Renick Bell

Renick Bell is one of the most well-known artists associated with the algorave movement, wherein computer programmers create algorithmically generated dance music using live coding techniques. Bell is the author of a live coding system called Conductive, and is responsible for organizing the first algoraves in his adopted country of Japan. While Bell has been making electronic music since the '90s, he began receiving wider attention for his performances and recordings during the late 2010s, including his acclaimed 2018 full-length Turning Points. Bell is originally from West Texas. He received a bachelor's degree in electronic music, studio art, and philosophy from Texas Tech University, as well as a masters degree in music technology from Indiana University. Along with Jason Landers, he formed the experimental improv group the Third Second in 1998; their debut album, Dynamic Adrenal Challenge, received some positive press when it was released in 1999. After spending a few years in New York City, where he co-composed the score to a contemporary dance theater piece titled Spun, Bell moved to Taiwan in 2001. He released two experimental sound works, Seven Studies and Three Paths, in 2002. During 2005, he made breakcore under the name 05 Shambolic Scattered. Bell moved to Tokyo, Japan in 2006, where he continued making music and teaching English. He uploaded the first version of Conductive in 2010, and wrote numerous papers and articles on live coding soon afterwards. He performed throughout the world, and began organizing algoraves in Japan in early 2014. He appeared on The Danelaw, a compilation released by Quantum Natives in 2015, and his EP Empty Lake was released by Lee Gamble's UIQ imprint in 2016. Following several additional compilation appearances, Bell's album Wary was released by Halcyon Veil in 2018. Turning Points followed on Seagrave later in the year.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo