Bess Atwell

Born in London and having lived in Cambridgeshire and later Sussex, Bess Atwell develops a writing voice that sits between indie folk and folk pop, powered by a soft yet direct voice, spare arrangements and a strong penchant for introspective songs. Active since the mid-2010s, the English musician released her first album, Hold Your Mind, in 2016, followed by the EP Big Blue in 2019, which accompanied her more visible emergence on the British independent scene. Atwell then refined an aesthetic in which acoustic folk meets a hushed, melancholic pop, with tracks focused on the details of daily life, relationships and states of doubt. Her second album, Already, Always, appeared in 2021 on Real Kind Records, followed by the remix album Already, Rearranged in 2022. In 2024, Bess Atwell released Light Sleeper, produced by Aaron Dessner, followed by the EP More Than Science later that year. Through these releases, Atwell has circulated her music between indie circuits, mid-size venues and festivals, in a continuity that binds her as much to the English folk tradition as to a more contemporary alternative writing.