By BRUCE DENNILL
Yaëll Campbell and Brynja Bjarnadóttir met while performing on the streets of Den Haag. A year later, after having moved back to Iceland, Brynja was looking for a male vocalist for one of her tracks and Yaëll came to mind. She decided to reach out and ask if he’d be interested. Yaëll jumped on a plane to Iceland, they made it through some hurdles including COVID positive tests and then finally made it to the studio under the guidance of producer and musician Baldur Hjörleifsson.
Their song Mildly Insane is the type of track that gets heads nodding right from the get-go. Yaëll‘s velvety, smooth vocals glide over psychedelic instrumentation. Brynja later joins in, making the tune an anthem with her catchy phrase “Go and get it and live it up, it don‘t matter you mess it up.“
What is your first and most important goal as a musician – to tell a story (literally via lyrics or metaphorically via music); to inspire an emotion; to lift a mood; to get people moving? Perhaps it’s something else, or a mixture of these?
Inspiration! I love being able to express myself throughout music, I like to inspire and be inspired by the environment around me. I love the art of creating and I absolutely love performing. It gives me a feeling I can barely describe,
Does your style reflect that of the artists you love or respect most?
Yes, it does. I love to be inspired by my environment – music-wise, fashion-wise, party-wise and all that. Only in small things though: I prefer keeping things close to myself.
Do you write music, and if so, what sort of mix is involved in terms of discipline and inspiration?
It depends on the song, but I feel like I reflect on myself in most of my lyrics. I’m not the best at talking about feelings or problems I experience, though through music I keep on finding myself over and over.
Name an artist or band who is, in your view, criminally underrated, and explain what it is about them or their sound that excites you?
I find that a hard question to answer. I surround myself with creative people, and I feel like there is a lot of talent around me. One of the people I really enjoy seeing grow is Brynja. She has so much potential. Working together with her has definitely been my favourite recent project.
How do you keep up or improve your skill levels? Is it all about practice, or are there other factors that help you to get better at and understand more about your craft?
The key to improving for me is being open-minded, diving in the deep end, and realising that feedback is the best type of advice you could get. Music is a big part of my life right now, and I’m sure it will stay that way. Gaining new experiences by travelling and socialising keeps me going strong and keeps me motived to grow as a person and as a musician.