Yasmin Williams, ep. 112

Basic Folk

Yasmin Williams is your new favorite guitarist! She plays the type of music she'd want as a soundtrack for hiking, which is funny to think when you consider her initial inspiration for picking up the guitar. When she was in junior high, she beat the video game Guitar Hero 2 (on expert level!). She was clearly very good at it and thought that she would also be good at the real thing. Her musical parents agree and she got an electric guitar in 8th grade. She dove right into learning songs by Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana, but realized that shredding was not for her. She got more interested in acoustic guitar and started watching many YouTube tutorials and began getting really good.

In our conversation, Yasmin talks about transitioning from the Guitar Hero game controller to an actual guitar and how that continues to impact the way she plays the instrument. She also talks about the differences she observed in the way a male might play versus a female. Rhythm is a big part of her sound and she explains why it's so important. Her latest album, Urban Driftwood, is filled with instrumentals that expressive themselves lyrically without using lyrics. Yasmin has found her voice in songwriting and has taken on themes of COVID, the Black Lives Matter movement and nature. I also love her reasoning for the album name: Urban Driftwood. Don't sleep on this special musician who is also my new style icon: her bright outfits are incredible.

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