Tracyanne Campbell reflects on a landmark year for Camera Obscura
John Hutcheson
THEIR songs have appeared in Hollywood films and TV shows, they’ve performed for thousands of fans across the world, and legendary DJ John Peel was among their biggest supporters.
Yet Camera Obscura – fronted by lead singer Tracyanne Campbell – still struggle to be recognised within their own country.
The Glasgow-based band released their new single – The Sweetest Thing – on November 2 and it is likely to be their biggest record yet.
But Tracyanne, who is originally from Livingston, isn’t worried about the band becoming a household name.
"We’ve worked hard and our profile is becoming bigger in the UK and in other places. It’s nice to get recognition for the work we’ve put in," said Tracyanne.
"But I think we are – and I don’t think this is a bad thing – a cult band. Some of my favourite bands are cult bands.
"I do have a feeling that we are, and we probably will remain, a cult band. I don’t see all of a sudden us becoming big stars. I just don’t think we are going to be the sort of band that people en masse are turned on to."
Camera Obscura have been together since 1996 and have built up a strong fan base, largely through word of mouth and Radio One DJ John Peel who was an early champion of the band
They released their first album in 2001, Biggest Bluest Hi Fi, followed by Underachievers Please Try Harder in 2003 and Let’s Get Out Of This Country in 2006.
The band then went full time and embarked on a relentless touring schedule which has taken them all over the world, winning fans in all four corners of the globe where they receive more recognition than in their homeland.
This year saw the band again tour North America and April saw the launch of their fourth album, the highly-acclaimed My Maudlin Career.
A landmark TV appearance for the band came in June when they appeared on Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show on CBS in America. With a TV audience of 2 million, it gave the band massive exposure to the American public.
That appearance has cemented the belief among many fans that Camera Obscura may move from being a cult band to one which receives more widespread recognition.
The band are now in the middle of their British tour which saw them play Glasgow Barrowlands last week and London’s Shepherd Bush Empire this week before heading off to Spain and back to North America for another series of gigs.
"It’s been quite interesting doing the tour in the UK the past week or so because a lot of our fans have grown up with us and a lot of the time I felt they were quite young," said Tracyanne.
"There are a lot of people certainly in their fifties and sixties coming to see us now and I think that’s good because when I look at an audience like that I think these are people that probably buy records.
"I think we are in a lucky position in the band because we’ve been together for so long we have built up a steady fan base and I don’t think we’ll ever lose them and, on the other side of that, we are fortunate because we are getting new fans."
Camera Obscura’s profile has also been lifted by the use of their songs in films such as PS I Love You, starring Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank, Over Her Dead Body, featuring Eva Longoria, and most recently, Sorority Row. TV shows such as Gray’s Anatomy and The OC have also featured their music while the latest trailers for Channel Four’s Ugly Betty, again use a Camera Obscura track.
"My hope has always been that we will become full time and we are full time now," said Tracyanne.
"I guess my hope then would be that we get bigger, we get to do more things, we get the time and freedom and luxury of having that time and freedom to express ourselves and take it to the next level if we can.
"We want to make a record that’s better than the records we’ve made and see more of the world."
Visit www.westlothiancourier.co.uk to see a video interview with the band about the launch of their new single, The Sweetest Thing.
