Yasmin Williams (born May 31, 1997) is an American composer and fingerstyle guitarist from

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

. She plays several instruments including the

kalimba 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 tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and ...

harp guitar The harp guitar is a guitar-based stringed instrument generally defined as a "guitar, in any of its accepted forms, with any number of additional unstopped strings that can accommodate individual plucking." The word "harp" is used in reference to ...

, and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

with the strings facing up while on her lap.

Early life and education

Williams grew up in the town of

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of **Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

. In December 2017, she graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

with a degree in

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

Musical career

2009–2012: Beginnings and ''Serendipity''

Williams became inspired to start learning guitar on her own after playing ''

Guitar Hero II ''Guitar Hero II'' is a 2006 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the sequel to ''Guitar Hero (video game), Guitar Hero'' (2005) and the second installment in t ...

''. After being gifted her first

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

and

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power su ...

, Williams practiced by ear until the release of her first EP ''Serendipity'' in 2012, when she was still a teenager. The project's production and recording were entirely handled by Williams herself. From there Williams also became proficient in

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 string (music), strings in six Course (music), courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lo ...

, and

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

, before deciding to adopt the acoustic guitar as her primary instrument.

2018–2020: ''Unwind''

She later developed her style of playing the guitar by setting it face-up on her lap, tuning the strings to a specific harmony, then

finger picking 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 ...

to play. She also includes other elements such as two handed lap-tapping for added rhythm in her mainly instrumental compositions. ''Pitchfork'' described her musical approach: "Williams’ inventive style, which has also involved wearing tap shoes and taking a cello bow to her instrument, has made her stand out in the field of solo guitarists." ''Rolling Stone'' describe her songs as "textured, harmonious soundscapes." In 2018, Willams independently released her first studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''Unwind''. The album honed her signature finger-style technique, and also utilized non-Western instruments such as the kalimba. The album features the composition "New Beginnings", which she wrote in high school.

2020-2024: ''Urban Driftwood'' and ''Acadia''

Williams's second studio album, '' Urban Driftwood'', released in 2021 through Spinster Records, was written in 2020 during the

COVID-19 lockdown During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

and was influenced by the Black Lives Matter protests during that summer. In 2024, she released her third studio album, ''Acadia'', through

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

. The album entered the

UK Album Downloads Chart The UK Album Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts on behalf of the British music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The chart was introduced i ...

, peaking at #100, and the UK Americana Chart, peaking at #39.

Discography

Albums

*''Unwind'' (self-released, 2018) *'' Urban Driftwood'' (Spinster, 2021) * ''

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

'' (Nonesuch, 2024)

EPs

*''Serendipity'' (self-released, 2012)

Singles

* I Wonder (2018) * Take That Step (2019) (featuring Jason Bembry) * Dragonfly (2020) * Nova to be (2022) (with Dobrotto) * Doc's Guitar (2023) * Dawning (2023) (featuring Aoife O'Donovan, Kafari & Nic Gareiss) * Virga (2024) (featuring Darlingside) * Hummingbird (2024) (featuring Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves)

References

External links

Official websiteTiny Desk (Home) Concert (October 19, 2021)Tiny Desk Concert (February 7, 2025)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Yasmin 1997 births Living people 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century African-American musicians African-American women guitarists African-American guitarists People from Woodbridge, Virginia Musicians from Virginia New York University alumni