PHOTOGRAPHY // JINGYU LIN
STORY // ANGIE PICCIRILLO
STYLIST // LAURA GORDON
MAKEUP // MOLLIE GLOSS Ā with SIGMA BEAUTY
The anecdote āmaster of noneā comes to mind when you hear of someone who is good at everything ā but for singer and actress Brittany Campbell, she truly is good at everything. This beauty has done everything from a Netflix series (Sheās Gotta Have it) to releasing her new album, āStay Gold,ā last month ā oh, and sheās also currently performing in a little show called Hamilton in Chicago. Safe to say that not only is Brittany a renaissance girl āĀ dabbling in all areas, sheās also slightly an overachiever.
With her sound being described as āthe future of soul,ā this isnāt a label Brittany takes lightly. She in fact, wanted to make sure her āsoundā was different from anything sheād heard before, āI became too fixated on making something that would be successful and it was affecting my writing. āStay goldā was an attempt to get back to the music that I instinctually write. Iām not a person that respects the idea of genre āĀ I grew up listening to too many things to really care or for that restraint/discipline to be natural. I wanted to get back to writing things that felt good to me,ā she says.
In the past, people have known pop stars and singers to be the product of their makers ā but Brittany wants to do it all herself, and not because sheās a control freak. She recently animated her own video for āStay Goldā, saying simply, āI had to do it myself because I understand the concept better than anyone else would āĀ The video is all in my head.ā
Even more interesting āĀ the video for STAY GOLD was inspired by none other than her dancer friends who grace the stage alongside her in āHamiltonā, āI was inspired and am inspired by the people around me and wanted them to help me tell the story through movement. Iād animate over it to abstract and heightened emotion, [to] turn moments into fantasyā¦.ā
Check the video for “My Garden” here (Animated by Brittany herself), and read our Q&A with Brittany below.
Silk Jacket (worn as top): 1940s Vintage c/o Saffron Vintage // Gown: Peter Copping for Nina Ricci c/o Saffron Vintage // Shoes: Haider Ackermann
What inspired āStay Goldā?
Brittany: Stay Gold first started as a self inflicted challenge where Iād write about 24 songs and release them as EPs in 4 parts. I wanted to do this over the course of a year. For better or for worse (even though I didnāt end up writing 24 solid songs) I think I achieved my goalā¦ More than anything, the album ended up being some of the most honest music Iāve ever achieved.
Some have said you are the āfuture of soul,ā how do you feel about that?
Brittany: When I think of the use of the word āsoul,ā apart from talking about the genre, I think it inherently means music that feeds the spirit; Music that nourishes our inner life; Thatās all I ever mean to do ā So Iām happy that my music has been felt so deeply in whatever capacity.
Youāre currently in Chicago performing in āHamiltonā ā how has that experience been and how is it different/exciting/weird compared to singing your own material?
Brittany: Itās definitely been a learning process, and really, at the risk of sounding completely clichĆ©, itās been humbling. Iāve never been a part of something so huge ā Itās such a cultural phenomenon and hits people so deeply, Iāve never witnessed anything like it ā and for that I am grateful. Itās taught me things that I have yet to understand. The unique job that I have, being the Schuyler sister standby, has been so fun because I get to experience and sing the music of all the female leads, who are vastly different and complex womenā Iāve had to stretch in ways that Iāve never had to before.
You are also an actress on a few TV series, What is your favorite thing about acting?
Brittany: My favorite thing about acting is the process of connecting and empathizing with the given character. If I am able to connect through empathy that means the audience will be able to connect through empathy. The more similarities I can find between myself and the role that I am playing the more exciting it becomes; The deeper; The Richer; The scarier, sometimes.
The video for āStay Goldā you animated yourself, how did you do this? Why did you want to do it yourself?
Brittany: I did animate āStay Gold.āI was inspired and am inspired by the people around me (dancers of āHamiltonā) and wanted them to help me tell the story through movement. Iād animate over it to abstract and heightened emotion; Turn moments into fantasy. I had to do it myself because I understand the concept better than anyone else would āĀ The video is all in my head. As much as I hate how long animating takes, I really do live for the end result. Animation, without a doubt, is a true love of mine.
You are seemingly a ārenaissanceā girl ā you dabble in all areas of art, of all the art you do ā which is your favorite/most inspiring?
Brittany: Musicā¦ It will always be musicā¦ Music moves through meā¦ It is in every molecule of meā¦ Itās everywhereā¦ There is no silence in my headā¦ It informs everything about me…my mood, my love, my life, my hate, my fears, my whole existence.
Whatās next for you?
Brittany: More of thisā¦ More creationā¦ Iād love to tour this coming album in the fall with my band. Iād love to animate a few more videos. But time will tellā¦ Iām a one woman operation after all.
CONNECT WITH BRITTANY CAMPBELL
INSTAGRAM // TWITTER Ā // SPOTIFY // SOUNDCLOUD