Back with her brand new single 'Never', Kim Cameron is one of the best artists on the dance scene today, and we got the opportunity to catch up with the singer/songwriter and children's book writer to find out just what makes her tick, how she got into the world of children's literature and much more.
Kim Cameron
For those who may not yet have heard your music, how best would you describe your sound and inspiration behind your music?
I would say dance lounge.
All of my songs are really about people that I've met or experiences I've had, so they usually start with a story. Lyric content is about 90% of where it starts, sometimes I'll get inspired by a melody and do the reverse, but really for the most part it's dictated by the story.
What can you tell us about your new single?
The latest single 'Never', I'm a hopeless romantic, I've been accused of writing way too many love songs, but 'Never' was one of those great love relationships where you don't ever imagine being able to find anybody that's going to make you feel that way again. It's one of those things where you think, 'I'm in such a great place, what could be better than this?'
How important for you is it to maintain creative control over your material?
I would say that's fairly important, although I do love collaborations. I love collaborating with really great producers that have great ears, and remixers that hear things I don't hear. I think there's a balance and I have some really great songs because I have been able to collaborate with some very talented and creative people.
For most people the music studio is quite a mysterious place, so could you tell us about a typical day in the studio? If there ever is a typical day!
(laughs) A typical day! Wow! You know, I absolutely love studios, I've never had a time when I was in a studio and I was unhappy. There's something about creating, when you're live, creating this magic. It's funny, after every song in the studio, you quickly do rough edits with the producer, the mixers, the editor, and the first thing you wanna do is send it to everybody, because the enthusiasm is just that powerful and your adrenaline is over the top. I don't think there is a way to fully describe how exciting that creative process is.
It's a lot of back and forth. If I'm in tune with the producer and engineer, the day goes so fast, we produce great stuff, we all hear different things and it's easy to put that recording down, it just flies out of you.
I had one studio experience which maybe wasn't as great as all the other ones because we had some technical difficulties. We were recording all these things and just nothing was working the way it needed to work, so it sort of stifled it, but for the most part for me, living in the studio is just heaven. Creating new things and sounds, it's just great.
You've seen some huge success, how has that felt and what have been your highlights?
Well the current album 'No Regret' had three number one singles, which, you can't have enough of those! Six I've had altogether which is beyond belief. Billboard, I hit Top 20 twice, so I'd say in the last three years I've really had an incredible amount of success, I feel very blessed that people are playing my songs enough that I actually chart on some of these charts. It's been a great ride but it took some doing to get there.
I've just finished my eighth album and I'm ready to release my ninth album here probably somewhere at the end of the year, beginning of next year. I think I've finally gotten to a point where the fans are hungry for more from me, versus me trying to push it saying, 'Please listen!' It took so long to get there, and when I started this journey in 2008, my dream was to have people say, 'I really wanna hear your music, what's next?', but it doesn't happen right away.
Eight albums in, do you still get nervous at the time of release?
Of course! You can't not get nervous. (laughs) I mean, I don't know anybody that doesn't because you're pouring your heart and you. You think others might like what you like and then once you're released, you're like, 'Maybe I was wrong!' You go through all those moments over again. Just because you think it's a great record, doesn't mean anybody else is gonna think it's a great record.
How different would you say the music scene is here in the UK compared to the US?
I've been trying to figure that out myself as I've been going around the country this week and listening to the radio.
Definitely the radio is very different as far as the sound. I mean, the US is so hip-hop and RnB focused that I think that's the huge difference. It's not that the US isn't into dance, it certainly plays a lot of the same things that the UK plays, but I don't hear that hip-hop flavour. It's so predominant in the US and probably Canada, so I would say that's the big difference. The US for some reason is kinda stuck in that grind and I'd love for them to get out of it, whereas I think the UK seems a little more diversified. It's a little bit easier on your ears I guess. In the US, after a while everything starts sounding the same and you just start changing channels because it's just like, 'I can't hear this one more time!' (laughs)
You also write children's literature, how did that come about?
That actually was an outcome of a Caribbean tour that I did. During one of my breaks I met a little girl about 12 years old and she came up to me and we had this conversation. Somehow one thing led to another and she was talking about her fascination and love of octopus. I was so amused by that, it's not really a common little girl fish friend, but we ended up the next day putting together a song called 'Mr. Octopus', and my guitar player had suggested that I write a story around it. So we ended up doing an audiobook, I did the voiceover and he did background music, sound effects, and I got kids that I knew to do some of the voices as well, and we released it just to see what would happen. We had such a response that they requested it in print, so then I found an illustrator, and then the request came, 'When's the next one?', so we made a series out of it. Now I'm four books into it and have started the fifth! And all of this happened in less than three years!
So you're extremely busy!
I'm trying to have a busy schedule! I just figured I can sleep when I'm dead, so it all works out!
How do you find balancing your work life and personal life?
That's always a challenge. It's hard for people to truly appreciate what goes on in this kind of life. You don't have a 9 to 5 schedule, you have a chaotic schedule. I don't know what a weekend is. To me a Monday is the same as a Friday and a Saturday, sometimes I perform until 4am, so I'd say that's a challenging part unless someone really understands the nuances of the music industry.
Do you enjoy tour life?
I love touring. I don't know if it's my number one love, it might be tied with the studio, but it's certainly in the area!
What advice do you have for those hoping to chase a career similar to yours?
Get ready for heartache but don't give up. Every day you're gonna take two steps forward and one step back and that's just the way this business works but don't give up because of that. It's very discouraging but you've just gotta persevere, that's the only way that people survive.
Finally, do you have any definitive aims or goals for the future?
Well I'm hoping that I get an immediate very large tour around Europe, and I'd love to be able to say I wrote the best song in the world.