Wild Belle

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Wild Belle

| image = Wild Belle (24164031099).jpg

| image_size =

| landscape = yes

| alt =

| caption = Wild Belle performing in 2016

| alias =

| origin = Chicago, Illinois, United States

| genre = {{flatlist|

}}

| years_active = {{start date|2011}}–present

| label = Columbia

| associated_acts =

| website = {{URL|http://www.wildbelle.com/}}

| current_members = Elliot Bergman
Natalie Bergman

| past_members =

}}

Wild Belle is an American band, composed of siblings Elliot Bergman and Natalie Bergman. They appeared on Conan on November 26, 2012.{{cite web|last=Roffman|first=Michael|title=Video: Wild Belle on Conan|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/11/video-wild-belle-on-conan/|work=Consequence of Sound|access-date=7 December 2012|date=27 November 2012}} Their debut album, Isles, was released by Columbia Records on March 12, 2013.{{cite magazine|title=Wild Belle Salute First Love in 'Keep You' – Premiere|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/wild-belle-salute-first-love-in-keep-you-premiere-20121113|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=7 December 2012|date=13 November 2012}} They have released three songs from the album: "Keep You" in February, "Backslider", and "It's Too Late". Their song "Shine" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2013 movie The Way, Way Back and in Grey's Anatomy season 9, episode 13. Their song "Keep You" was played in the movie Pitch Perfect and in The Vampire Diaries season 4, episode 3. In 2015 Wild Belle worked with Diplo and DJEMBA DJEMBA to write "Be Together", which is the first track off Major Lazer's third album Peace Is the Mission. The song is about a potential, but unlikely relationship. The film clip for "Be Together" depicts a widow and her partner's funeral, with flash backs to the day he dies in a motorcycle accident.

Background

Elliot and Natalie Bergman are two of four children born to musician Judson Bergman and writer and literary scholar Susan Bergman (née Heche). They were raised in a musical household, "full of jazz and James Brown". Elliot, the older sibling, is a multi-instrumentalist who studied at the University of Michigan where he started an Afrobeat band called Nomo. His sister Natalie, eight years younger, started performing with Nomo when she was sixteen, playing tambourine and singing backing vocals.

The two siblings initially started writing songs together almost by chance. During Summer 2010, Elliot Bergman had been building and recording electric kalimbas in Brooklyn, when label-mate Shawn Lee asked him to send over a kalimba track for his new album. Lee, a producer and multi-instrumentalist based in London, added drums, steel drums and bass, and sent the new recording back to Bergman. When Bergman's sister, Natalie, heard the instrumental destined for Shawn's album, she decided to add a vocal part. She reportedly stayed up all night writing the tune, and recorded the vocals in GarageBand. The resulting song, "Upside Down", was released by Nomo as one of their few tracks to feature vocals.{{cite web|title=Wild Belle – 'Upside Down'|website = YouTube| date=2 November 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJPrsTS19x4}}

Elliott and Natalie then decided to form their own musical project, and chose the name Wild Belle, with "Belle" referring to Natalie.{{cite web|title=Wild Belle – 'Isles'|date=2013-03-08|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/wild-belle/14190|publisher=NME|access-date=12 March 2013}}

Career

=2013: ''Isles''=

Image:Wild Belle at Treasure Island Music Festival 2012.jpg

Their debut album, entitled Isles, was released on March 12, 2013. It received its title due to every track "resembling its own island", drawing in influences from reggae, soul, and jazz music.

=2015–2018: ''Dreamland''=

On August 2, 2015 during an interview with radio station WXRT, they announced that their second studio album would be titled Dreamland.{{cite web|url=http://wxrt.cbslocal.com/2015/08/02/wild-belle-announces-new-album-title-impromptu-adding-members-to-their-band-and-what-its-like-growing-up-in-a-musical-family/|title=Wild Belle Announces New Album Title, Impromptu Adding Members To Their Band, and What It's Like Growing Up In a Musical Family|work=WXRT|publisher=CBS Local|date=August 2, 2015|access-date=September 27, 2015}} The album was released on April 15, 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.wildbelle.com/post/138156786681/new-album-coming-soon|title=New Album Coming Soon|date=January 27, 2016|access-date=February 4, 2016}} The lead single from Dreamland, "Giving Up on You" was released on September 16, 2015.{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/giving-up-on-you-single/id1038107772|title=Giving Up on You – Single by Wild Belle on iTunes|work=iTunes Store|publisher=Apple Inc.|access-date=September 27, 2015}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

=2019–present: ''Everybody One of a Kind''=

On January 23, the group premiered on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic and shared the video of the lead single "Mockingbird" off their upcoming album.{{cite web|url=https://www.artistdirect.com/wild-belle/news/wild-belle-s-mockingbird-video-out-now/115919|title=WILD BELLE's "MOCKINGBIRD" VIDEO OUT NOW|work=Artistdirect|date=January 23, 2019|access-date=March 18, 2019}}

The second single "Have You Both" was released on February 14.{{cite web|url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/wild-belle-have-you-both/|title=Wild Belle's "Have You Both" Is Mixed Media Madness|work=Highsnobiety|date=February 14, 2019|access-date=March 18, 2019}}

The duo released their third single "Rocksteady" on March 8 as they announced that their third album Everybody One Of A Kind will be released on March 22.{{cite web|url=http://buzzbands.la/2019/03/08/video-wild-belle-rocksteady/|title=Video: Wild Belle, 'Rocksteady'|work=buzzbands.la|date=March 8, 2019|access-date=March 18, 2019}}

In 2021, Natalie Bergman began releasing music as a solo artist. It is uncertain if Wild Belle will continue as a group as no announcements have been made in several years.