Kym Campbell
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | INDIE
Music
Press
An American who has brought herself to the glory of Byron Bay; the sounds of things Kym Campbell couldn't be happier. Think beach babe and acoustic guitar. Sometimes all that beachy wholesomeness can get a little preachy for my liking but Ms Campbell has deliberately gone for an understated style here. Actually that's shit, understated probably IS her style. Eight songs that are definitely on the chill-out tip with Campbell supplementing her laidback guitaring with harmonica and a sweet little ukelele that works a treat. Songs about love and loss but most with a sense of lowkey celebtration. Sheesh! Lowkey, chill-out, laidback, understated! Are you getting the picture? Though she does kinda rock out a bit on 'Moments'. Shelve this with your Jack Johnson, Xavier Rudds and Tiddas. - Luke Robertson, Chief Editor - Scene Magazine
Easy to listen to with good production. - Simon Dawson, Music Director of 102.9 Hot Tomato
"We’ve added your song Free Flowing to the playlist on Coast FM, sounds great!" - Mary-Lou Stephens, Assistant Music Director - 91.7 ABC Coast FM
Not a bad sountrack to a day at the beach! - Mitch Alexander, Rave Magazine
“Kym Campbell has been making a name for herself playing the roots music circuit in the US, yet it is in Australia that she hit her musical stride. First coming here as a uni student she found her creative wings surfing and travelling our coast. So Alive her first full length album, a collection of mellow tunes and soothing vocals; perfect for quiet times with friends or unwinding solo…spirited and touching music and deserves respect.”
- Chris Binns
“Kym Campbell brings an upbeat style of what she calls acoustic surfer rock. It really is a blend of folk, rock, reggae, and island music. Campbell’s music is infectious. Though I tend to shy away from what I call “little girl” voices, the quality in the lightness of Campbell’s pipes is complex and I just can’t help but feel the real joy in her music.” - Janie Franz, Skop Magazine
Discography
"So Alive" - 2008 (Independent Release)
"Preview" - 2010 (Released through Medici Studios, distribution MGM)
Photos
Bio
With a surfboard under one arm and a guitar under the other, Kym Campbell’s signature brand of acoustic pop is making waves across the Pacific. Originally hailing from Seattle, the American-Australian songstress is often described as the female Jack Johnson, performing acoustic, surf and reggae music, peppered with guitar, ukulele and harmonica.
Kym was inspired to learn to play guitar at the late age of 20, after hearing Ben Harper play at her university in California. Shortly after picking up the guitar, Campbell moved from Seattle to Australia, where she discovered and embraced the Australian coastal culture of surf, sun and music. Campbell may have been a late starter as an Australian, a surfer and a musician, but this combination was such a natural fit that she progressed rapidly in all three pursuits.
By 2008, Kym was beginning to turn heads, becoming a finalist in the Top 10 Music Oz Awards for Best Singer/Songwriter and being Highly Commended by judges for three songs from her debut EP, So Alive. This was quickly followed with the selection of So Alive as the soundtrack for a number of surfing DVDs and events, with Campbell also selling over 2,000 copies of her independently released and self produced debut EP.
Since then, Campbell has signed with an independent record label in Australia and released a second EP ‘Preview’, which received generous radio play throughout Australia in 2010. Kym also received international attention, being chosen by Sounds Australia to showcase her music in Japan in late-2010, leading to a full album release deal with one of Japan’s largest record label giants.
Campbell’s busy schedule has seen her performing alongside such notables as Ash Grunwald, Bobby Long, Joseph Arthur and Hayley Sales as well as receiving a large amount of international media coverage, including Nylon Magazine in 2011. Recent festival appearances include the highly coveted Greenroom Festival in Yokohama, Japan, as well as The Noosa Surfing Festival, The Yackandandah Folk Festival, Blues on Broadbeach and The Tablelands Folk Festival within Australia.
Kym will be touring nationally in Australia in 2011 to promote her new single ‘Anyone But You’, as well as playing internationally to support her full album release in Japan, where she will be taking full advantage of her appearances to highlight environmental, political and social issues close to her heart.
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