Rising Music Star , Known for Collaborating with The Flaming Lips, Dies at 17

The passing of burgeoning musician Nell Smith has sent shock waves across the music industry and the public. Along with her grieving parents, famous artists have spoken out about her demise.At just 17 years old, musical star Nell Smith passed away in British Columbia on Saturday night, October 5. She was on the brink of releasing her first solo record, made in Brighton, early next year (2025) via the independent record label Bella Union, and had already established a track record of success before she died.Taking to Instagram to express his shock and devastation over the late artist’s sudden death, Bella Union co-owner and record producer Simon Raymonde posted pictures of Nell and penned a statement.The photos Simon shared were courtesy of Nell’s family and fellow famous musician Warren Ellis. One image showed a touching familial moment shared between Nell and her brother,

Ike Smith.Another was a throwback photo of the late star standing in front of a fire on the beach with a contemplative look on her face and a guitar strapped around her shoulder. According to Simon, this photo was taken when Nell wrote one of her first songs in Tofino on Vancouver Island.A different photo depicted Nell with a smile on her face as she stood next to The Flaming Lips’ lead vocalist Wayne Coyne,

who wrapped his arm around her shoulders.The fourth image in the carousel showed Nell, who sported a Bella Union beanie on her head and a big smile, unwrapping her blue vinyl record “Where The Viaduct Looms” for the first time.Simon’s last photo, which is in black and white, displayed an endearing moment between Nell and Warren. While the late teen wrapped her arms around the composer, Warren placed one of his arms around Nell and held up what appeared to be her mixtape in his other hand.”While we all try and come to terms with the awful news, and out of respect to Nell’s grieving family, we are unable to make any further comments at this time,” concluded Simon in his caption, which also highlighted some of Nell’s incredible accomplishments as a musician.Like Simon, Nell’s family shared their own post about her death on Instagram. They posted a carousel of images showing heartwarming memories of the young talent who collaborated on the album “Where The Viaduct Looms” with The Flaming Lips in 2021, which featured covers of Nick Cave songs.Alongside the images, the Smith family stated, “It pains us so much to say that our feisty, talented, unique, beautiful daughter was cruelly taken from us on Saturday night. We are reeling from the news and don’t know what to do or say.”