Singer, songwriter and producer Kamille has outlined her unconventional strategy for her latest artist project, K2.
Full name Camille ‘Kamille’ Purcell, Kamille is one of the most successful UK songwriters of her generation, having worked with acts such as Little Mix, Dua Lipa, Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne, and was honoured with the Outstanding Song Collection award at the 2023 Ivors.
For the time being at least, though, Kamille is focused on her artist career.
“It’s like being an astronaut,” said Kamille, speaking in the August issue of Music Week. “People don’t realise I’ve always wanted to be an artist. Don’t get me wrong, it’s incredible being a songwriter, but imagine if you said you wanted to be an astronaut and then you worked in the control room. It’s still a beautiful thing to do, nothing wrong with working at NASA – but deep down you’ll always want to go into space."
Kamille's debut solo release came last year with mini-album K1 and she is partnering with Believe on K2, which will come out later this year in Q4 via her own KamKam Entertainment imprint.
I want to drop songs throughout the year as opposed to having one album release date
Kamille
"As much as I love writing for people, I’ve always had this hint of sadness that I wanted to release music, too," she continued. "I wanted to get my own music out and I recently got Tune Of The Week on Radio 1 with Headline, a song that I made downstairs in my little home studio. That made me so happy, I was bouncing off the walls. I have been finding a place, that happy spot, a kind of equilibrium for myself as a person.
"When I write for myself I don’t have to question it, I’m not thinking about what the A&R would want, or what management would say. When you work for other artists, you go in with a brief and a purpose. I have much more of a laser focus when I am working with other artists.”
Rather than release an LP in the traditional way, Kamille is planning to add tracks to K2 as she goes.
“I want to drop songs throughout the year as opposed to having one album release date,” she explained. “An album can be forgotten about a week after release because the way we consume music these days is so different. And people love a journey, love a chase. The most exciting part can be just before the music comes, so I always want to live in that space of always being about to drop something.
“I just want people to know that I’m a talented person who is creating music to empower people. I was trying to empower myself as an artist and a lot of the songs I write for myself are very triumphant and driven. I also want to be consistent. You know that when Calvin Harris or Pharrell drops something it’s going to be exceptional. Those people who are on their own path and have a consistently high standard, I aspire to that.”
We want to feel like you guys appreciate us when we come into the room. Treat us well and we will make the best hits
Kamille
Kamille, who won the Music Creative Award at Music Week’s 2019 Women In Music Awards, has collaborated with the likes of MNEK and Fred Again.. on the new music, and described the experience as "amazing".
“Finding features is a little harder than it was, so I’ve had to find different ways of collaborating and I’m not always looking for a massive artist," she said. "I tend to be attracted to things I see on TikTok, like this amazing artist called Rubber. TikTok has been an amazing place for me to discover people and just hit them up. I did that on K1 with Bellah and Tamera [Foster] on a song called Options, which was playlisted on Radio 1.
"It also comes down to who’s free, because I like to work spontaneously. With Fred, he’s one of my oldest friends; he’s like an uncle to my son. When I was on his last album, it wasn’t an official ‘let’s collaborate’ – it was me in his kitchen getting on the mic. The other day, he came over to my house and just wanted to see my son. And then we ended up in the studio like we always do.”
Moreover, Kamille suggested the music industry tended to misunderstand how songwriters are wired as people.
“We just want to get fed, we want a nice lunch," she said. "Even a little thing, like getting per diems, which we are fighting for at the moment – that would mean so much. Why are we having to do such hard work in the studio and not know if the song is even going to make the cut, if it will do well or if we will be paid?
"There are so many unknowns, whereas everyone else gets paid for a day of work. These things would make songwriters work better. We just want to feel happy, we want to feel special, and we want to feel loved and we want to feel like you guys appreciate us when we come into the room. Treat us well and we will make the best hits.”
Subscribers can read the full interview with Kamille and her team here.
