26-year-old drummer, composer and producer Romarna Campbell potters around her kitchen in South London, making a late lunch as we chat over Zoom, propping her screen up on the countertop. Whilst there appears to be some growing normality, it feels remiss to not touch on the impact of the recent pandemic-infused years: “I was touring Europe with a band when it struck,” she explains. “We were all scrambling to get home before lockdown. I’d been studying at Berklee in Boston but was in the process of moving to New York, but I couldn’t get back to America. In the end I got a flight to the UK, back to my Mum’s in Birmingham with just my tour bag and cymbals.” No-one knew of course quite how long it would go on for. “I’ve still not been back; my drums are still in my locker at school, and I’ve graduated now.”

As for many, that period provided the time to learn new things and create: “It was tough but positive in many ways, with more time for writing and music production. I taught myself how to use Ableton, so I decided to write, arrange, perform, and produce 25 new songs, solely using Ableton, for my 25^th birthday.”

The year 2020 also saw the death of George Floyd and sparked a renewed focus on racism’s prevalence in the US and the UK. A commission by the charity responsible for Birmingham’s THSH (Town Hall Symphony Hall), in response to systematic racism and racial injustice, resulted in Campbell writing Inherently Political, but it was not without its challenges. “This was an incredibly tough one for me personally, some days it can be both traumatic and exhausting to talk about how hard it is to be Black.” The piece is about how assumptions are made about you every time you walk in a room? ”Yes exactly, I can literally be holding drumsticks, and someone will ask if I am the singer, for example.”

What’s clear is that talking about race and gender independently is tricky, hence the importance of recognising intersectionality. “I arrived for a gig the other day and the sound guy wouldn’t talk to me. I’m left wondering if that’s because I’m a woman, or perhaps because I’m Black? I’ve been invited to this space to create and perform but my energy is spent wondering why this guy is behaving like this. I asked directly for a bass drum mic and got nothing in return. The rest of the day I had to run all my questions to the sound guy via the pianist or bass player, because some days I just don’t have the energy.”

There is a myriad of ways these things impact on life as a musician. “I often wonder whether the reason I got an opportunity is because that organisation or venue can apply for specific pots of money,” Romarna muses. “I can’t help but think I am a ticking a box and filling a diversity quota.” Then of course there are the continual conversations around pay gap issues between men and women. “It is something I really think about before I accept a job, I’ll ask how much my male counterparts are being paid.” Which doesn’t always go down very well: “I can be seen as problematic for asking but interestingly sometimes more money is somehow found when questioned.”

As she puts the finishing touches to her lunch we shift to talking about inspirational female musicians; studying at Berklee meant being tutored by the likes of the highly acclaimed drummer, composer and producer Terri Lyne Carrington. Amongst many things, she pioneered the Berklee Jazz & Gender Institute, one of the key stipulations being all ensembles are 50% diverse. “There was a lot of kickback on that,” Campbell highlights.  “But she was adamant that we need to see bands that reflect the world we live in and after a while it did became the norm. It really highlighted that I was the only woman playing in ensembles outside the institute, and it makes you question why they couldn’t do it?”

So, what is it like to get mentored by the likes of Carrington? “I was so intimidated by her,” she laughs. “I remember reading Jazzwise magazine articles about her when I was 14/15. There were two women that really stood out to me at that age, Terri Lyne Carrington and Cindy Blackman (American jazz and rock drummer). I still have those copies of Jazzwise somewhere. It took me years to realise that someone that looked like me was doing what I wanted to do!” No pressure then in getting tutored by your teenage idols! “There was a lot of pressure, I actually nearly stopped playing the drums when I started at Berklee, which was a bit of a curveball. I just felt that maybe I wasn’t good enough, but as much as I have questioned whether to continue playing drums over the years, I always come back to the fact that there is nothing like it.”

Who else impresses you at the moment, I ask? “Jen Shyu (American vocalist/composer) and Sara Serpa (Portuguese vocalist/composer) are just amazing. They co-founded M³ (Mutual Mentorships for Musicians) and recently commissioned me.” M³ provides a platform worldwide for empowering women, non-binary musicians and underrepresented gender identities through mentorships and commissions.

“I also recently came across Rachel Chinouriri (British singer/songwriter). Her music is incredible, she did some produced work recently which got labelled as soul, but it’s not, and she has been very vocal about the assumption that all Black women who sing are soul singers. She’s started an intense industry chat against stereotyping based on looks and race, saying that she might not have the ‘alternative look’ but that is very much how she would describe her music.”

Recently there has been a lot of talk about emerging artists not having had opportunities to play live. Campbell lectures at BIMM (British and Irish Modern Music Institute) and has found this to be true. “My students are killer musicians, but many have never played a gig. They’ve got as far as university but never played live, never played outside their bedroom, or they only have an electric kit at home, and they are going through the process of learning to play an acoustic. I was so lucky to perform from such a young age.”

