has been a top minimalist Detroit producer from his beginnings as a critical member of
Plus 8 Records to his recording of an all-time classic, 1994's "Losing Control" (as
) to the foundation of his own Seventh City and Accelerate labels. Born in Sacramento, he grew up near Detroit and was influenced by the sound of techno on Motor City radio during the '80s.
began DJing, bought recording equipment, and entered the production world with a job at a recording studio while attending Niagara College near Toronto. Though the work was mostly for hip-hop groups,
He had a few productions of his own by 1991, when he moved back to Detroit and met
Richie Hawtin.
Bell joined
Hawtin's new Plus 8 label, and produced several of the imprint's famed early singles ("Technarchy," "Cabaret Seven"), recording with
Hawtin and
John Acquaviva as
Cybersonik. His back-to-basics approach to hard minimalistic techno fit in well with
Hawtin's aesthetic. After leaving Plus 8 to form his own Accelerate Records in 1992,
Bell began recording as
DBX. Singles like "Blip," "Flying Saucer," and "Electric Shock" became hot with DJs from Chicago as well as Detroit. In 1994, Peacefrog released two
DBX EPs ("Alien," "Losing Control"). Though "Losing Control" became one of the biggest underground smashes of the decade,
Bell's move into the distribution game (by rejuvenating Seventh City as a record distributor) took away valuable production time. Even while the venture soon became one of the main worldwide distributors for Detroit techno, it grew so successful that
Bell was forced to put his recording career on hold. He was back on wax by 1996, recording for DS and Klang Electron as well as Accelerate. Unfortunately, Seventh City distribution folded and in 1998
Bell returned his concentration to production with the single "Subterranean/The Wild Life/Beserk." Two years later he followed with a mix CD,
The Button Down Mind of Daniel Bell, released on Tresor Records.
–
John Bush, Rovi