Artist Spotlight: Chloe-Beth Campbell
Chloe-Beth Campbell was born in Coral Springs, Florida on the ninth of February in the year two-thousand. Chloe moved with her family to Enid, Oklahoma in two-thousand and six, where she would spend much of her childhood and adolescent years of her life. Thus, making her both an official Okie raised, and Okie influenced musician. Chloe-Beth’s musical background began at a very early age and consisted of a wide variety of influences.
“In the time that I lived in Florida, our house consisted of worship music. A lot of the music was very folk influenced. We also listened to a lot of classical composers, like Mozart and Beethoven, as well as Celtic music”-Chloe-Beth. Gospel music would provide a foundation and an introduction to music for a very young Chloe. This genre of music would later become a very important lead into her reason for picking up the guitar.
Another strong influence in the ear of Chloe is her mother, Niki Campbell. Niki would venture out to the live shows in the Oklahoma area and bring home music from these shows for Chloe to listen to. Such Oklahoma artists such as Chad Sullins, Samantha Crain, and Ali Harter have and continue to be a deep influence on Chloe as a singer and songwriter. Chloe would go on to discover her own music and began listening to bands like The Killers, Mumford and Sons and Florence + The Machine. She would also become mesmerized by the sound of the Beatles coming from her personal stereo. “I also listened to the Beatles non-stop for months on end. I would lay on my bedroom floor next to the CD player and just absorb all they had to offer. They were a huge influence on my music”-Chloe-Beth. Chloe also fell in love with the grunge music of the 90s. She listened to bands like Pearl Jam and The Cranberries. This influence can be directly heard in her album, “Remnant.”
Songwriting for Chloe was something that was not intentional. While leading worship at church, she recognized that playing an instrument would be vital to her ability to be successful. At the age of just twelve years old, Chloe-Beth learned to play the guitar and fell in love with writing songs. “Songwriting allowed me to express myself at a time that I was so vulnerable. There’s an honesty required, and I loved that. I’m naturally very blunt. I censor myself. My songs are never censored, because the words come out so effortlessly”-Chloe-Beth. By the age of fifteen, Chloe was booked for her first gig for First Friday in April of twenty fifteen at The Bike Shop in Enid. “I played the same thirty songs over and over. I was the most nervous I’d ever been, but I knew that it was what I was meant to do”-Chloe-Beth. Just three short years later, Chloe would release her first studio album.
In February of two thousand and eighteen, at the age of eighteen years old, Chloe-Beth Campbell independently released her first studio album entitled “Remnant.” The record consists of eleven original songs. It was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Valcour Sound by Hank Charles. Kent Kunzman played hand drums. Billy Beck, her guitar teacher, played lead guitar (pedal steel, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar). Bruce Metcalf played bass and Cassie Latshaw sang the harmonies. The album art was done by Chloe-Beth’s very talented mom, (who is also her personal photographer), Niki Campbell and Chloe-Beth herself.
The album, “Remnant”, is a spectacular collection of original songs, written by Chloe between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. The album takes on the name “Remnant” because many of the songs off the album are all remnants of the past. The album itself has a very remarkable and soulful sound that is a composition of all the influences of music throughout her life. You can hear the Celtic and folk influence in the instrumentals and especially with the hand drum throughout the production. You can hear a bit of the Beatles in the electric guitar. You can hear the nineties grunge in the lyrics and the extraordinary Melissa Etheridge like passion in her magnificent vocals. Chloe-Beth Campbell has written and recorded an album that is well beyond her years.
Album Art Courtesy of Chloe-Beth and Niki Campbell
The title track on the album, “Remnant”, is a brilliantly written piece about the demise of a relationship. The remnants, or residue from both the positive and negative that still exists is characterized throughout the verses and chorus of the tune. “The verses detail the negative aspects of a relationship. The chorus contradicts the verses with positivity”-Chloe-Beth. The back and forth play on both the positive and negative aspects of a failed relationship is an example of Campbell’s phenomenal songwriting capabilities. The final line of the tune is; “So, honestly, I hope you don’t regret loving me” The whole song is basically just to say, “I hope you remember the good with the bad, not just the bad alone”-Chloe-Beth.
“Haha” is a tune on this debut album that must be highlighted. The importance of the song cannot be overlooked in the young career of Chloe-Beth Campbell. The song was written by Chloe when she was fifteen years old. “I’d taken a sort of sabbatical to Florida to visit the people from my childhood. This was just after cutting off my own hair with scissors I’d found tucked in my mom’s drawer. This period in time was marked by a lot of changes for me. Most importantly, it was right after my first gig. Cutting my hair off into a sort of mohawk was an outward sign of change and new direction. “Haha” is littered with giggles during all of my live performances, so that is the reason for the title”-Chloe-Beth.
Chloe-Beth Campbell is a wunderkind as a singer/songwriter in the Oklahoma music scene. Her debut album is the beginning of many wonderful things to come from her musical journey. A transition from a young, but already beyond her years, songwriter to an even more mature, veteran in the music scene today is eminent. The best of Chloe-Beth Campbell is yet to come, as she is just getting started. A song on the album, “I’ll Get There”, “…is a reminder that everything in life takes time, whether it’s driving, loving, or even grieving. It’s all a process”-Chloe-Beth.
Photos Courtesy of Niki Campbell
Go support Chloe-Beth Campbell Music on the following platforms. Your support is the foundation that allows local music to thrive.
https://www.facebook.com/chloebethmusic/
https://www.instagram.com/chloebethmusic/
https://www.chloebethmusic.com
Check out the album “Remnant” on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4VnyQCg3SvFKNdhrJqMY7W?si=6V7C0SYHSKCTUQI-xK_cBw
For further reading:
Red Dirt Lotus - Chloe Beth Campbell
By Molly Payne
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/0b4a5e_53243e3a5ae642b0a223fa68c2d3f55b.pdf
Enid Musician to Release CD
By James Neal