Of course, she is talking about how grateful she is for growing up and playing with both The Notebenders and Tomorrow’s Warriors: “They gave me the chance to explore being in a real-life band with so many performance opportunities. I joined when I was nine and I couldn’t even see over the drum kit,” she laughs. ‘‘I was so little, there are photos of me, legs stretched out to the pedals and I’m like yeah, I’m the drummer!”

What are the plans for the future? “I’m trying to split my time evenly between producing, composing and playing, especially with my Trio (ft. bassist Mutale Chashi and pianist Cenk Esen). I was just awarded the PRS Women Make Music fund, so we’re going to make a record and get that touring. That’s my central inspiration and my hope is that the album comes out in November this year.” Anything else? “I’m also writing for film currently, which is exciting, but more coming on that soon. I’d really love to work with Kris Bowers (American film score composer) in the future, it would be amazing to write for a series.” On that note, I leave Campbell to eat her lunch. 

(*) Romarna’s storytelling begins with the drums. The nomadic spirit of this exciting drummer, producer and composer lives in her jazz and hip hop-infused music. Her irrepressible energy can be heard on ‘Inherently Political’, a super-charged sonic assault on racism that immediately won favour with Anne Frankenstein, Jazz FM’s Tony Minvielle and had her crowned by Jamz Supernova as New Name of the Week. Her independently-released kaleidoscopic debut ‘25 Songs For My 25^th Birthday’ features Soweto Kinch, Tomeka Reid, Sumi Tonooka and Lady Sanity and takes us deeper into her world of resonant frequencies and conscious vibrations. Having honed her craft with Berklee College of Music, Tomorrow’s Warriors and the Notebenders, Romarna stands on the shoulders of giants and is drawing inspiration from the view as she beats a path forward that is very much her own.

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Whilst she has previously worked as a ‘one-woman band’ this album also features Axel Gilain (bass), Pablo Casella (guitars) and Martin Méreau (drums & vibraphone). And there are also guests, from London-based poet and spoken word artist Nadeem Din-Gabisi on New Dawn to the soulful vocals of Sibusile Xaba on Flowing River.

A wide array of musical influences are threaded throughout the album, as it journeys in tempo, beats, rhythms and groves, from trip hop vibes to soul and psychedelia. ESINAM’s flute melodies soar on New Dawn (video below filmed in Accra and the Volta region of Ghana) over pulsating rhythms whilst her vocals feature on the more chilled Let It Be and Deep in My Soul, underpinned by bass notes which resonate like a heartbeat.

The vibraphone rhythms on Birds Fly give way to distorted guitars and a more psychedelic rock sound whilst the gentle Flowing River beautifully pairssouth African Sibusile Xaba’s soulful singing with ESINAM’s flute and voice.

The album is neatly bookended by the Prologue and Epilogue, its repetition reminding the listener ‘nothing is lost, nothing is created and all and everything is transformed’. This is definitely an album which should be enjoyed in its entirety capturing continually evolving cycles of sound. You could truly listen for infinity.

Shapes in Twilights of Infinity is on the Belgian label W.E.R.F. Records, based in Bruges, and was released on 3 September 2021.

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Two of the tracks are exclusive reworkings of Russell’s original tunes by fellow Tru Thoughts artists. Sefi Zisling, the jazz and funk trumpeter hailing from Tel Aviv, uses all his psychedelic, pulsating, swirling funk power in his interpretation of Heartbreaker, giving it a very different vibe and a fresh new take.

Brighton-based electronic duo Anushka, formed of producer Max Wheeler and singer/songwriter Victoria Port, present what can only be described as a glittering disco ball dancefloor rendition of I Loved You. Frankly, it would be impossible for anyone to keep their wild hearts from dancing to this. And if one additional offering of I Loved You wasn’t enough there is also a stripped back acoustic variant, with the focus on Russell’s soulful, rich vocals accompanied by heavy drums and piano.

Previously released Breakdown, featuring late American soul legend Darondo, is an adaptation of Let it Go (breakdown), from the first To Dust album. It’s incredibly catchy and Darondo’s raw vocals add so much. Any Mad Men fans are likely to recognise this version as appearing on trailers for the seventh series.

The final bonus track is Russell’s take on quirky New Zealander Connan Mockasin’s I’m The Man That Will Find You. Mockasin’s track is unbelievably and wonderfully creepy and whilst Russell feeds in a much sexier and sultrier sound, thankfully the weird and unnerving undertones prevail.

This is a great release to have on vinyl for existing Russell fans and for those new to her work. Besides the two reworkings from Anushka and Zisling all bonus tracks are previously released, but it’s a treat to have an album with so much Russell in one place.

