18 is just a number, Camille Christel has wisdom beyond any years. Her music is quiet and gentle, experimental and ever-changing, it is brilliant. After hearing her debut singles, we had to talk to her, so without further ado here she is, Camille Christel.
Howdy! Welcome to the Rodeo, how are you and how have you been?
Hello, thanks for having me, good thank you, busy but good busy.
Your music has such airy and dreamy vibes, how did you get into creating this type of music? Were you brought up on this kinda stuff?
I was brought up on a collection of music, usually introduced to me by my dad it included things like Cat Power, The National, Burial, Lana Del Rey. I try to make my music represent the way I think and see the world, it’s my take on falling in love or falling into a nightmare. So the listeners have a tiny insight into my mind but they can also relate it to their own minds and lives.
You’ve been performing since you were only 13, but what is it like to grow up on a stage? Has there ever been a moment on stage where it felt very surreal with all you’ve achieved?
Surprisingly I am fairly shy person and I always have been, but when I am on stage I feel like I turn into somebody else, the person I speak to in my thoughts, even the way I hold myself on stage is different, maybe it’s the only time I feel confident enough to be myself. I feel as though I can be honest about my emotions and the pain I go through whilst stood up there. I have been attending End of the Road Festival since I was a child and to play there was something I had dreamt about thousands of times.
They say that to write a song is to write a story, what story do you want to tell?
I don’t want to tell a specific story, I just want people to be able to listen to my music and relate it to their own stories and heartaches. To me music should make us feel united no matter who we are or what we know, it brings peoples together makes us feel like we aren’t the only ones hurting, and I hope my music can do this for some people.
Does your songwriting come naturally to you, as your latest single ‘Chicago’ was created at 3 am on a noisy plane? Is it something you ever have to actively make yourself do?
Melodies and words usually come to me in moments, random moments I can never pinpoint it, I like songs to come to me naturally and with time through situations and thought progressions. I go through phases where I can’t stop writing and phases where nothing comes so you have to inspire yourself. I feel as though Chicago wrote itself, it’s the most personal song I have ever written, it’s full of secrets and I feel extremely uncomfortable listening to it but, each time I do the situations which are addressed in the song don’t cause me quite as much pain anymore.
Most of your songs have been inspired by places, what is the significance of New York and Copenhagen to you?
They both have their own individual significance but if I tell you, you won’t relate it to your own situations so it’s a secret…
Not only does your music take listeners on a journey, but your single artwork shows the X-Ray insides of yours. How did you come up with the idea?
I wanted each cover to relate specifically to the context of the song and I think this was the most natural way to do so. If you read into the contents of the bags you can make out where I am going and what I am doing, but when you read into these you may feel slightly uncomfortable like you are reading my diary and I think that’s also how the songs may make some listeners feel.
What does neon pink CC have planned for the future, anything you can let the Rodeo readers in on?
I will be releasing another track to my Debut EP in the coming month and then the EP will be with you by the end of the year. I also have a few live dates in the pipelines so keep an eye out…
You can listen to Camille Christel on Spotify and Apple Music. Find merch, news and all the other good stuff on her website.
