After a stint as the bass player for The History of Apple Pie, as well as jobs in record stores and working with cancer patients, Welsh-born Kelly Lee Owens combined her interests in music and healing with a newfound love of electronic music and producing and started releasing music on her own. Dance producer Daniel Avery, who she met while they both worked at record store Pure Grooves, helped inspire her and get her start after he invited her in to contribute to his records in 2012. She sings on three of the tracks on his 2013 album Drone Logic. James Greenwood (aka Ghost Culture) and Erol Alkan both worked on that album too and became collaborators and friends of Kelly as well. Inspired by Arthur Russell, one of Kelly’s first-released songs (which also showed up on this year’s self-titled full length) was a tribute called “Arthur.” That song caught the attention of designer Alexander McQueen (who put it in a fashion show and played it in his stores) and reportedly is part of the reason Joakim signed her to his label Smalltown Supersound (who went on to release an EP and her 2017 debut album). The album, which we voted one of the year’s best, showcases her masterful knowledge of electronic music that pulls from techno, house, trip hop, and more. Combined with her knack for using her voice as an instrument, Kelly came out with her own sophisticated pop style. One of the album’s best tracks is a collaboration with the great Jenny Hval who Kelly met after deciding she wanted to remix one of Jenny’s songs (Kelly has said a few times that more women need to be remixing other women). That remix did happen, and was yet another moment that started to make Kelly Lee Owens a household name to serious music fans. Capping off an already great year, Kelly got a nod from another one her heroes when Bjork included “Anxi ft. Jenny Hval” on a mix for MixMag. We can’t wait to see where Kelly heads next.