About the bassist....
"Musical awakenings can happen in the most odd ways, I was watching a Princes Trust Concert waiting to see Suzanne Vega play. She'd been doing the rounds of kids tele and I really liked what I heard. So there's me and me dad watching the concert on the box, Suzanne came and went (and she was good, very very good). Then Level 42 came on and performed Hot Water.... I pointed at TV screen and said, "that's for me", the next thing I know I'm saving all my pocket money to get a bass and then spent the next three years learning how to slap and pop like Mark King. That was a good start but seeing Tackhead in the early nineties pretty much gave me the direction I was looking for."
From humble and clattering beginnings Jason Bell has played bass with a dizzying array of folk from celtic jazzy folkers of The Rumours Are True, Paul A. Davies, Karen Rackham, The Untouchables, four different incarnations of One Night Stand (it was supposed to be one gig and ended up being four), The Copse and also been involved with various churchy type things subbing for Worship Ireland band leader Rick Hill.
In 2005 Jason injured his shoulder and retired from playing for twelve months and went back to his parallel love of photography (have a look at his other myspace profile ). In June 2007 Jason returned to bass sessions backing up local singer/songwriter Paddy Nash. While no band is a certainty Jason has been invited to play a bunch of dates including the Glasgowbury Festival in July plus a couple of smaller gigs in the area.
If you want to talk to Jason about using him on a session basis then please feel free to message him.
About the soundscapes....
The unreleased album is finally available!
The CD is priced at £5.00 (UKP).
The soundscapes started while playing Chapman Stick with his band "The Rumours Are True". The original setup didn't rely on delays and loops but dealt with the now in terms of time, space, the note and the general mood of the room.
Soundscapes crept up in various places: shops, friends houses during those all important wine parties, churches (Jason regularly used soundscapes during the worship sessions at St Michael Le Belfrey Church in York), York Minster and various gigging establishments supporting bands up and down the country. Jason was found supporting the likes of Troy Donockley during the Unbound years.
In 1995 Jason and Rumours Are True engineer/producer Dez Rae spent two days recording three soundscapes. Dez and Jason just wanted to do something different during the hectic schedule that was The Rumours Are True. From these soundscapes Jason was also involved in another groundbreaking ambient troup from York, The Guild of Temporal Adventures. This band gave Jason a little more room for some of his wilder improvisations.
Soundscapes come as a sweet relaxation or whatever the listener wants to make it. Some venues used it as background music to create a sence of ambience, while others just wanted to listen to it.
As well as solo performances these soundscapes also appeared on "Longer Days" by The Rumours Are True. Jason also found the time to co-write one song 'Helium' on Helen Turner's album "Permission". During the Helium sessions Jason also laid down a track for Paul Davies solo album, "Postcards from Aunt Cordelia". He also play bass and Stick on Karen Rackham's EP, "Mirror of Reality" and contributed to a number of indie recordings. The final round of soundscapes happened in York with "The Jason Bell Trio", along with Richard and Rachel Coates.
In 2007 Jason is just waiting for the right time and place to start the soundscapes all over again...