Kelly Lee Owens

Kelly Lee Owens is a London-based producer, songwriter, and singer known for shadowy but resonant techno-pop. Making her debut as a vocalist by contributing to releases by <a href="spotify:artist:1EULJuDFWpZ9xg4YwtUGGt">Daniel Avery</a>, she began issuing her own productions in 2015, leading up to her acclaimed 2017 eponymous debut album. She subsequently collaborated with or remixed <a href="spotify:artist:7w29UYBi0qsHi5RTcv3lmA">Björk</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7bcbShaqKdcyjnmv4Ix8j6">St. Vincent</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7yxi31szvlbwvKq9dYOmFI">Jon Hopkins</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5MWBg16f5UYiaSlyVhzlIW">John Cale</a> (who appeared on Owens' second album, 2020's Inner Song). Her more ethereal, experimental LP.8 was released in 2022. With 2024's Dreamstate, she went in a much more accessible, progressive house-influenced direction.

Following a move from her native North Wales, Owens interned at <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22XL+Recordings%22">XL Recordings</a>, played bass in <a href="spotify:artist:7qdtAT3XxpNXOa4URjf2NE">the History of Apple Pie</a>, and worked in a string of record shops, including Pure Groove, Rough Trade, and Sister Ray, where she soaked up influences and learned more about the inner workings of music-making. While at Pure Groove, she worked with <a href="spotify:artist:1EULJuDFWpZ9xg4YwtUGGt">Daniel Avery</a>, who sought her vocals for the Water Jump EP (2012) and Drone Logic (2013). For the latter, Owens appeared on three tracks, one of which she co-wrote. In February 2015, she self-released her debut 12" single, featuring "Lucid" and the <a href="spotify:artist:3iJJD5v7oIFUevW4N5w5cj">Arthur Russell</a>-inspired "Arthur," in a small run of 200. The songs were also made available for download. Within a few months, <a href="spotify:artist:51Rlwvwkj8L3zakIRr6dUV">Seb Wildblood & Apes</a>' "Noshi" was issued with Owens as lead vocalist, and <a href="spotify:artist:5eerVxtb9lY9p6D7m89Bs7">Jenny Hval</a> released Owens' swift, rumbling club remix of her "Kingsize." That August, Owens' "Uncertain" 12" reached area shops in a similarly small private pressing and was issued digitally as well. Her third single, "1 of 3," was released as a download the following March. Seven months later, Owens made her <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Smalltown+Supersound%22">Smalltown Supersound</a> debut with the Oleic EP, a prelude to her first full-length.

Led by "Anxi.," a collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:5eerVxtb9lY9p6D7m89Bs7">Hval</a>, Owens' self-titled album arrived on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Smalltown+Supersound%22">Smalltown Supersound</a> in March 2017. The full-length was met with praise from critics, and a deluxe edition, with three additional tracks, appeared later in the year. Owens issued several non-album singles, including a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:0urTpYCsixqZwgNTkPJOJ4">Aaliyah</a>'s "More Than a Woman," 2018's "Bird" (backed by a 17-minute <a href="spotify:artist:4rsEVNO1tGTY0beCnsnHi6">Prins Thomas</a> mix), and 2019's "Let It Go" and <a href="spotify:artist:7yxi31szvlbwvKq9dYOmFI">Jon Hopkins</a> collaboration "Luminous Spaces." Her second solo album, Inner Song, was released in 2020, including guest vocals by <a href="spotify:artist:5MWBg16f5UYiaSlyVhzlIW">John Cale</a> on the track "Corner of My Sky." Owens was asked to write music for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup; her composition, a theme titled "Unity," appeared in October 2021. LP.8, a full-length inspired by <a href="spotify:artist:6uothxMWeLWIhsGeF7cyo4">Enya</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1UYhxPY1oqFUg1HfF8nV3k">Throbbing Gristle</a>, was issued in 2022. A companion EP titled LP.8.2 followed in 2023.

In 2024, Owens signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22dh2%22">dh2</a>, an electronic imprint of the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dirty+Hit%22">Dirty Hit</a> label. Her first album for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22dh2%22">dh2</a>, Dreamstate, veered closer to Ibiza trance than her past releases, and featured production by <a href="spotify:artist:73A3bLnfnz5BoQjb4gNCga">Bicep</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1GhPHrq36VKCY3ucVaZCfo">the Chemical Brothers</a>' Tom Rowlands, and George Daniel (<a href="spotify:artist:3mIj9lX2MWuHmhNCA7LSCW">the 1975</a>). ~ Andy Kellman & Paul Simpson, Rovi