For the past ten years, Mexican Pop band, Camila has been topping charts, and surprising everyone with their original sounds. They’ve performed in venues around the world, and their albums have won a collective total of three Latin Grammy awards, three Billboard Awards, and Diamond and Platinum certifications. It’s safe to say that this band is here to stay, and will continue to inspire listeners from all walks of life for a long time yet.
At Latin é, we’ve been known to play Mientes on repeat, so we were psyched to get a chance to sit down with the band for some insider information. Frontrunners, Mario and Pablo, sat down with us to discuss their humble beginnings, their rise to fame, and what comes next.
It’s time to get excited, because 2015 is going to be a big year.
How did the two of you end up making music together?
Pablo: Music brought us from our respective home towns to Mexico City. After having recorded a solo album, produced and written songs for other artists, Mario met Samo (ex-member of the band) and decided to start a new project. I was studying Music Production and Engineering at a Berklee-associated school in Mexico City at that time. Mario wanted a guitar player as part of the project, and some friends in common told him about me. I auditioned and found out we had a great musical chemistry so I stayed in the band. And here we are, ten years later, living in LA and still enjoying making music together.
Who are your biggest inspirations?
Artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, The Beatles, John Mayer. We are quite the perfectionists in what we do, so we get inspired by people who are always pursuing the highest quality possible, writing great songs, and delivering creative and deep musical arrangements/productions.
Tell us a little about the making of your last album, Elypse?
After three years of extensive touring with our second album and the exit of a member of the band, we stopped for a moment to think and try to figure out what the next step would be. We spent a whole year writing songs and became really eager to bring a new sound to the band. We invited Roque Baños (film composer) to collaborate and he created some amazing orchestral arrangements which led us to travel to London and record a full orchestra and choir. We spent one year producing the album, most of it in our project studios in LA. Very talented people like Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails), Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) and musicians from Prince’s “New Power Generation” band recorded with us. We feel great about how people are accepting this album, which already earned us a Latin Grammy and also our first American Grammy Nomination.
What are each of your favorite song you’ve recorded?
Mario: “La vida entera.” It’s one of the most honest lyrics I’ve ever written. Musically, it has long instrumental passages which defy the concept of a radio-friendly song but I think that’s the beauty of music, it’s not supposed to be written under a strict formula and that’s what Elypse is all about.
Pablo: “Tú” It’s the most ambitious song we have recorded so far. It has very aggressive rock elements, combined with electronic and orchestral arrangements. It really sounds different to everything we’ve made so far and that’s what I enjoy about it.
You’ve been together and making music for almost ten years now – I’ll bet you know a lot about each other by now. Can you share some funny stories with us?
Pablo: Mario is a crazy guy, a couple days ago we were on a road trip while touring in Mexico when we got pulled over by a federal patrol. The police officer recognized us, so Mario asked if I could take a picture of them acting as if he was being arrested. Surprisingly the officer accepted, I took the picture, and it was hilarious (That only happens in Mexico!).
Did you set any New Year’s Resolutions? Do you have any big goals for your music this year?
We want to have a big tour in 2015 all over Latin America, USA and Spain. We would love to play in more european countries as well. We’d like our music to reach non-spanish-speaking audiences, as we think that music transcends the language and Elypse has some ingredients that could be appreciated in different countries even if they don’t understand the lyrics.
We have to know – what’s on the horizon for you in 2015? Any spoilers for us?
We are planning a US Tour for the summer. Most likely, we’ll make this tour together with our friend and great artist Marco Antonio Solis.
Do you have any messages for your fans?
We want to thank our fans for supporting us, some of them for quite a few years now! We have grown together and appreciate all the love and respect they show for us. Stay tuned for the tour, we hope to see you soon!
Thank you guys so much.
To keep up with Mario and Pablo, follow Camila on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.
