Naomi Campbell’s stunning new single – Artist Q&A

With the release of her swinging new single, Don’t You Mind, we spoke to Naomi Campbell, who is also a part of Motel Sundown, about the track and her music to date.

How did you come to Liverpool and how has the music scene impacted you?

I moved here in 2014 after university. I was drawn to the vibrance of the city and it’s always felt so welcoming and friendly here.

The music scene here has benefited me massively as everyone is willing to collaborate, come to shows support each other and there’s always something on every night of the week!

It keeps you inspired to work harder and keep writing as well with so much going on.

How did Motel Sundown form?

We all met around 2016 through mutual friends and started playing together when we realised we had similar influences – Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, the Beatles etc – and really enjoyed singing three part harmonies together.

We each had some songs lying around waiting to record so those were our first releases and, since 2019, we’ve been recording and growing our fanbase.

What motivates you to carry on putting solo work out at the same time as playing in Motel Sundown?

I have a lot of tracks building up and while some are in a similar style to what we do in the band, some of them are different stylistically and maybe more personal to me.

So I decided last year to get back to my solo music as I hadn’t released anything since 2017, and I co-produced and then released Tuesday’s News with Robert Johnson.

There are plenty of songs building up and now when I finish writing a new track, I can usually tell if it will be more suited to my solo material or Motel, so its good to have a bit of freedom and variety when writing with that in mind as well.

What were your musical influences as a child and how have they changed?

My influences have 100 percent changed and they’re still changing; I’m always finding new music to listen to.

I’ve picked up a lot of influences along the way. Early days, I always saw myself as a country fan as that’s what my parents and grandparents listened to a lot and was quite popular in Ireland.

In school, it was The Beatles, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and other classics my music teacher introduced me to. When Motel started, we went off that, and Fleetwood Mac as well as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young became our main influence for harmonies.

I like a lot of different genres and I enjoying learning and reading about different legends. At the minute I’m reading about Aretha Franklin and Elvis, two gospel greats.

How do you go about your writing process personally?

I tend to write down lyrics as I go and use my phone notes a lot, which I know a lot of people who do the same. Then, if I have a spare evening or some free time, I’ll try and write some music and use the lyrics as a starting point or maybe start something from scratch.

Occasionally, I’ll have a rough idea of what sound I want in mind.

For a country ballad, for example, I’ll put on some Emmylou Harris or Gram Parsons or Gillian Welch, or if it’s more of an up-tempo track I’ll listen to some Beatles, Elton John or Ryan Adams for arrangement and production ideas.

It’s also fun and inspiring to write with friends/the band and other musicians.

How would you describe the style of music you write and how does it differ from your work with the band?

I’m feeling a bit more confident with my solo music and delving into more soul/blues influences after playing with Tin Can Voodoo at Liverpool Arts Bar for a few years and singing at venues such as the Groucho in Soho.

Singing songs by Aretha Franklin and Etta James etc has pushed me to put a little bit more grit into my own songwriting, so it feels quite different to what we do in Motel in that I can really focus on the vocal being the main focus of the track and the arrangements can be quite sparse.

With Motel sometimes we enjoy layering up the tracks and having the three-part harmonies as the main focus.

What has been your highlight in music so far?

https://twitter.com/NaiCampbelMusic/status/1768991010606981295

Recording Don’t You Mind at Sun Studio in Memphis is definitely a highlight.

I first visited Sun Studio in 2022 with some family and loved the intimacy of the studio and how everything was preserved from the 50s right through and was still in use for recording sessions. After that visit, I always thought how amazing it would be to record there.

When I came back in 2023, last year, I was lucky enough to fulfil this with a very impromptu session in what was easily one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

I had written Don’t You Mind just a few weeks before heading to Memphis for a trip and some shows, so I decided to record this track since it was fresh in my head and I was lucky enough to have my friend Charlotte Newman who was with me at the time (who also recorded a track) play on acoustic guitar, and Krista Lynne who worked at the studio play violin.

What’s next for Naomi Campbell?

I’m releasing the Sun Studio version of Don’t You Mind on the 25th of November and have another track which I recently recorded ready to release early next year.

I’d also love to record and release an EP in 2025 and play as much as possible.

Here’s where I’ll be playing live in the next few months!

November 15 – Single Launch (ARC) Liverpool
 
November 20 – Leaf (supporting the Wood)
 
December 5 – Leaf (supporting Muireann Bradley)
 
December 8 – Jacaranda (co-Headline with PELLT)

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You can follow Naomi Campbell here and listen to her new single, Don’t You Mind, here.

You can follow Motel Sundown here.