CAMILLA LUNA

EVER SINCE HER EARLY DAYS ON THE TECHNO STAGE, SHE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH PRANKSTERS LIKE ARILDO, TRULZ&ROBIN, AND OTHERS NORTHERN EUROPEAN OLD SCHOOL MOGULS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. CAMILLA HAS ALWAYS BEEN LOVED FOR DARING TO SHARE AN EXTRA INCH. CAMILLA HAS CONTINUALLY OFFERED A REFRESHING VIBE OF UNDERGROUND FLAMBOYANCE SNAPPING NAMES LIKE SKANSEN, SIKAMIKANICO, JAZID, KILLYREGO ETC… -ONCE THE BEST UNDERGROUND TECHNO VENUES IN ALL EUROPE. IT WAS TIMES BEFORE BERLIN. APPARENTLY, CAMILLA LUNA HAS TEMPER TO TAKE THE RED PILL AND REPRESENT THE WONDERLAND. DOWNTOWN 500 MAGAZINE HAS ASKED HER HOW HAS SHE MANAGED TO STAY RARE?

” I HAVE ALWAYS FOLLOWED MY HEART…”

– CAMILLA SAYS, SHE IS USED TO DEEP DIVERSITY OF GENRES, AND ADDS:

“I HOPE THE SOUND OF CAMILA LUNA IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING! “

OPEN UP PROJECT CONTINUES HER IDIOSYNCRATIC MUSIC GROOVES, AND BY RELEASING THIS EP, SHE IS VENTING VIA HER ORIGINAL AURORA VOCAL EXPERIMENTS. THIS YEAR’S SOUND OF CAMILA LUNA IS HAILED EP OF SATURN RAIN. SHE SKILLFULLY ATTRIBUTES ITS TRIPPY MIX OF SOUL, SYNTH AND AVANT HOUSE BEAUTY OF COMPROMISE

 

DT 500 MAG: – Camilla, let’s  take a talk about your ID?

CAMILLA: – It comes from something kind. I try, to be honest, and genuine thus I meet something sincere and genuine in other people too.( It is to be with one of a kind community with people?)

” I believe in the good of people, and I am trying to cultivate it through my music.”

DT 500 MAG: –  is it your philosophy?

CAMILLA: – M philosophy is quite simple. I build my results by making mistakes. I live ALL INN. Mistaking a lot. And learning a lot. I am an active woman with a masculine side, I believe we all have both the yin and the yang. If I had to name my inner man, he would be Manolo, and he’s a bit edgy.

” In my teens, I mostly had male friends, although I see the value of having friends of both sexes. I have met some beautiful women whom I share a sisterhood with.”

DT 500 MAG: – Tell us more?

CAMILLA: – It is important to be permitted to be who you really are. Not to be a gender-based person, but enjoy people for who and what they are. I look beyond people’s pastor work IDs.

” You put up a facade, but you must dare to be open to expose yourself. To be creative, you must have felt all aspects of life’s feelings. From harm can come something good too.”

 DT 500 MAG: – What’s your origin?

CAMILLA: – My dad is from Uruguay, my mom is Norwegian. I grew up on Grünerløkka- before it became trendy. With a toilet in the stairs and the shower in the kitchen. It was a blue-collar neighborhood.

DT 500 MAG: – Yeah, you are a G-Løkka babe!

CAMILLA: – I am very fond of Oslo, although I get tired of it at times. I have a lot of good memories from the time I was a little girl. With “ Ride or Die” parents, they were politically active with a core focus on justice, teaching me to take responsibility for who I am and my actions. Being a fellow human being.

” I was allowed to see the reality. To not live in a bubble, participating in demos since I was little. So my days were spent by getting the other children in the hood to donate their toys to save the poor children in the world.”

CAMILLA: – We were allowed to have carnivals in our neighborhood, we were very social both in the area and at home. It was an open house that did not exclude anybody. My parents have supported who I am, so has my two brothers, who are two good-looking men.  Being social results in me enjoying to be exposed to a large group of people.

DT 500 MAG:– Camila, you are a half Latin American. I know that you did take a trip to Uruguay where your father is from in 2009. It sounds like an entirely powerful experience…

Camilla: – I understood so much more about why I am as I am. I made a tour there to find out more about my origin, to meet family members I’ve never met, that had so much love for me. It was big! The Norwegian part of me is more calculated and more reasonable, but the Latin is more about passion. I am lucky and proud of both parts!

DT 500 MAG: – Any personal story?

