Yasmin Williams isn’t just playing the guitar; she’s reinventing it for a new generation. With her groundbreaking techniques and genre-bending approach, Williams has carved out a unique space in contemporary instrumental music. Her sophomore album, Urban Driftwood, stands as a testament to her innovative spirit, offering a sonic landscape that is both deeply personal and resonates with the wider urban experience. This isn’t your traditional acoustic guitar music; this is Guitar Urban, redefined.
Williams’s performances are captivating spectacles of multi-instrumentalism. Imagine a musician seated with a guitar across their lap, strings facing upwards, tapping intricate melodies on the fretboard while simultaneously plucking a kalimba resting on the guitar’s body. Add to this the rhythmic tap of her feet in tap shoes on a mic’d wooden board, and you begin to grasp the complexity and richness of her sound. It’s a one-person orchestra creating sounds that are both melodic and percussive, all in real-time. This innovative approach, combined with influences ranging from video games to West African griots, firmly establishes Yasmin Williams as a pioneering guitarist, pushing the boundaries of what guitar urban music can be.
Yasmin Williams performing with her unique guitar style
Urban Driftwood is more than just a collection of songs; it’s a narrative journey through the tumultuous year of 2020. Though entirely instrumental, the album tells a story, reflecting both personal experiences and the collective reckoning of a nation. Williams, a native of Northern Virginia, began her musical journey with electric guitar in 8th grade, inspired by the shredders she encountered in Guitar Hero 2. However, she quickly transitioned to acoustic guitar, drawn to its potential for solo performance and the fusion of fingerstyle techniques with lap-tapping – a skill honed from her video game days. By the time she was in 10th grade, she was already releasing her own compositions, demonstrating an early and profound connection with guitar urban expression.
Rejecting the outdated and problematic term “American primitive,” Williams draws her influences from a diverse palette. Smooth jazz and R&B from her upbringing blend with the raw energy of Hendrix and Nirvana, and the infectious rhythms of go-go and hip-hop. Her incorporation of the kalimba was sparked by her love for Earth, Wind & Fire, and she finds inspiration in pioneering Black women guitarists like Elizabeth Cotten, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Algia Mae Hinton. On Urban Driftwood, she further expands her sonic palette by referencing West African griots, incorporating the kora (an instrument she recently learned) and featuring Amadou Kouyate, a 150th-generation djeli of the Kouyate family, on hand drumming for the title track. This fusion of global sounds firmly roots Urban Driftwood in a contemporary, guitar urban landscape.
Yasmin Williams with her signature playing style
While Yasmin Williams’s virtuosity is undeniable, her playing never sacrifices melody, lyricism, or rhythm for mere technical display. As she stated in a New Sounds’ Soundcheck podcast interview, “The songwriting process drives the techniques. I don’t use techniques that aren’t needed.” Storytelling through sound is paramount to her artistic vision. The tracks on Urban Driftwood, completed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, are sequenced to reflect the unfolding of these events.
The album opener, “Sunshowers,” bursts with optimistic energy, using hammer-ons and pull-offs to express the hopeful anticipation of a new year. This quickly transitions into the more introspective “I Wonder” and the self-reflective “Juvenescence,” which evokes Bridget St. John with its opening and intricate arpeggios. “Adrift,” the first track on Side B, features a compelling call-and-response between Williams’s guitar and Taryn Wood’s cello, mirroring the political unrest and societal chaos of a nation grappling with inequality and racial injustice. These tracks showcase the depth and emotional range of guitar urban music as expressed through Williams’s unique lens.
The album culminates in the title track, “Urban Driftwood,” a meditative tapestry woven from guitar, kora, kalimba, and hand drums. This piece creates a sonic environment that evokes movement and the surprising beauty found within urban settings. Williams explains that the song reflects her personal role as a Black female guitarist in a predominantly white male genre, and her desire to pay homage to her heritage and the music she grew up with. “‘Urban Driftwood’ is more like the music I grew up listening to than any other song I’ve released so far,” she says, highlighting the deeply personal connection to her guitar urban identity.
The album concludes with the emotionally resonant “After the Storm.” This track, with its interwoven guitar parts, contemplates the uncertain path forward while embracing a sense of peace. It serves as a fitting end to an album that, while acknowledging struggle and turmoil, ultimately offers a timeless sense of solace. Urban Driftwood is not just an album; it’s an experience, a journey through sound that redefines guitar urban music for the 21st century.
Critics and fellow musicians have lauded Urban Driftwood. Cameron Knowler notes, “The impetus of taking a photo is the rejection of trying to describe something that you hold dear. You just want to show it. And that’s what Yasmin’s record feels like.” Daniel Bachman praises her as “a guitarist for a new century,” highlighting her unique playing style and the album’s “fresh invention and creativity.” Valerie June describes her music as “perfect for a gentle afternoon dance or to create a few moments of peacefulness in your day,” noting its grounding and harmonizing qualities. Kaki King aptly summarizes the album’s impact: “This music seems to bring up memories I didn’t know I had, it sharpens my mind and allows room for only the most essential thoughts to push to the surface. It makes me want to do better, and for my words and actions to be as clear as my thoughts.” Eli Winter encapsulates the album’s captivating nature: “Urban Driftwood is full of showstoppers… and recalls minimalist composers, griots, and Guitar Hero. It’s a clear extension of Yasmin’s compositional depth and remarkable technical skill… and sure to satisfy musicians and listeners alike. You simply must listen.”
Urban Driftwood is a landmark album that not only showcases Yasmin Williams’s extraordinary talent but also redefines the landscape of guitar urban music. It’s an album that demands to be heard, explored, and felt, offering a profound and moving listening experience.
