School of Seven Bells
| School of Seven Bells | |
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(photo by Abbey Drucker)
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| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2007–2013 |
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| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
| Past members |
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School of Seven Bells (often stylized as SVIIB) was an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 2007. It originally consisted of Alejandra Deheza (vocals, guitar), her sister Claudia Deheza (keyboards, vocals) and Benjamin Curtis (guitar, synthesizers, vocals). Claudia Deheza left the group in 2010, and Curtis died of lymphoma in 2013. Using demos of songs Curtis had written prior to and during his illness, the band's fourth and final album, SVIIB, was completed posthumously and released in February 2016.
The band was named after a mythical South American pickpocket training academy of the same name.
Benjamin Curtis (formerly of Secret Machines) met identical twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza (both formerly of On!Air!Library!) while opening on an Interpol tour. The three decided to end their commitments to their old bands, move into a shared space and create a home recording studio together.
The band had an unorthodox songwriting process that began with lyrics, which were then supplemented by the music. Curtis said that this process was the most important part of the band, with "everything else [being] accompaniment". A before-and-after example was hosted by NPR's program Day to Day.
Debut single "My Cabal" was released in May 2007 on the UK label Sonic Cathedral. A 12-inch/digital EP, "Face to Face on High Places," was released in September 2007 on the Table of the Elements label, in addition to a single from producer Prefuse 73 called "Class of 73 Bells" that featured the band. They then toured with Blonde Redhead as well as with Prefuse 73. School of Seven Bells' debut album, Alpinisms, was released one year later in 2008. They then went on tour with Bat for Lashes on her UK Two Suns tour. The Alpinisms track "Chain" was featured on an Adult Swim and Ghostly International compilation album, Ghostly Swim, promoted by Adult Swim and available for free download.
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