CAMILLA: – My parents were active and engaged in politics. I was allowed to notice the injustice, without being overexposed to it, either. They let me develop empathy. It is important to think things over and to discuss. But getting older is some of the best that has happened to me. I realize now, in retrospect, what it means. Maybe it will come to a major mid-life crisis, but right now, I thrive well with it.The 20´s are cold, but hell no if I´d do it twice. It just gets better from here. The 40s bring it on! Ha-ha.

” I feel much better about myself by resonating with me forward. I do not bother to reflect on other people’s identities. Now I am looking more in the mirror. But you have to go through every kind of conclusions to get to that result. Get more in contact with yourself and look into your roots.”

 

 

DT 500 MAG: – You have a lot of vocal variation. Let’s find the sound of Camilla Luna?

 

CAMILLA: – Good music is good music, regardless of its genre. I hope. The sound of Camilla Luna is continuously evolving. I hope people recognize me by my voice, not by sound. I work a lot with BHLB, and he let me develop, and we created together.

 

 

“To tap into who I am jamming with, wherever they are. To create a context in the chaos. To play in all genres, to create a sound, etc…I don’t want to end up in a secure zone. To dare to break out, that is when you create something!”

 

 

 DT 500 MAG: – Who is your listener?

 

 CAMILLA: – People who like rare music. Music that oversees the genres, as well as other limitations. I have no overview, but I hope it is anyone, and my listener is anyone who loves music and has the time to listen. 

 

“I appreciate everyone who sits down to spend time on it. The fact that someone can relate to what I do is priceless. Even though I’m going to do it anyway, ha-ha!”

 

DT 500 MAG: – How did you become a singer?

 

 CAMILLA: – When I was younger, I was an exhibitionist, and I loved to sing and perform… as I got older, I got a severe case of stage fright, and I had to work on getting rid of it for a long time. It was a lot of music in my family home. I grew up with Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Latin music, jazz, etc… My mother played piano and guitar, and my dad taught me how to dance. 

 

 

“I’ve always used music to cope with my emotions, so becoming a singer was organic progress.”

DT 500 MAG: – Camilla, you are very playful with Your repertoire. You do techno, reggae and soul, and it follows awesomely with your versatile voice. How do you deal with it?

 

CAMILLA: – I used to sneak into parties when I was too young for it. I’d listen to a lot of techno, house, hip-hop, etc… 

 

 

” Since I was a little girl. It’s fun to work with different styles. And I am keeping on! Working with electronic music is very different from working with the soul. In the soul, there is more text, a longer story, with electronic, it is more about keeping it short and sweet.”

 

 

DT 500 MAG: – Do you have your favourite genre?

 

CAMILLA: – Each genre has its charm. BUT anyway, I do not care so much about the genres, but it’s all about how I feel now. From heavy hip-hop beat to the singer-songwriter. What I’m feeling can be said in many ways. I think different things. Sometimes it can be confusing. I feel a beat or a producer. Try to make it worthwhile with a vocal. It’s collaboration in an emotional landscape. It is about providing space for every sound and an exciting journey. I can almost become manic. But for example, playing live is something different…

 

DT 500 MAG: – Camilla, any awkward situations?

 

CAMILLA: – I had the stage fright from Hell, but I’ve got over it. If this is what I want to do – it is all about mastering it. If I have a vision, I go for it! Although It was heavy shit standing on a scene for the first time, it was an experience I learned a lot from! Anyway, it could only get better. I try to enjoy myself. I try not to drink when I perform. I am totally focused, and I dare myself to be exposed. I can not present a package that is not me.

 

 

“That’s when you can fail, but everything is a process. As long as you have fun with the people who have come to listen to you – it is a success!”

 

 

DT 500 MAG: – What would you say about your vocal career?

 

CAMILLA: – I wanted to become a backup singer when I was younger, but then I became a vocalist. It happened by being able to work freely.

 

” BHLB heard me singing in the shower over 10 years ago, and that was the start of my journey….”

 

 

DT 500 MAG: – Did you ever want to be a pop star?

 

CAMILLA: – I never wanted to be a pop star, but I always was engaged with music. I actually wanted to become a lawyer. My father is a social worker with lots of books at home. I enjoy puzzles. Finding out how the law should work for a better society. And to help people to achieve what they are entitled to.

 

 

“Knowledge is power, and I find it fascinating… It’s never too late to study, and the process is part of the learning curve. Learning something new is fun, and you can never have too much knowledge!”

“My goal is to be the Queen of the Underground. “

 

 

DT 500 MAG: – You are Camilla.

