The singer songwriter discusses the complex emotions and creative process behind his latest release.
Your latest EP “all the songs i used to love” carries such emotional power. What was the inspiration behind it?
Honestly, the past 3-4 years of my life. Stories from different relationships, places, really entire chapters of my life made it into that EP. One of my favorite parts about the EP is it really feels like an “introduction to me” because the songs tell the stories that are really most important to me. The goal of the project is that you (hopefully) get a good idea of who I am and what I’ve gone through by listening to the songs.
As a songwriter, how would you describe your creative process?
For me, the best songs always start as conversations. The way you get the most emotionally honest stuff, at least for me, is to write about things that are actually on your mind. My sessions usually start with an hour or two of just talking about what's going on in everyone’s lives and seeing if anyone is going through anything that feels like it “needs to be a song.” Honestly at this point, after writing so many songs, I usually prefer to at least know what big idea we’re trying to write about before we even start building melodies just because I think every aspect of the song should be supporting whatever emotion it is that you’re trying to get across to the listener. Once we have that figured out, I’m a melody first guy for sure. I think the best songs are also the ones that you can listen to without hearing the words and know what it’s about.
How has the last year changed you, both as an artist and as a person?
Where do I start? Haha. A year ago today, I was just a college kid. No Tiktok account, 12 monthly listeners, at the time none of it was real. I think beyond just the numbers and the blessings that I’ve gotten this past year, I’ve definitely grown up a lot. I have responsibilities now, and an entire team that counts on me every single day to keep things moving and to put in 150%. That for sure changes you. I think as an artist, I’ve gotten a lot better at actually making music just from working with so many incredible writers and producers every day, but I’ve also really settled into understanding who I want to be musically. I’ll always keep evolving and experimenting, but I’m beyond happy that it seems through some trial and error we’ve figured out what “Camylio” sounds like for a little while.
What has been the biggest moment of your life so far?
The biggest moment for me so far has definitely been when I really had my first big viral moment back at the end of January 2021. That video changed my life. I went from a small artist with a bit of momentum to having millions of followers and major label interest literally overnight. I’m still processing it all almost a year later haha. For now, I’m just working towards the next moment that tops that one.
What’s one thing you hope never changes?
The fact that I’m in love with what I do for starters. I can’t imagine ever *not loving this, but I guess it’s always possible. The other thing is the amount of creative control I have right now. I really feel like I’m the one steering the ship, which is all a young artist can ask for.
What does it mean to be a creator in today’s world?
It means giving all of you to your audience, for better or for worse. People want to really know you, they want to be with you through your highs and lows and have unlimited access to you. Honestly, that’s a huge adjustment for anyone who’s not already used to it, and to be honest I don’t know that anyone really gets fully used to being that open with the world. With that being said, there’s definitely something beautiful about being able to connect with so many people on such a deep emotional level through the music and social media, and for that I’ll always be grateful.
This feature is part of our Trailblazers to Follow 2021 campaign, which is honoring artists, actors, and internet personalities that are changing the game. You can visit our Trailblazers portal for more interviews.