Opening with beautiful strings that move back and forth, the brand new single, release TODAY, September 3rd, “Camieland”, sets the listener up to dive into the imagination of La-based singer, Camie Llano. The song itself is a story, reminiscing on the beginnings of Camie’s creative talent as a child, as she taught herself piano and guitar when she was young. Her descriptions are ones that we can relate to. What child didn’t imagine themselves as someone else in some other world?
The song has an upbeat and steady rhythm that sticks throughout the entire song and calls upon strong pop influence. The lyrics are fun and lighthearted, matching the song’s playful appeal. She welcomes you to join her in her imagination, as it’s something that has driven Camie to get to where she is. What bad could come from living inside your head for a while?
While Camie started in music, she found herself attending school for acting and appeared in various roles, including music videos, short films, and even starring in an independent feature film. Despite this, she never lost her love for music and wrote on the side throughout. I was able to ask Camie a few questions, to which I received lovely answers. Scroll to learn more about Camie and “Camieland”!
An Interview with Camie Llano
Sarah: Tell me a little bit more about yourself and how you got into creating music?
Camie: I was born and raised in Colombia, a small town girl dreaming big from a very young age. I began showing interest in both acting and music for as long as I can remember, being involved in every singing activity and competitions. Having extremely high energy levels I was also into all kinds of sports which was kind of funny since jocks and the drama club/don't usually go together, I was definitely both. I always dreamed of moving to Los Angeles to pursue my acting and singing career, most people including my parents thought it was just a phase and a little girl's dream... But the dream and the passion only kept growing. I discovered I had a good ear when I taught myself how to play the piano, my mom was pretty impressed so she got me piano and guitar lessons. I Wrote my first song at 14 and ever since then I haven't stopped. Soon after I graduated high school, I moved to NYC and studied at The Lee Strasberg Institute, two years later, I was finally where I always wanted to be LA. I've been here for 6 years now and I'm not going to lie and say everything has been perfect, there have been lots of ups and downs and reality checks, but despite everything, It has been an incredible journey, with the “ups” being on music videos, commercials independent feature films and now finally releasing my first EP... the downs have been a lesson and they are all part of the process, they make the ups way more fun and important. Music and my ability to create has saved me countless times during my darkest moments... My capacity to escape reality with my imagination... But more of that in a bit...
S: What musicians/artists do you feel inspire your music style?
C: My music taste is as mixed as a can of nuts, but I would say the artists that have influenced my music the most would be Fleetwood Mac, Sia, Adele, The Beatles and currently really enjoying Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish.
S: What was the process of writing your new single like? How did the concept first come up?
C: This was actually rather unexpected... I've always been a hopeless romantic so most of my first songs were well, about love. I had a handful of those piled up to show my producer and friend Beto Vargas, except for one, one that doesn't really talk about love but something more personal, I was very reluctant to show him that one, I thought it might be too weird or silly... Turns out that was the one he loved the most. He began asking questions about the song and why I wrote it... We ended up having this huge conversation about myself and what makes me be me. Up until this point he had no idea about all the madness that lies in my head all the time, most people don't at first, so he was pretty surprised and amused by the whole thing. After a long long unexpected conversation we came up with the idea of writing an EP focusing on... Camieland.
S: How about the process of actually creating it? Did you have any help from anyone?
C: Absolutely, let me first start with the name of the single Camieland which the credit will have to go to my boyfriend. After he found out about my extremely vivid imagination and how I would sometimes wander off to another world, he started calling it "Camieland" and It stuck. Another huge supporter and someone that has been there during this whole process has been my friend and also actress/director, Amalia; She has been a big believer in the project and even directed the upcoming music video, and of course, I couldn't have made such a unique and creative song without Justin Ok, (Co- writer) and Beto Vargas (Producer) These two literally dissected my brain getting all the information possible so that the three of us together could come up this really authentic lyrics.
S: Was there anything in particular that inspired this song?
C: Totally, since I'm also an actress most of my music has a bit of theatrical feel to them, and this was no exception. I'm obsessed with movie scores too, especially by John Williams (more of an epic feel to it) and Danny Elfman (a darker and more magical feeling). They automatically transport me to other worlds... Mixing those two with some Sia and Lana del Rey feel and voila, you've got Camieland.
S: What do you want people to take from your music?
C: I would love for people to embrace they uniqueness even if it may seem like a flaw, cause that's what makes you special, and sets you apart from the rest. I spent most of my life hiding my "madness" because I was embarrassed and thought people would think I was weird or wouldn't understand, turns out, they still don't understand and they definitely still think I'm weird but I'm okay with that, because “weird” is not necessarily a bad thing, and it teaches you that sometimes people don't hate or judge what they don't understand, but rather find it interesting, genuine and authentic. This is my superpower; I have the ability to change my reality to day dream and come up with incredible adventures even just driving through Korea town as I'm coming home from work. This is my meditation... No longer a secret but something I want to show everyone and hopefully take them to "a journey into my cabinet of curiosities".
S: What does the future look like for you?
C: I try not to overthink the future too much anymore, just enjoy the process every step of the way, no matter the outcome I'm really having the best time of my life doing what I love, having so many talented and supportive people around me, starting with my family. I do wish this takes me far, and I can be able to impact the lives of millions with my music, but one step at a time, eventually if it's for you it will happen.