One of my favourite outlooks on running a blog is the platform you create. There’s a sense of community, where people come together with similar interests to share their own creative edge and contribute to the movement. With a new wave of producers entering the scene, unique variations of the sound have emerged; twisted and warped mid-range frequencies, percussive rollers and the eternally defying dungeon creepers first coined by Toast MC. My love for tribal percussive beats have always got the better of me, and the same can be said for our next featured artist. Camu has been in close contact with me for sometime, he’s a character with ambition, imagination and a positive frame of mind. Appreciation for his music is now beginning to unfold, so I thought it was about time he joined our mix series.
TRUSIK: Easy Camu. First up, so that the readers are familiar, what is your name and where are you from?
CAMU: Good day! My name is Shawnee. I’m 16 years old and I come from the beautiful Amsterdam.
TRUSIK: What is the meaning behind Camu?
CAMU: Well, I was born with Camu as my middle name. I always loved the name because it has a certain mystique to it. I don’t really know the meaning behind it, but I think the name suits my sound.
TRUSIK: Share with us some background on your musical influences
CAMU: I grew up in a very creative and spiritual family, my mother has always showed me great music and showed me how to handle vinyl from a very young age. She was also a DJ, so that really inspired me to make music too. I draw most of my influences from many things in my life actually, from experiences in the past, dreams and visions.
TRUSIK: What inspires the compositions you produce?
CAMU: Everything that happens in my life affects the music that I write, it has been like that since the beginning. I write a lot of tunes with memories of the past, both good and bad. In fact, music is a great way for me to let go of bad memories of the past. It helps me to look at things from different perspectives and it helps me to understand a lot of things. I see writing music as more than just a hobby, it’s a very emotional and psychological process for me.
TRUSIK: What would you like to achieve with Camu?
CAMU: Show the world that there is more than rules in music, that people should explore their creativity even if they’re told that it is worthless. As long as it makes you happy there is no reason to stop. Also, I try to bring people back to the roots, meditation music with only positive vibes, the idea that my music brings a smile to people’s faces makes me very happy. And it is something that will keep me going till the end of time.
TRUSIK: Who would you like to collaborate with?
CAMU: There are some artists I’d really like to collaborate with, but out of all, I think I would like to work with Phurpa, Al Gromer Khan or maybe even Dead Can Dance. Those people influenced me a lot in my life. And if I had the chance to collaborate with any of them, I would love to do it abroad. I really love travelling!
TRUSIK: Nominate one film, one LP and one interesting website our readers should look up.
CAMU: Film: Lawrence Of Arabia. LP: Al Gromer Khan – Sitar Secrets. As for the website, I don’t really know to be honest. There aren’t really that many websites that I visit on a regular basis (except obviously, TRUSIK and Dubstepforum etc.) but maybe my Tumblr is something worth looking at? I post all pictures and photos that inspire me on there so I am sure it will be worth checking out for some people! http://shawneelovestalitha.tumblr.com/
TRUSIK: Any interesting projects / forthcoming material in the pipeline?
CAMU: Got loads of material in the pipeline, keep your eyes peeled! I also started a collaboration project with a good friend of mine, called Deity, but I will keep the name a secret for now.
TRUSIK: How did the mix that you made for us come together?
CAMU: I chose the tracks that show the diversity of my sound, and I did my best to blend them all into one story. I advise you to download it, close your eyes and just let your imagination flow. This mix is a journey, a journey through the ancient Africa, America and Asia. Close your eyes and enjoy.
TRUSIK: Name one artist / producer you highly recommend right now
CAMU: If I could name one artist I could recommend to everyone, it would be Deity. There are no sounds of him online (yet), so I decided to include his tunes into my mix. In this case, two remixes of my own tunes. He is pretty new to producing, but he is very talented and has a unique perspective on the sound that I miss a lot in the scene right now, from dark graveyard beats to storm dancing tribal music, this guy can do it. It is a great honor to be working and writing music with him. And of course much love and respect to my lovely lovely girlfriend Talitha, my Mother, Stepfather and Brothers. And of course my mates Deity, Thomas, Roos, Gantz, Dequity, Fenrir, Jambo, Nicksn, Crises, Kinman, Dubtillian, Tides, Reaction, The Bassweight Society and of course the mighty TRUSIK! I hope you will all enjoy the mix and have enjoyed the read.
TRACKLIST:
- Camu – Hardwood Eyes
- Camu – دمشق (Damascus)
- Camu – Vidwan
- Camu – Tajmi
- Camu – Asmat
- Camu – Kikuyu
- Camu – You Are
- Camu – Bloodwood
- Camu – Bloodwood (Deity Remix)
- Camu – Myosotis VIP
- Camu – Truly Dead (Deity Remix)
- Mu Djina – Yomi
- Camu – Distant Angel VIP
