Bess Harriet Hildick-Smith (born 24 September 1994), known professionally as Bess Atwell, is an English

indie folk Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Characteristics The staff of '' Paste Magazine'' said in 2020: "No music genre ...

musician.

Early life

Atwell was born in South London and grew up in Cambridgeshire and Sussex. She attended

Brighton College Brighton College is a fee-charging, co-educational, boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton and Hove, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton Co ...

, where she was a member of Seldon House. She began her studies at

Falmouth University Falmouth University is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth C ...

, but withdrew and moved to London for her career.

Career

Atwell released her debut full-length album, ''Hold Your Mind'', when she was just 19 years old. Atwell released her first EP three years later, titled ''Big Blue''. Atwell released her second full-length album in 2021 titled ''Already, Always''. In 2024, Atwell released her third full-length album, titled ''Light Sleeper''. The album was produced by

Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National (band), the National, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums; a co-founder of the indie rock duo Big ...

, who had reached out to Atwell inquiring about producing her next record. The album received positive reviews.

Artistry

Having begun to learn guitar via

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

songs, Atwell attended a

Johnny Flynn Johnny Flynn (born 14 March 1983) is a British actor and musician. He starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom '' Lovesick'' and is also known for his performances as David Bowie in the 2020 film '' Stardust''; M ...

concert with a friend, which she considers the moment "I really became influenced by music, in a way that shaped me as my own artist". Through Flynn, she discovered London's early 2010s

nu-folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music. C ...

scene. As a teenager, she listened to the likes of

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes are an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band currently consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backin ...

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...

, Dry the River and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, as well as

Beach House Beach House is an American indie music, indie band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore in 2004 by current members Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals, drum programming). Their work is char ...

, The National and

Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally from New Jersey, and currently based in Los Angeles, Van Etten's music is noted for its indie rock aesthetic and personal lyric ...

. In a 2019 interview, Atwell cited an admiration for women singers such as

Julia Jacklin Julia Jacklin (born 30 August 1990) is an Australian singer-songwriter from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains region of New South Wales. Jacklin's musical style has been described as indie pop, indie folk, and alternative cou ...

Stella Donnelly Stella Donnelly (born 10 April 1992) is a Welsh-Australian indie rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. After the success of her debut EP '' Thrush Metal'' in 2017, she signed with Secretly Canadian in 2018. She released her debut studio album ' ...

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers on acoustic guitar and Electronic music, electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has won four Grammy Aw ...

and

Soccer Mommy Sophia Regina Allison (born May 27, 1997), better known by her stage name Soccer Mommy, is an American singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. She has four studio albums to her name; her latest album, ''Evergreen'', was released on October ...

. Other artists Atwell has named include

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, coun ...

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

and

Maggie Rogers Margaret Debay Rogers (born April 25, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Easton, Maryland. After her song "Alaska" was played to artist-in-residence Pharrell Williams during a master class at the Clive Davis Institut ...

Discography

Studio albums *Hold Your Mind (2016, Bullnose Hoop Records) *Already, Always (2021, Real Kind Records) *Light Sleeper (2024, Real Kind Records) EPs *Big Blue (2019, Mother's Milk Records)

References

Living people 1994 births British indie folk musicians Musicians from Cambridgeshire Musicians from the London Borough of Lambeth Musicians from Sussex People educated at Brighton College {{improve categories, date=December 2024