punk of 2019's Feels Like Love, and the sparkling disco and synth pop of 2022's Midnight Star, projects that each revealed different dimensions to her throaty voice. When Chrystabell reunited with <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a> for 2024's Cellophane Memories, its surreal sensuality found both artists at a creative peak.

Hailing from San Antonio, Texas Chrystabell grew up in a musical family: her mother is a professional singer who owned a San Antonio-based recording studio along with her father. She was introduced to various genres of music from an early age, developing an eclectic taste that eventually shaped her own music. Her affinity for the work of artists such as <a href="spotify:artist:3nnQpaTvKb5jCQabZefACI">Jeff Buckley</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7x3f7c0fBanNlQwpx1255g">Francoise Hardy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3g2kUQ6tHLLbmkV7T4GPtL">Fiona Apple</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7G1GBhoKtEPnP86X2PvEYO">Nina Simone</a> impelled Chrystabell to join her first band, the Texas-based swing jazz ensemble, <a href="spotify:artist:1GJklgIRVZp9UKIBUXjKmZ">8½ Souvenirs</a>. With that group, she went on to release 1998’s Happy Feet and 1999’s Twisted Desire. She then briefly toured as vocalist with M.A.S.S. Ensemble, a performance troupe known for transforming live venue spaces into interactive musical instruments between performer and audience.

1999 was also the year in which she was introduced to visionary director <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">David Lynch</a> by a mutual friend. Immediately establishing a rapport, Bell and <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a> made plans to work together as soon as possible, and finished writing a song together after one day in a recording studio. Chrystabell released her first independent album, Bitter Pills & Delicacies, in 2010. She swiftly followed up with her debut for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22QQ5%22">QQ5</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22La+Rose+Noire+Records%22">La Rose Noire Records</a>, This Train. Co-written and produced <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a>, the album combined the singer's soothing vocals and illustrative lyrics with the director's affinity for languid, reverb-laden blues and jazz-rock. This Train received widespread acclaim, with many critics comparing the vocalist’s performance to the early work of <a href="spotify:artist:5BKsn7SCN2XmbF7apdCpRS">Goldfrapp</a> and commending the album's sonic detail and lyrical storytelling.

In 2015, Chrystabell paid tribute to <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a> and his career, performing alongside <a href="spotify:artist:6oBm8HB0yfrIc9IHbxs6in">Lykke Li</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3OsRAKCvk37zwYcnzRf5XF">Moby</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:16eRpMNXSQ15wuJoeqguaB">the Flaming Lips</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:78OKNrjc3BvniYTqvpOp6P">Zola Jesus</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0lZoBs4Pzo7R89JM9lxwoT">Duran Duran</a> at a live benefit for the David Lynch Foundation in Los Angeles. The pair collaborated again on 2016's Somewhere in the Nowhere, an EP that boasted a similar sound palette to its predecessor, but with more electronic percussion and a more ominous mood as opposed to the tranquil feel of previous efforts. The following year, she put out her third full-length, We Dissolve. Working with <a href="spotify:artist:6jDiXQFNb5UYscCSghzEEA">Adrian Utley</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:6liAMWkVf5LH7YR9yfFy1Y">Portishead</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6JOZsxwBJZm4bhcEy7gLIU">Stephen O’Malley</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:2e7hYqRjL82c1nIoREHc4J">Sunn O)))</a> and production handled by <a href="spotify:artist:1UAM4fJFTeyMZbhTVUKiXk">John Parish</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:12VaqyEhgwDRuFfEqbnrpz">PJ Harvey</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3zunDAtRDg7kflREzWAhxl">Eels</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:64tVHZVSAZhDEiOJxnb6hE">Sparklehorse</a>), The album marked a distinct shift from her releases with <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a>, incorporating elements of soul, jazz, alt-rock, trip-hop, and dub. Her creative endeavors with <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a> did not dwindle, however, as she made her major acting debut portraying the role of FBI Agent Tammy Preston in 2017's third season of Twin Peaks.

Chrystabell once again departed from dream pop with the <a href="spotify:artist:1aSxMhuvixZ8h9dK9jIDwL">Kate Bush</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0NKDgy9j66h3DLnN8qu1bB">Eurythmics</a>-inspired fantasies of her next album, 2019's Feels Like Love. Following the 2021 re-release of Bitter Pills & Delicacies, she collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:4h7NLIlg1oYdEtfQJfyto0">Nouvelle Vague</a> co-founder Marco Collin on Strange As Angels, a reinterpretation of <a href="spotify:artist:7bu3H8JO7d0UbMoVzbo70s">the Cure</a>'s songbook, then ventured into sci-fi disco with 2022's Midnight Star. Chrystabell reunited with <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a> for July 2024's Cellophane Memories. Recorded at <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a>'s Asymmetrical Studio over the course of a year with <a href="spotify:artist:2Gu6Q05ExIGwHTF43kqLBI">Lynch</a> producing and Chrystabell engineering the sessions, the album's experimental editing added a hallucinatory quality to its torch songs. ~ Rob Wacey & Heather Phares, Rovi