 

CAMILLA: – The brutal reality is that it’s often about something other than music but creating a product. Is the money you get by being a star worth people overriding your natural talent? For me, people must listen to music! I want people to hear more than they should see, and there must be a delicate balance.

 

DT500MAG: – Camilla, you came with the” Open Up” EP?

 

 CAMILLA: – I had no expectations, but the feedback has been overwhelming! It’s been a humbling and fun experience… when I was working with the “Open Up” EP,

 

“the main idea was to try to be open to the process, to expose me, and to feel more than think. I didn’t work based on a specific idea, but I tried to create harmony from chaos.”

 

DT500 MAG: – What do you try to open? For what reason?

 

CAMILLA: – “Open Up” is about daring to be humble and vulnerable. And honest. 

 

 

“It is about daring to expose feelings and letting people see that you’re not perfect. Few people dare to meet on a sincere level, masks off. Life can hurt you if you do not deal with your problems properly; negative energy can be persistent. We must dare to let people enter.”

 

 

DT500 MAG: – Camilla, you have 10 years of music-making, and you have got many huge names like Bazis, Trulz and Robin, Arildo and others. Tell us more about that?

 

CAMILLA: – Arildo is my No.1 supporter. He backs me both as Camilla and as Camilla Luna. Trulz and Robin are my old-school crew of friends too. They’ve taught me a lot. I have great respect for them both as musicians and as people. We had a song that was released last year, which was quite large. Published by Eskimo, whom I am a super fan of. To work with them is incredible. We share a rare trust between us. We dare to be personal with each other, and it works. I hope we always will be working together. Rune Lindbeck was a producer for the first album. I’ve always been lucky to be given a lot of freedom.

 

DT500 MAG: – Black&whites of you?

 

CAMILLA: – Most are that I am very patient by trying to be worthy of justice. The least is a double-edged sword. A lot, sometimes it can be annoying. It is important to remember to take care of yourselves, not only take care of everyone else. Plus, time is precious, and I am plodding.

 

 

“My Latin American clock is strong. I can be self-destructive. But I am working to be more friendly with myself. That’s life….”

 

 

DT500 MAG: – Man vs. Woman?

 

CAMILLA: – I’m not too concerned that a man should hold the door open for me, but we must act like human beings. I do not believe in gender roles but meet each other human level. No stereotypes, but taking care of each other is the main strength of both sexes.

 

 

“We have the same strength but express ourselves differently.”

 

DT500 MAG: – we are talking love…yes, what about that love?

 

CAMILLA: – There is an expectation that love is something you should have, but you are lucky if you experience it. If you want to live with someone for the rest of your life, you must be damn tolerant, and it must function for two. 

 

 

“There are too many unrealistic expectations based on things like -“my friend says that….”

 

 

DT500 MAG: – And contemporary -the gender theme…

 

CAMILLA: – Much can be done by dropping the expected gender roles. You must take each other for who you are and bring out the best in each other. When you disagree with each other, you have to stand by that as well.

 

DT 500 MAG: – Dreams vs Right-Now-In-The-Moment?

 

CAMILLA: – I’m working on the “right now.” To catch reality when it actually happens. I have dreams, too, visions, but I’m grounded in realism. I try to find a balance. About music – my idea is to continue to develop myself. Reach new goals. Although I need to learn what that purpose is sometimes. I just continue to work on my music. To prepare me. Otherwise, it becomes boring. One must be uncomfortable to push yourself.

 

 

“I have never made it easy. My dream has become the «right now at the moment» as I’m working on my album.”

DT 500 MAG: – Where can we listen to you? What is your next?

 

CAMILLA: – you can listen to the EP on YouTube and some tracks on Soundcloud. You can buy the vinyl at “Filter” in Oslo, SubwaxBcn and Discos Paradiso in Barcelona, Beatport, Juno, Red Eye Records, or through Discogs. The Album will be released next year. I’m also working on some exciting collaborations. Through f.e. Soundcloud, I’ve met different producers.

 

DT 500 MAG: – Rapture!

 

CAMILLA: – I’m enjoying the process of putting together the Album. I also have an inspiring collaboration going on, but all I can say is that it’s in the electronic genre. I perform most in Barcelona these days. My next performance is at Switch Club in December in Barcelona. But I will definitely find the time for the Scandinavian audience, I promise!

INTERVIEW BY © Arthur Sopin n Andreas Rod 

PHOTO BY DAG KNUDSEN, ANDREAS ROD, PEDER KLINGWALL