Following initial reports on Twitter, the news was confirmed this evening by Warp, who released the following statement: "It’s with great sadness that we announce the untimely passing of Mark Bell of LFO who died last week from complications after an operation. Mark’s family & friends request privacy at this difficult time."
Bell co-founded the seminal electronic group LFO in 1988 with Gez Varley, who he met while the two were studying at Leeds University. After their single ‘LFO’ was released by Warp in 1990 and appeared at number 12 in the Top 40, they went on to become celebrated innovators of UK club music, releasing three albums: perhaps one of the best of the 90s, 1991’s Frequencies, 1996’s Advance, and 2003’s Sheath.
When Varley left in 1996, Bell continued the project, going on to take on producing duties for albums such as Björk’s Homogenic and Depeche Mode’s Exciter. This year, he played in Krakow, Poland as part of Warp’s 25 year celebrations, of which our reviewer David Moats noted, "absolutely everyone was dancing".
Our thoughts are with Mark’s family and friends at this time.
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