Interview – Camille

French singer/songwriter Camille is one of the most rebellious and innovative artists of her generation. Known for her provocative and often down-right weird vocal and body percussion techniques, as well as her ability to switch effortlessly between French and English, Camille’s sound is both unbalancing and tantalising. Her gigs can be a whirly-gig of strange and have seen audiences barking, meowing and stamping their feet to create spontaneous live mixes. On her latest album, Ilo Veyou, Camille continues to explore possibilities – much of it is recorded outside or in churches with no backing music. Currently on a European tour, the iconoclastic chanteuse took a bit of time out to speak to BBM about technique, singing in the shower and sperm. Yep. Sperm.

Hey Camille, how’s the tour going?

I’m OK. I’m tired, but I’m happy. So it’s OK, I’m less tired.

You’ve been recording for 10 years now, are you at a stage of progression or relaxation with your music?

Yes, I’m an old lady [laughs]. Erm, I think it’s both. A period of relaxation, then in some ways progression because I feel I have a bigger audience – I feel people are with me and are starting to understand my work more and really get into the mood and experience it. In terms of creativity it’s always a challenge, and always a lot of work to express my emotions in the moment. You’re always a singer in the dark – you never know where you’re going because it’s always new and I feel that there is still a lot of work [to do].

You recorded a lot of your new album Ilo Veyou in empty churches – why?

I really felt so much pleasure singing in resonant places. People say when I ask them to sing: “oh no, no, no – I only sing in my shower.” Well I think people sing in the shower because the water maybe encourages them, because water is soothing, but also because it resonates. The voice gets a feedback, you know, the place answers and it’s such a delightful sensation, it’s so pleasurable. That’s why I did that; I feel the sound reads.

Water is a theme that runs throughout the album. Is it there to resonate or is there something else behind it?

Well, you know, we’re made of mainly watery elements and I think it’s in our subconscious. Water to me is life, fluid, and music is so much of a fluid. Water is so strong – it’s stronger than fire and stronger than electricity, stronger than technology. And it carries life, you know, it carries babies, it carries sperm, it carries your tears and your sweat – so many things are made of water and I think we’re being too firey. Certainly I think of ‘Wet Boy’ and ‘Water Girl’ on the album.

You mention babies, and of course you were pregnant when you recorded Ilo Veyou. How much did that influence the album?

I think what influenced my music the most, in terms of what I sing about, was the energy. It makes you, I think, more steady and you take your time – you understand how time is stronger than you, how life is stronger than you and you can’t force things, you just have to follow the flow. I think it’s a great musical teaching. Life is a spiritual teacher and music is too and I think life is attached to music and I think that’s what expecting life taught me. If you let the music be, let it flow, don’t force it.

So how do you figure out your vocal techniques – from singing in the shower?
I think technique is there to make you forget about technique. Like, for example, you’re a journalist and you are interviewing me – a good journalist will make the interview feel like a conversation so the artist is relaxed and says things that are interesting. I think with me it is the same, because technique is not like technical work, it is more like you experience the music. It makes you so relaxed that you end up expressing life and movement and emotions, not thinking for one second like, ‘oh I’ve got to do a super vibrato.’ No. It should flow, like the flow of your sentence.

You took on the vibrato for your homage to Edith Piaff in La France. Was that quite a difficult sound to get?

No, no. When I record I don’t go for difficult things, I go for things that I want to sing and the technical challenge is to get the emotion, to record the emotion, for the emotion to carry through. The challenge is not like, ‘ooh I’m going to do my best to make it sound amazing.’ No, no. That voice came very easily. People have natural talents for imitating this or that.

Was it fun to imitate Piaff?

Je suis dilettante! [Laughs] I have no merit for that.

Is it difficult to keep up the beauty and tranquillity that runs through your music while exploring different sounds?

The challenge is more, again, a reality challenge than a musical challenge so that’s why I chose to record the album in the countryside. It sounds like a great cliché, but I think I need tranquillity to be tranquil. Sometimes, you know, people in cities are too hectic. I think we should vibrate instead of being so agitated all the time and music is about vibration, which is very different from agitation. I was lucky to be able to create my own cocoon to do my work and to follow my energy in that specific moment and that’s why I chose that space [the countryside] – to feel those moments. And, you know, in those moments – especially in those moments – you feel people are a little too excited.

Is there a difference for you between singing in French and English?

There is a lot of difference. They [the languages] are on two different continents – though to me it’s more inner continents where they are related to different emotions and different music. So it’s very different but I can’t explain why I would choose one language or the other. All I can say is that when I write a song in English I have less vocabulary and it’s a more interesting challenge. Songs are about telling things with simple words and that’s what I like about English – I am less analytic, less knowledgeable.

Do you think it matters if your listeners don’t understand what you’re singing about? Do you care?

Oh no, no, it’s not important. So much English music is big in France and nobody really understands the words – some people do, some people don’t, but they like the music. You hear the emotion, the intention through the voice. The words are a go-between. So no, I don’t care and I think it adds to the mystery. Even if you get the words sometimes there’s a double meaning, or you imagine so many things, and I think when it’s not in your language you can focus more on the musicality of it. It adds to the magic.

Well thank you Camille, it’s been great speaking to you.

Yes, you too. Thank you so much for your support and I hope I can come to Australia soon – it was great to perform there last time I came. Take care.

By Rebecca Jones