You wouldn’t expect Isobel Campbell, a former member of twee Scottish outfit, Belle & Sebastian, with her sweet songbird voice, to be a big fan of Queens of the Stone Age or Screaming Trees. And that’s probably because, to begin with, she wasn’t – even though she now collaborates and performs with a guy who has belonged to both bands, Mark Lanegan, as Tone Deaf’s Dunja Nedic finds out.
After mentioning to her boyfriend in 2002 that she was looking for a baritone singer to sing alongside her on some new material, he suggested Lanegan.
‘The first time I met Mark was backstage before a QOTSA concert. I was a big square. The crowd was going crazy. I remember slopping off to the toilets at Glasgow Barrowlands for a little peace and quiet,’ Campbell admits. ‘At that time I could talk about Bossanova or chanson for days. Modern music was not on my radar. My friend and I were like librarians lost in the throng.
‘Now I love Queens. I was slow to the ball but got there eventually. I think Josh Homme is very clever. I admire him greatly. A great producer. Very talented and interesting.’
Although usually billed as ‘Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan’, Campbell is very clear that the songwriting is predominantly a solo effort, with Lanegan more so taking on the role of valued sounding board, rather than equal contributor.
‘The duo with Mark is pretty much a solo thing…he’s in the studio with me for 5 days and I’m there for two years. It works pretty good though as I like to follow my artistic ‘vision’. [But] sometimes when I get a little lost or am banging my head against a brick wall, he helps me.
‘Mark has only written one song for us. Revolver. Sometimes I wish he’d write more, that’d be interesting, but 99% of the time I’m pretty happy just getting on with it.
‘On these records he is my singer of choice. It is a testament to the strength of the songs that a lot of people think Mark has written them. He sings and delivers them exquisitely. Brings them to life and makes them very believable.
‘There’s something very yin and yang about us. We love singing together.
We complement each other so very well without even trying. I find it a little curious myself. Like all magic, it is mysterious.’
For third and latest LP, Hawk, Campbell was drawn to the dusty, isolated deserts of Tucson, Arizona, to write songs while she was ‘pretty much heartbroken’, she says.
‘I was questioning and thinking about a lot of things. I just followed all the mixed up feelings I was having at that time and the songs flowed.
The desert is exceptionally therapeutic for me. I feel very at home there. To me it feels so spiritual and still. It fills me with a sense of wonder. The wildlife and landscape alone is inspiring. Tucson sits on a vortex and that is easy to sense. It is also home of the Old West. I miss it very much.’
Campbell is now teaming up with Victoria Williams, and is soon to be writing more solo records. It’s clear that as the talented songstress is comfortable on her own, and as part of a duo or a band, she’s not about to tie herself down to one thing or the other. But alongside her talent, there is also a poignant grace and gratitude about her –
‘I’m exceptionally lucky. I love my job. I love the people I work with. Who could ask for more?’
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan live this July and August. Don’t you dare miss them!
Friday 29th July: Sydney, The Factory (Marrickville)
$56.70 + bf available from www.feelpresents.com, www.ticketek.com.au, phone: (02) 9550 3666 or in person at all Ticketek and OzTix outlets.
Saturday 30th July: Woodfordia, Splendour in the Grass
Tickets on-sale now!
Monday 1st August: Melbourne, National Theatre (St.Kilda)
$60.60 including fees (transaction fees may apply) from www.ticketek.com.au, phone: 132 849 or in person at the venue 20 Carlisle Street, St Kilda
Wednesday 3rd August: Fremantle, Fly By Night Club
$52.00 + booking fee from www.flybynight.org, phone (08) 9430 5976 or in person at the Fly by Night box office.
