HIT MAN
“Songs are like tornadoes,” mused Louis Bell. “They come out of nowhere and can cause some damage, but you don’t really know when they’re coming. Songs take everything around them, spin it together and turn that into a storm. It affects people, but when you’re in the eye of the storm — just creating — you don’t notice. Then after the dust settles you look at what you’ve created and go: ‘What did I just do? Was it something special, or was I just destroying stuff?’”
In the last three years, songwriter and producer Bell, has been wreaking his own havoc. The ‘damage’ done includes eight tracks on Post Malone’s debut album Stoney — including the massive hit Congratulations — and all tracks on Malone’s mega-selling Beerbongs & Bentleys, which harboured super hits Rockstar, Psycho and Better Now. Add to this Bell’s involvement in big hits by Camile Cabello, Selena Gomez, Lorde, Halsey, Cardi B, 5 Seconds of Summer, Khalid, Jess Glynne, Rita Ora, and there hasn’t been a Top 10 forecast without his name attached.
Despite having been in the business for two decades, Bell was a virtual unknown until 2016. By the time major success arrived, he was 34 and “over-qualified,” reckoned Bell. “I had built up my skillset for more than 10 years, by which stage I was very prepared and ready to wear a bunch of hats. It just takes one song to put your head above water. While it’s underwater, nobody knows you exist. Once it’s above water, everybody will see you bob up and go: ‘Hey, who is this guy? Let’s get him on board!’”
HEADS UP
The song that pulled Bell above the waterline was DJ Snake’s , which features vocals by Justin Bieber and was a worldwide hit in late 2016. We caught
