LFO Member, Bjork/Depeche Mode Producer Mark Bell Has Died

Mark Bell, house music artist and producer for the likes of Bjork and Depeche Mode, has died, according to his label Warp Records.

The news was relayed earlier today, Oct. 13, in a statement, Billboard reported.

"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," the label wrote. "Mark's family & friends request privacy at this difficult time."

Bell came onto the rave scene in England with Gez Varley as LFO in the 1980s. Varley left the group in 1996, but Bell continued on as LFO. The band put out three albums: 1991's Frequencies, 1996's Advance and 2003's Sheath.

The artist produced seven albums for Icelandic singer Bjork, starting in 1997 with Homogenic. The pair's most recent collaboration was on 2011's Biophilia. Bell also worked on Depeche Mode's 2001 release Exciter and Deltron 3030's self-titled album in 2000.

As Rolling Stone pointed out, members of the electronica/dance community took to social media to pay their respects.

"RIP Mark Bell. His work has always been an inspiration, total amazing balance of intensity and lush melodic atmospheres. So tragic :(," Machinedrum wrote.

"Mark Bell — Thanks for all the Bass and wicked music," labelmate Mark Pritchard tweeted, linking to a video of LFO's "Freeze."

After Bell's death was confirmed, Bjork tweeted a link to LFO's "Love is the Message." Listen to it below.

Tags

Bjork, Depeche mode, Obituaries