Brendan Campbell
In Brendan Campbell Scotland has an artist who fuses timeless musicality and contemporary insight like no other. 25 years old, and born and bred in Pollock in Glasgow, he learned to play a tin whistle and the guitar as a child, going on to finger pick his way into a number of Celtic folk bands. Combining this musical background with his experiences of growing up on the streets of Glasgow's South Side he has developed a sound that is both contemporary and truly timeless as his stunning debut EP “Twilight Bird†clearly demonstrates.
Brendan doesn’t fit comfortably into a pigeonhole but for the purpose of this press release lets just say he is flying the flag for Scottish music in a manner that can loosely be compared to alt country pioneers Elliot Smith and Sufjan Stevens, pushing folk forward and in different directions. Singing in his broad Glaswegian accent, Brendan Campbell’s stunning lilt accentuates his lyrics, making the tales of his hometown seem startlingly immediate. His influences are clear, Bob Dylan and Davie Graham have played a key role in forming his sound, but above all Burt Jansch has had the biggest impact on Brendan over the years.
The first track on the EP “Burgers & Murders†is a dark and beautiful account of Friday night in Glasgow. Similarly one of the first songs by Brendan "Comets" was written after the death of a close friend - a snapshot of life in Glasgow and a window into Brendan's ethereal world. If his music is traditional, the focus and content of his lyrics are his, sometimes challenging, life so far growing up the youngest of six children in less than privileged surroundings. He treats all his songs as living, evolving works. Between gigs he adds verses, changes things around and combines songs, no two shows are the same.