Release date is 9 July 2021, on Tru Thoughts Recordings. Available as a 2LP 12” vinyl and digital.

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Shirley Tetteh is usually extremely busy. Before the pandemic hit she was touring a lot, working with the renowned female collective Nérija, which she co-founded, afro-jazz group Maisha and Cassie Kinoshi’s 10 piece Collective, SEED Ensemble. An extremely sought-after guitarist, she was also playing with countless others and, in addition, has been fostering her own solo writing project Nardeydey, fusing jazz and left-field pop.

When I ask how she’s been doing through the pandemic she immediately replies “catching up on sleep” – referring to her busy schedule in the lead-up to the first lockdown. Definitely “too much touring and not enough sleeping,” she states. “Writing whilst doing everything else was hard. I’ve not slept well in years.”

As for many of us, the last year has provided an opportunity for Tetteh to slow down and she says it will be interesting to see if “touring comes back in the same way”. Has she now managed to catch up on sleep? Thankfully yes, and Tetteh is quick to praise the podcast from neuroscientist Andrew Huberman for his part in that: “He explores a variety of tools to help us lead a happier and healthier life, his episode on sleep and setting your body clock differently is really good.”

Besides resetting her sleep patterns last year, Tetteh was also nominated for the Jazz FM Instrumentalist of the Year award, alongside Binker Golding and Mark Kavuma, something she says she was “a bit surprised” about. Her modesty is clear but she admits “it’s a good feeling to think my playing had that impact on people.”

Life could have taken her in a very different direction to music. Until the age of 16 she was in fact set on becoming a professional footballer and her dream was to move to the US to pursue that career. Things didn’t turn out quite as expected though and an injury ultimately set her on a new path. “I did go back to football initially,” she says. “But in order to become the footballer I wanted to be I realised I’d need to do a lot of training and wasn’t sure I had the discipline. That and I didn’t know how to ask for the support to get where I wanted to be.” Does she regret giving it up? “Looking back, it was a mistake to give up like that,” she admits. “But it allowed me to focus on music. I knew what it was like to quit something when it got hard and wasn’t going to let that happen again.”

It wasn’t until aged 11 that Tetteh started playing guitar, after “messing around with a couple of other instruments” first. While it was the electric guitar that ultimately became her instrument, she started out taking lessons on classical at school. “I actually thought that the lessons were free, which is one of the reasons I did it. It wasn’t until much later I realised that in fact my mum was paying for the lessons but kept that quiet,” she says.

It was quite a few years before jazz became an interest. “Up until I was about 18 I was listening to a lot of Eric Clapton, playing acoustic guitar and working on my claw-hammer technique, which was great, but I wanted to expand the scope of my writing, I needed a new challenge, a path,” she remembers. “That’s when jazz came along for me”. In her current solo endeavour, Nardeydey, she also does vocals but when she first got into jazz she “didn’t sing for four years” as playing took over.

Something that Tetteh has revisited throughout her career to date is how to dissociate herself as a person from her ability to play. “It has taken years to figure out but has made my practice better,” she explains. “I can focus on what I still need to learn without getting in my own way.” It sounds like it has been quite transformative. “You are not how well you do the thing, whatever that is,” she says. “It’s about learning to not take criticism so personally.”

Playing and practising with Nubya Garcia and Sheila Maurice-Grey at The Southbank when she was younger really helped to explore what she was capable of. “At that stage, it could be tough playing at jam sessions when I felt like I wasn’t always good enough,” she says. “I was aware of how much more I wanted to learn and our time together gave me that safe space.”

As we are talking ahead of International Women’s Day, I wondered who Tetteh’s inspired by at the moment? Laughing, she replies she is currently “creatively falling in love with Miranda July”, the American multidisciplinary artist. “I’ve just started a deep dive into her discography. From music EPs, albums and short films to performance art and lots of movement-based stuff – her work is really interesting.” Tetteh also talks of how many inspiring women there are playing in the jazz scene today, many who play with her in Nérija, and she’s keen to highlight “what a privilege it is to know them.”

What else is Tetteh up to these days? Having been selected as one for the artists on Sound and Music’s New Voices composer scheme, she is exploring “feeding in visuals” to her music, adding: “Not just music with great visuals, but something where you genuinely can’t separate the two, where the composition is both elements and neither can be understood without the other.”

Modest and curious, Tetteh is keen to learn and grow not just in terms of her musical development but as a person, trying to understand herself and how this relates to what she produces. You get the impression that whatever she turns her hand to she will strive to excel at – and no doubt will do just that. 

This article has been published in the following magazines as part of an IWD collaboration to highlight young jazz and blues female musicians across Europe: Citizen Jazz (Fr), Jazzaround (Be), Jazz’halo (Be), Jazznytt (No), London Jazz News (UK). #Womentothefore #IWD2021

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