Music
Press
"On her second full-length release, Chapel Hill’s Yasmine White continues to prove that talent only takes time to be fully recognized. Somebody’s paying attention though. With a CV that already includes second place in the Folk category of the John Lennon Song Writing Contest and an honorable mention in Billboard’s World Song Contest, it’s a wonder that no one else is lucky enough to have discovered the area’s latest wunderkind.
Immediately it is striking how well Yasmine White is able to consistently touch that innate yearning for love that we all share. It speaks in so many different ways, but yet at the same time it manages to speak to us all." - Derek Blackmon
“[In her new self-titled CD], the spotlight is on White's expressive, versatile vocals as well as her songwriting, which isn't shy about exploring the deals that we make with each other and with ourselves in the name of love and need.”
- Rick Cowell
“Yasmine White is one of North Carolina's fastest rising songwriters. Unlike some Americana artists, White is unafraid to tackle influences outside the country, folk, and pop genres and in her songs you can hear elements of 50s rock and old fashioned gospel.” - Jeff Eason
“The clarity of Yasmine's voice and her lyrics demand your attention from the outset, gently insisting on concentration on the feelings she is expressing. She sings songs for folk to listen to, songs about life, her hopes and fears and injustices, her love and uncertainties and inadequacies. I hope this album reaches more appreciative ears, and we are treated to further insights and soul-baring truths from this silver-voiced music-maker.” - Jenny Ivers
“Yasmine White plays with an earthy feel and angelic harmonies. These songs aren't so much played as breathed into life, almost whispered. These 11 tracks flow right from the heart.” - Jennifer Layton
“As a songwriter, Yasmine White wears her heart on her sleeve ... and her quickly mind and her ever-lovin' soul, as well. Right out there. She makes no secret of it: Life, hers and ours, is a ride that bumps along and bruises us, a thing that bears down on us like the boogie man and, often enough, leaves us shaken and just wondering. Hearing her songs, we know she knows – herself and ourselves. But there's more: the quiet comfort of fingertips, the eventual recognitions of love, the laughable ironies ... that, too, is the life we carry about. There's no easy sentiment here, though. The wisdom, the lyric-words are hard-won. And sometimes there's no winning to make a song of, only a loss, or consternation. But, whether she's taking us up or down, Yasmine's care for truthful language is evident in every one of her songs.In a word, this is music that wholly fulfills its intention. It's First Class stuff.” - Tim Kimrey
Discography
Yasmine White (2005)
Simple Truths (2002)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
“I’ve never liked small talk much,” says Yasmine White. “When I meet someone I want to know how they see the world, who they are. I want to talk about their stories and struggles.” That need to understand is expressed in her songs, with their accessible melodies and insightful, sometimes even painful lyrics. “She isn’t shy about exploring the deals we make with each other and with ourselves in the name of love and need,” says critic Rick Cowell.* “It is striking how well Yasmine White is able to consistently touch that innate yearning for love that we all share.” **
Yasmine placed second in the folk category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, a prestigious international competition founded by Yoko Ono, with judges who included Bjork James Brown, Judy Collins, Elton John, Joan Osborne and Carlos Santana. She has also received honorable mention in the Billboard World Song Contest, and has twice been a finalist in the North Carolina Songwriter’s Contest.
She started her career in the folk music scene in New York, sharing the stage with performers such as Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter. “Then I left music for a good amount of time,” she says. “I sort of walked away from it.” She earned a board certificate in Music Therapy and worked with the elderly, people in psychiatric units and health care centers, and children and adults with autism. But she could never really drop the music. “I eventually started writing songs in my car. I had tried to do something else but finally realized that I had to honor "where I live" -- writing songs and performing.” Along the way she has written songs from this experience about some of the people she worked with. Some of the songs on her new CD -- In My Mind, Starve Me, and See Her Whirl -- have been inspired by this experience and the people she has met and worked with.
Yasmine has just released a new self-titled CD that presents her original songs in a broad range of styles, ranging from alt-rock to electronic to smoldering jazz – “all of it tied together by her inviting melodies and pure voice.”*** The CD features a talented group of musicians that includes guitarist Will MacFarlane (well-known for his work with Bonnie Raitt, The Pointer Sisters and Jackson Browne), percussionist Beverly Botsford (known for her work with Nina Freelon), and former Whiskeytown member Caitlin Cary. Starve Me, featured on the new CD, has been selected by radio station MVYRadio for its upcoming Fresh Produce music sampler.
As a performer, Yasmine grabs the audience and takes them along on her emotional journeys. She was named best female vocalist for four weeks in a row by the music website Garageband.com (the site continues to list her as one of the top 20 all-time alternative rock female vocalists) and the accolade is well deserved. Her voice has been called “sexy,” “expressive,” “honest,” and “warm.” “Chapel Hill’s Yasmine White continues to prove that talent only takes time to be fully recognized.” ***
* The Independent Weekly; ** Indie-Music.com, ***The Chapel Hill News
Links
