''Urban Driftwood'' is an album by

Yasmin Williams Yasmin Williams (born May 31, 1997) is an American composer and fingerstyle guitarist from Northern Virginia. She plays several instruments including the kalimba, harp guitar, and guitar with the strings facing up while on her lap. Early life a ...

released under Spinster on January 29, 2021. The album was written and recorded during 2020, and was inspired by the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

Background and recording

The album comes after Williams' 2018 debut album, ''Unwind'' and features appearances from Taryn Wood and Amadou Kouaye. Williams predominantly uses

fingerstyle guitar Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of guitar picking, playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with ...

in the album but at times includes the

Mbira Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal Tine (structural), tines, played by holding the instrument ...

and

tap shoe Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

s. ''Urban Driftwood'' was recorded in several studios located in the U.S. state of Maryland.

Critical reception

In a review published by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', Sam Sodomsky praised the album, writing that it better highlighted Williams' skill as a composer when compared to her first album, ''Unwind''.

Track listing

Personnel

* Yasmin Williams – performance, composition * Taryn Wood – cello * Amadou Kouyate –

Djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

, Cadjembe * Jeff Gruber – engineering and mixing * Charlie Pilzer – mastering * Louis Munroe – album art photography * Sally Anne Morgan - layout design

References

{{Authority control 2021 albums Yasmin Williams albums