We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Camthe1. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with CAMTHE1 below.
CAMTHE1, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I grew up playing the piano starting at the age of 3, so music has always had a huge role in my life ever since I could remember. At an early age I explored my creativity by writing original compositions at the piano, while also fully notating the pieces. I’d say this developed my discipline as an artist, and it’s something I carry with me to this day. Music just always came natural for me, so it was a gradual process over many years transitioning from being a classically trained pianist to the multi-genre music producer that I am today.
I’ve always been inspired by my experiences and surroundings, so that always has a presence in my art. The most defining moments in my musical journey have been from working with live musicians, and receiving feedback and learning new perspectives. This has greatly shaped my outlook, forcing me out of my comfort zone to learn new things. I believe that in order to grow you have to be challenged and at times that may be uncomfortable.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m classically trained at the piano and have been writing and playing music for over 25 years. I’ve also worked in music education for 10 years now. My sound combines my classical roots with hip-hop, R&B, and house influences. While I’ve done music my entire life, I started my own production brand CAMTHE1 in 2023 where I write instrumentals for other artists and release my own music. This year I’ve started to develop my commercial catalog with the release of three singles, with many songs on the way next year too.
What sets me apart is my classical training at the piano, it’s the backbone for what I do. When I create instrumentals, 90% of the time I’m playing in sounds from a MIDI keyboard. I often do this with percussion sounds too, as it feels most authentic to my creative process. If I didn’t have that training, I definitely wouldn’t be able to navigate as quickly on the creative side of things as I do.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
My journey in music stems from a skill-based approach, and looking back I wish I knew more about the business side sooner. I think every artist should have a solid understanding of lease/exclusive agreements, music licensing and registration, and a basic understanding of contracts and agreements. There are so many avenues someone can take in music, so fully knowing your options to know what fits best is vital.
I tell everyone with what I do it’s 50% music and 50% business. I could write the most incredible song, but if it’s not licensed properly or a bad contract is included, it can spiral to be a bad situation quickly. So taking the time to understand the business side in music will pay off dividends further down the road.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My goal is to continue writing music and working with other artists and producers. Even though I’ve been doing music for my entire life, I feel like I’m at the tip of the iceberg for what I can accomplish. It’s an ever-evolving process, and I learn more and more about myself along the way. Moreover, it’s just exciting and highly motivating as I continue with it each day. I also want to show others that if you work hard at something and remain focused, you can accomplish anything in life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camthe1music/
- Twitter: https://x.com/camthe1music?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CamThe1
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/camthe1music
- Other: Beatstars: https://www.beatstars.com/camthe1music
