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Kelly Lee Owens
Owens in 2018 performing at Roskilde Festival in Denmark
Background information
Born	(1988-08-24) 24 August 1988 (age 36) Rhuddlan, Clwyd, Wales
Genres	Techno dream pop electronic
Occupations	Musician singer producer
Years active	2014–present
Labels	dh2 Smalltown Supersound
Website	kellyleeowens.com

Kelly Lee Owens (born 24 August 1988) is a Welsh electronic musician and producer. She released her self-titled debut album in March 2017 to critical praise. Her follow-up album Inner Song was released in August 2020. Her third studio album LP.8 was released in April 2022, while her fourth album Dreamstate came out in October 2024.

Early life

Owens was born on 24 August 1988 in Rhuddlan, Clwyd, on the North Wales coast. Owens recalls writing poetry as a child and that being out in nature (in her mother's fields) gave her the time and the solitude to write. As a teenager, she sang in her school choir and played bass and drums.

Owens grew up in a nearby small village where, she describes, "everyone knows everyone else". She began working at 14 as a waitress and spent her teenage years "involved in the 2006/2007 indie scene".

At age 19, Owens moved from Wales to Manchester to work at a cancer treatment hospital. While working as an auxiliary nurse, Owens would use her paid leave to help run local indie festivals. It was the patients who would ultimately urge her to pursue her music career.

Career

Owens left her career as an auxiliary nurse in a cancer ward in Manchester to pursue music in 2009. After moving to London, she interned at XL Recordings and worked at various record stores including Pure Groove. During that time, Owens played bass in the indie band The History of Apple Pie.

It was during those early days in London that Owens met Daniel Avery, James Greenwood (aka "Ghost Culture"), and Erol Alkan. Avery and Greenwood, with whom she manned the counter at the now closed Pure Groove, brought her into the studio and introduced her to production software and Greenwood offered to be her sound engineer. Avery would later invite her to collaborate on his 2013 album Drone Logic. Owens released the Oleic EP a year later, in 2016.

Her eponymous album Kelly Lee Owens was released in March 2017 by the Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound. Later in 2017, she released a bonus cut from her album titled "Spaces". The second track on Kelly Lee Owens, "Arthur", is a tribute to the late Arthur Russell. The British luxury fashion house Alexander McQueen used the track "Arthur" for their Fall 2016 runway show prior to the release of the studio album. Avery has a co-write credit on "Keep Walking" and Jenny Hval appears on "Anxi".

Owens has collaborated with St. Vincent, whose single "New York", from the album Masseduction, she remixed. She also collaborated with Björk on her EP dedicated to remixes of "Arisen My Senses" from her album Utopia, and Welsh-born John Cale on the track "Corner of my Sky", from her album Inner Song.

Owens' music has been described as dream pop, techno pop, and has been compared to the work of Arthur Russell. She has expressed interest in the connection between healing and music. In 2017, she told Pitchfork that she was considering an exhibition on the “relationship between sound, healing, and resonant frequencies". She has stated that she enjoys sampling music on her iPhone. On 24 March 2020 Owens announced that her second album Inner Song would be released on 28 August.

On 28 October 2021, Owens released "Unity", the theme song for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand same day as the unveiling of the event's official emblem and slogan: "Beyond Greatness".

Owens announced her third studio album LP.8 in late March 2022, for release in digital format on 29 April and in physical format on 10 June. She co-produced the album with noise artist Lasse Marhaug.

In 2023, Owens supported Depeche Mode on their North American Memento Mori tour.

In 2024, Owens signed to Dirty Hit's electronic music imprint, dh2. On 11 July 2024, she released her first single under the label, "Love You Got", along with the announcement of her album, "Dreamstate".

Personal life

Owens currently lives in London. She can read and write Welsh although she describes herself as "not fluent".

Discography

Studio albums

Remix albums

Extended plays

DJ Mixes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Remixes

Notes

1. LP.8 did not enter the UK Albums Chart but peaked at number 30 on the UK Albums Sales Chart.

References

1. Dazed (20 December 2017). "Kelly Lee Owens drops a Dazed mix of metaphysical moods and bliss pop". Dazed. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
2. "Kelly Lee Owens delays album because of coronavirus". NME. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
3. ^ "Kelly Lee Owens' Techno Daydreams". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
4. "Kelly Lee Owens: The Art Of Being An Artist". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
5. ^ "Kelly Lee Owens: Kelly Lee Owens Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
6. ^ Chui, Natalie (18 June 2016). "Kelly Lee Owens". natalierpchui. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
7. ^ Hutchinson, Kate (26 November 2017). "Kelly Lee Owens: 'My patients were my career advisers'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
8. "Kelly Lee Owens - Inverted Audio". Inverted Audio. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
9. McDonald, Scott (27 March 2018). "Kelly Lee Owens has a master plan". San Diego CityBeat. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
10. "Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens - Album review - Loud And Quiet". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
11. "Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens". Rough Trade. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
12. ^ ""Spaces" by Kelly Lee Owens Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
13. Cusumano, Edd Horder,Katherine. "Meet the Transcendent Kelly Lee Owens, an Alexander McQueen-Approved Electronic Musician". W Magazine. Retrieved 13 June 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. McAllister, Sam (7 September 2016). "Kelly Lee Owens". Pitch Perfect PR. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
15. "Review: Kelly Lee Owens, 'Kelly Lee Owens'". NPR.org. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
16. "Kelly Lee Owens Delays New Album Release Due to Coronavirus". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
17. "Kelly Lee Owens Shares "Unity", the Theme Song for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: Listen". pitchfork.com. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
18. "Kelly Lee Owens new album LP.8 out 29 April (digital) 10 June (LP)". www.smalltownsupersound.com. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
19. "depeche mode dot com". depeche mode dot com. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
20. "'Love You Got' Thursday July 11th. Pre-save now 💙". www.x.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
21. "Love You Got' out now. From my new album Dreamstate. Coming October 18th. Pre-order now". www.x.com. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
22. Hutchinson, Kate (5 May 2020). "Techno DJ Kelly Lee Owens: 'I still have to fight to not be seen as just the singer'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
23. "How Radiohead, Social Media Addiction, and the Ravages of Climate Change Inspired Kelly Lee Owens' New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
24. ^ "Kelly Lee Owens songs and albums | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
25. "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40 – 4 September 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
26. "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100 – 17 June 2022". Retrieved 19 June 2022.
27. Peak Positions for:
    • Oleic:"Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 – 28 October 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
    • Inner Song Remix EPs: "Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 – 15 October 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
28. "LP.8.2. by Kelly Lee Owens". Rough Trade US. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
29. Peak positions for:
    • "More Than a Woman": "Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 – 15 December 2017". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
    • "Let It Go": "Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 – 5 July 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
    • "Melt!": "Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 – 18 September 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
    • "Luminous Spaces": "Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 – 31 January 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2022.

External links

• Kelly Lee Owens at AllMusic
• Kelly Lee Owens discography at Discogs

• Living people
• People from Rhuddlan
• 21st-century Welsh women singers
• 21st-century bass guitarists
• British electronic musicians
• British women bass guitarists
• Welsh bass guitarists
• British women in electronic music
• Welsh electronic musicians
• Smalltown Supersound artists
• 1988 births