Bela Emerson is a pioneering electric cellist who performs passionate, evocative and spontaneously-composed solo pieces using live processing. Her music harnesses many different genres whilst creating noiseworlds which are all her own. Bela’s performances are the stuff of legend: intense and exhilarating; her command of her instrument and ability to attune to the uniqueness of the moment combine to produce music that is remarkably different and always spellbinding.

Using an array of electronics, pedals and effects that take the cello way beyond its usual sphere, Bela builds layers of rhythm and sound not just from strings and bow, but from every bit of the instrument. Sounds are looped, take on lives of their own, bounce off each other, drop in and out...

The effect, as anyone who's heard her will testify, is mesmerising.

Bela is a prolific and well-travelled performer who tours extensively as a headline act worldwide. She has performed at Supersonic, Glastonbury, Bestival, Faster Than Sound, EXPO, and the Big Chill, as well as at many worldwide Ladyfests. She has also performed numerous live sessions on national BBC Radio, Resonance FM, Totally Radio, and in Second Life.

In addition to her solo work, Bela has performed extensively with other musicians – live with Tim Exile, Sten Sandell, The Dirty Cakes, Same Actor, and Rhodri Davies, to name but a few, plus four sessions with Lianne Hall for Radio 1’s John Peel, and recordings with The Damned, British Sea Power, and Philippe Petit (including a track on the CD given away with The Wire’s March ‘09 issue). She also tours worldwide with percussion company Stomp's Lost and Found Orchestra, including twelve dates at Sydney Opera House (‘07), a month at London’s Royal Festival Hall (‘08/’09) and Amsterdam’s Theater Carré (‘09).

She’s also worked with film-makers Tereza Buskova (on the award-winning Wedding Rituals, ‘08’s Forgotten Marriage & the upcoming Spring Equinox) and SchMovies (On The Verge) plus created many other live soundtracks to film (including the live soundtrack project Movietronica), theatre, circus and cabaret.

When not performing, Bela can often be found facilitating workshops and teaching contemporary cello to students of all ages in Brighton, where she lives.