SINCE joining Belle & Sebastian on vocals and cello while still studying music at Strathclyde University, Isobel Campbell has followed her passion to some fascinating places. Even before jumping ship from B&S – during the early days, Campbell and bandleader Stuart Murdoch were a couple, which complicated an already tricky dynamic – she made two solo records as The Gentle Waves. In the years since, she has followed with albums of jazz standards and traditional folk tunes, three acclaimed collaborations with post-grunge American grizzly Mark Lanegan and a diverse collection of solo material – the latest of which, Bow To Love, is one of her best. Campbell’s catalogue offers strength in diversity, even if the artist herself is sometimes left confused. “I wonder if anyone does this feature and goes, ‘Oh yes, what a perfect collection’..? Well, that wouldn’t be me! It’s always been about the records and the fun and the creativity. If there’s no fun, if there’s no creativity, I may as well go and work in ASDA.” We’re not sure if there’s an ASDA in Los Angeles, where Campbell has lived for the past few years with husband Chris Szczech, her collaborator and co-producer on her most recent albums, and their two children. In any case, the job search is futile. She found her vocation long ago.
BELLE & SEBASTIAN
IF YOU’RE FEELING SINISTER (JEEPSTER, 1996)
Released hot on the heels of the Glasgow band’s debut, Tigermilk, the follow-up was recorded in the same studio and with the same producer, Tony Doogan. It’s still regarded by many as the band’s masterpiece
I’d met Stuart at a New Year’s party in 1995. He said, “Oh, you’re called Isobel, does anyone call you Belle?”, which was pre-, and I remember thinking, ‘I’d buy this – and I’m part of it.’ That was really exciting. He recruited us all separately, the magnificent seven! It felt like a secret society. I didn’t really know how all the others were being recruited, or what they were being told. It was like being part of a fantasy but being blindfolded at the same time. Cultish? Maybe. We were all revealed to each other, eyeing each other up. We did and … months apart. I was at uni while recording and my dad said, “Well, she better pass her exams because she’s been in the studio every day.”
