Crate Digging: Oscar Webster Bell, Native Music

Crate Digging is a music discovery platform where contributors take home and discuss two records from across Concord Recorded Music’s active and historical labels.

Oscar Webster Bell, assistant music supervisor at Native Music, discusses his top two finds.

My frontline find is Sylvan Esso’s Free Love. I've always been a huge fan of Sylvan Esso, I love Amelia Meath's voice and the way she samples it to create textures. Their first song that got me hooked was 'Coffee' now their most streamed song. It's catchy but also has character in the production, everything seems to fit perfectly around Amelia's voice. 

Free Love is a testament to their style. They have a distinctive sound, which is perfectly demonstrated on this record. Here their edge comes from a quirky choice of drum samples and synths paired with Amelia's unique voice.

A number of tracks really stood out for me. I love the use of the vocoder in What If. The production on the album really shines on Ring, with the lead synth and accompaniment creating an amazing feeling. Frequency reminds me of tracks from their first album, stripped back but with nice vocal melodies to carry it.

I can certainly see them being synced in advertising, perhaps as an exciting and unexpected track behind an upbeat ad.

For a catalogue record I went for Chet Baker’s It Could Happen to You. I know of Chet Baker but haven’t ever dived into one of his albums. It's hard to go wrong with Jazz so I knew I'd enjoy it.

It Could Happen to You is truly beautiful. It's a soundtrack to life, perfect cycling through in the background while cooking or going about your day. But that’s not to say it lacks when you stop and listen. The musicianship throughout is stunning as is the intricacy demonstrated by the talented players.

In Chet’s I'm Old Fashioned track, it has a laid back feel the way his voice floats over the piano. Another track that stood out was You're Driving Me Crazy for it’s great trumpet solo.

There’s bound to have been many syncs in the past with his music in advertising and there will be many more.

If you’d like to know more, or you’re keen to discover more of our repertoire, please contact: tom.frank@concord.com.