Long before she conceived compositions of her own, Camille was obsessed with listening to music. It has never been OK to talk to her during a song she’s into, or to turn the volume down to make yourself heard - you must press ’pause’, then ’play’ again when you’ve finished interrupting, or you’ll be forced to rewind to the exact site of your transgression. Like music fans everywhere, Camille recalls events and eras of her life through the music of the time. Camille’s hopeless romanticism seems, to her, dreadfully out of place in the everyday world, but it has always been embraced, normalised and celebrated in the music that she loves.
Though making her own music had not previously occurred to Camille, once it started happening, there was no stopping the stories and poems from spilling out into songs. After years of unproductive floundering on piano, Camille started playing guitar shortly after moving to Amsterdam in 2003. She immediately began writing, recording songs on cassette in her tiny-but-acoustically-brilliant bathroom, and sending them back to her family in Australia. The sweetly-biased reviews encouraged Camille to start performing at open mic nights, nestled in the safety and magic of Amsterdam’s enchanting backstreets. It was there, in the strange, altered reality of the medieval city’s alternative art scene, that Camille crossed paths with the ultra-eremitic, uber-gifted Patrick Jered; future co-founder of Elephant’s Ear Music. In two red wine-soaked afternoon recording sessions, Patrick’s savvy ear and funky home-equipment captured two albums of Camille’s earliest songs, including ’Darkened Sky’, a rare duet with surreptitious songstress Monique; Camille’s sister. These recordings have never been released, but they encouraged Camille to keep writing, writing, performing, performing, recording each new batch of songs, for memory’s sake, on a palm-sized device, throughout the rest of her dream days in Amsterdam.
A far cry from the grey skies and haunted hallways of Europe, Camille resides, for now, in the sub-tropics of Queensland, Australia, where she recently teamed up with the multi-talented producer/musician James North to record her debut EP, ’The Other Side of the World’; a collection of songs penned in Amsterdam and Tanzania. The EP is available on iTunes, and the CD will be available through Elephant’s Ear Music soon. Camille performs regularly and writes new material constantly, continuing to draw inspiration from the important things in life: lust, storms, grief, philosophy, space, oceans, love, travel, the moon, guilt, canals, time, regret, change and - most of all - music. She will begin work on an album in the near future; possibly another collaboration involving the elusive Monique and the reclusive Patrick....
Hey! Thanks for the add!! Me, look and sound amazing?? How about yourself young lady! Hope all is going well! It's a long time since the Mowbray Days!!!
oh chicken- just listening to your wonderful tunes- I can not wait to hear it in real humaness... when when... Maybe when you are down next we can have a lounge room moment... big love sunshine!!!!xxooxxoo
the songs sound great! it sounds heaps different...heaps better. i can't wait until your cd is done so i don't have to keep adjusting the volume on the cd! speaking of which, when can i buy a copy. i've decided i'm going to canada in january 09 for a trip for a few weeks. I'm very pumped about it! It was great seeing you in torquay too, i was thinking about my crunchy crab all day the next day...not the service though!
G'day Mate... How are you? I love the pics...You look more beautiful than ever... I hope that one day our paths will cross again. I think about those good ole days alot!
hey spunk, i love your new song. And what's with the hot photos of you??? You're not making an album or something are you?!? I'll be excited if you are. How have you been?
Gday Camille, Whats news in Queensland... Wet and cold ovr here in the west.. And we are losing games of football as well. so not the greatest.. Do you still have the same mobile number. I sent you a couple of msgs the other day.
Hey, I hear you had a good time in amsterdam...sickness and all! I am so jealous of janis heading off to the states, i think i'll need to plan a trip maybe to asia in the xmas holidays...i'm thinking vietnam or somewhere...imagine the food! Love your new songs, i'll put one up on my profile soon... Jane thinks we should plan a trip up to see you, i need some sunshine, it's so cold and dark here. Cohuna is same old, same old, jump off a bridge...
i wanted to add one of your songs to my profile but it won't let me? Why is that??? How is Las Gold Coast treating you? I've been banging my head against a wall since i've been home and jane is even worse. She even went homewares shopping to make herself feel better!
Gday there again, I was so upset that we got friday night confused. Where did you end up going????? Adam gave me a call and i asked him if he wanted to come to the footy but he didnt get back to me. lucky because it was a shit game... by the way when are you bringing out a CD!!!! Your music is so good.. I love it.
so, one of the guys in my office says, "im goin to costco for lunch, want me to bring u back somthing?" im like hell yeah, get me a berry sundae..... and it all came back to me ha ha!!!! miss u lots!!!
I didnt think you would know... How have you been? obviously you are living in Queensland. I am over here in sunny Western Australia and have been for 9 years!!!! I still get back to Victoria a fair bit. How is Camille??? I love your music.. Do you ever play in Western Australia.
