Isobel Campbell

27 April 1976

Singer, Cellist & Composer

Isobel Campbell is a Scottish singer, cellist and composer in the indie and rock genres. She was born in Glasgow. She is a former member of the Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, but left the group to pursue a solo career, first as The Gentle Waves, and later under her own name. Recently, she has collaborated with singer Mark Lanegan on three albums.

A classically trained cellist, Campbell was a member of Belle & Sebastian from their formation in Glasgow in 1996 until 2002, when she departed the band for personal reasons. She played cello and keyboards with the band, and sang backing vocals. She also took lead vocals on a few songs from the band, and co-wrote their top-20 UK single "Legal Man".

Her band The Gentle Waves released its first album on Jeepster Records, titled The Green Fields of Foreverland, in 1999. The second Gentle Waves record, Swansong For You came out one year later. In 2002, she collaborated with Scottish jazzmusician Bill Wells on a collection of Billie Holiday songs, released by Creeping Bent.

In 2003, Campbell released Amorino, her first solo album under her own name. Bill Wells was featured here again, along with other jazz musicians.

Her next LP, Ballad of the Broken Seas, a collaborative album with former Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age singer Mark Lanegan, was released in March 2006. For this record she received a Mercury Music Prize nomination. She toured the UK, United States and Canada to promote the album. Her third solo album, Milkwhite Sheets, was released in November 2006 and continued the folk-based approach of Ballad of the Broken Seas.

A follow-up to Ballad of the Broken Seas with Mark Lanegan entitled Sunday at Devil Dirt was released on 13 May 2008. A third collaboration with Lanegan, entitled Hawk, was released in Aug 2010.[2]

In December 2012, Campbell announced on Twitter V2 Records had dropped her in the UK. However, a month later, she stated she had found another home for her music with another label. On march 11th, 2014, she confirmed on her Facebook page that she is now signed on Easy Sound Recording.

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