Andrea von Kampen

Andrea von Kampen

Andrea von Kampen’s music felt like a secret discovery, a while ago, when I first heard her work. Like she’s singing and playing just for you. And although plenty modern in both lyrics and style, she could have been a singer from decades ago – in the way she crafts her songs. Early December 2024, I got to experience her really singing for (almost) just me, when we recorded this session. Luckily for you, I remember to press record. For The Influences, she played covers of Paul Simon’s Hearts And Bones and Bob Dylan’s Boots Of Spanish Leather and the title track of her latest album Sister Moon.

“I was obsessed with wanting to scat.”

“I grew up in a musical family, so it was very natural to learn an instrument and sing,” Andrea von Kampen recalls. “My earliest musical memory is probably my dad singing and playing James Taylor on his guitar.” Those early influences set the stage, with Paul Simon, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole all playing a role in shaping her artistic voice.

“I was obsessed with wanting to scat and make my voice as flexible as possible,” she says, reflecting on the jazz influences that seeped into her work. “There was also quite a bit of musical theater influence as well. All of my influences have helped to shape the music I write and perform today.”

Over the years, her taste has expanded beyond the folk and jazz records of her childhood. “I still love a lot of the music I grew up with, but now I’ve expanded my genres way more,” she says. “I love Bad Bunny’s new album, I’m a huge Rita Payés fan, and I listen to a lot of movie soundtracks and classical music. Rita Payès is someone who I probably listen to everyday. Her music is so relaxing, it makes me want to only play songs on my classical guitar. Her voice and instrumental work are so good.”

One shift in her listening habits has been a conscious move away from curated playlists. “I enjoy listening all the way through albums and keeping my listening as non-AI generated as possible.”

The album that changed a lot

For Von Kampen, one record stands out as a pivotal moment: Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell. “It was a game changer for me in the way I saw folk production and arranging,” she says. “The simplicity and beauty of the songs, with the lush and creative arranging—it was so good. He’s a great writer.”

Great songwriting, in her view, has the ability to transcend the here and now. “Great songwriters remind me of our shared humanity and help me to get out of the day-to-day slog,” she explains. “Paul Simon, Gillian Welch, Laura Marling, Gregory Alan Isakov, The Paper Kites and so many others do that.”

“I will never be able to play this.”

When it came to selecting songs for The Influences session, Andrea von Kampen saw it as an opportunity to push herself musically. “Hearts And Bones is one of my favorite songs of all time,” she says. “I wanted to challenge myself to start learning songs that are pretty tough to play. When I started working through the tabs, I was thinking, ‘I will never be able to play this.’” Rather than backing down, she set a goal to master it in time for the session. “I worked on it for months. I love the way the guitar work melds so well with the melody. And ahh, those lyrics… just so beautiful.”

A million ways to tell an interesting story

“There are no rules of songwriting, just a million ways to tell an interesting story.” That’s the biggest lesson she has taken from studying other artists’ work. It’s a philosophy that carries through all facets of her music, whether she’s writing for her own albums, contributing to a film score, or interpreting another artist’s song. “Albums have less of a roadmap, especially at first,” she explains.

“I find myself spending an hour or so every day just writing with no rules. Slowly, over time, an album begins to take shape, and then I can find themes and craft the whole story.” By contrast, composing for a film or show requires more structure. “It’s way more structured, and I stick to the outline provided. Both can be super creative, but they feel differently paced.”

Beyond music, literature has played a huge role in inspiring her songwriting. She cites Richard Powers’ The Overstory as a particular influence. “It was written in a way that felt poetic and impactful—almost like a story you feel compelled to share with anyone around you while reading it,” she says. “I knew a lot of the phrases in that book would sing well.”

Communicating the story she’s trying to tell

Andrea von Kampen’s catalog of albums, EPs, and singles has a distinct character—one that wasn’t always clear to her in the beginning. “At first, I mostly made music that sounded like things I had heard and fit into the genre I was working in,” she admits. “As I’ve slowly found my voice, I care less about fitting into any genre. I make music I want to listen to or music that communicates the story I’m trying to tell most effectively.”

That evolution has been shaped in part by the musicians she’s met along the way. Touring with artists like The Tallest Man on Earth, The Wood Brothers, and Anaïs Mitchell has provided both inspiration and reassurance. “Meeting like-minded musicians is sort of like being lost for a little while in the woods and then, after a few days or weeks or months of feeling unsure of yourself, you meet someone from your hometown who has food and water and knows all the people you know,” she says. “It’s refreshing to feel known again. And it also sort of puts the whole experience back into perspective.”

As for the kind of influence she hopes to leave behind: “Woof, that’s a big question,” she laughs. “Hopefully they know I tried to say the earth was on fire. But in a subtle artistic way.”


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Photos


Originals

Boots Of Spanish Leather (Bob Dylan)
Tidal | Apple Music

Hearts And Bones (Paul Simon)
Tidal | Apple Music

Andrea von Kampen

Website
Bandcamp
Apple Music
Tidal

Credits

Filmed & edited by Matthijs van der Ven.
Audio recorded & mixed by Matthijs van der Ven.

Location
Loudmouth
Utrecht, The Netherlands

Thanks
Lydia Luce
Brett Shaw
Robert Adriaansen

There is no better way to discover music than watching great musicians cover the songs they love. The Influences has been producing these videos ever since 2008.

Read more.

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