About Elle Belle
Artist Biography
A solo project of Los Angeles-based New Englander Christopher Pappas, Elle Belle's swaggering experimental pop first turned heads in 2014 with the release of his debut single, "You Better Mean It." A spacy yet crafty mix of rock, pop, folk, and psychedelia, Elle Belle made his first long-form statement with 2016's full-length Wako Gumbo, which recalled elements of Brian Jonestown Massacre, 13th Floor Elevators, Beck, and Sonic Youth.
A native of Auburn, New Hampshire, Pappas earned his first taste of success leading the Everyday Visuals, a melodic, jangling indie pop group that became a fixture of the New England rock scene and released a pair of well-respected albums in the late 2000s. A move from Boston to Los Angeles yielded a solo project called Miracle Parade, which issued one record, 2011's Hark!...and Other Lost Transmissions, on Rilo Kiley bassist Pierre de Reeder's Little Record Company. In 2013, struggling to work on a follow-up, Pappas found himself rebelling against his previous approach, and through some personal catharsis he landed on the idea of creating an alter ego named Elle Belle. The gambit worked, and he began writing and recording in a far more carefree and reckless style than before.
His first single as Elle Belle, 2014's "You Better Mean It," had a druggy psychedelic feel that recalled an odd mixture of Brian Jonestown Massacre and early Beck. Continuing to stretch out into his new skin, Pappas spent the next two years writing, recording, and playing most of the instruments on Elle Belle's debut full-length, an ambitious and diverse 20-track collection called Wako Gumbo, which saw release in 2016. His experimental tendencies saw him covering various corners of the rock universe, from gritty garage pop to haunted psych-folk and atmospheric spacy epics. The journey continued two years later on his 2018 follow-up, No Signal, which added bright synth pop to the mix. ~ Timothy Monger
Hometown
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Genre
Rock
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