Featuring 11 songs written during the Todo Cambió album tour, the trio deals with love from various different approaches. For starters, they decided not to feature any guest artists: "Having guest artists on the album only works if the initiative comes from a place of honesty and partnership, not when it's just pure marketing. This time it really didn't happen," says Mario Domm who had the idea to lay down Camila's sound as a band, and as a group of friends that have improved their communication and partnership on the stage throughout the years.
Recorded mostly in Mexico (at Mamita Studio) by Mario Domm, Dejarte de Amar features the support of the orchestra that works with Steven Angeles for Peter Mokran (Lady Ga Ga, Christina Aguilera, Michael Jackson) and Bernie Grundman (U2, Frank Sinatra, Snoop Dogg). Mario shares the following regarding the musicians that participate in the album: "I believe in the concept of finding one's own sound through the search of the proper elements; hence we why decided to work with the musicians that joined us on tour, so as to reaffirm Camila's sound with what I believe to be most important, its own identity. During the tour we came up with the base for a lot of these songs, working on them during sound checks and free moments, so it was only natural that we continue our path together until the end."
When it comes to the general mood of the album, it is clear that the theme of illusion and disillusionment with love, due to absence or presence, inundates the lyrics, in turn paying homage to loneliness. "This album talks about the loneliness of someone who faces twenty-thousand people each night, but also that of a more spiritual kind, that which causes the typical optical illusions in this medium," explains Mario. "Songs like 'Maya' which means 'illusion,' are inspired by the relinquishing of the material and the eternal spiritual search. On the other end, 'Dejarte de Amar,' is more aggressive and better represents the album as a whole; which is why they have the same title. It's about having to fight to forget a person, but pays tribute to a love without future."
Composed mostly in hotel rooms and airports, Dejarte de Amar features a selection made from over thirty songs -nine of them written by Mario Domm (with help from Mónica Vélez, Paulyna Carraz and Xuan Long on some of the lyrics) and two more partners, Samo and Pablo. "Music is harmony and friendship, and since those elements grew between us during the tour, we were interested in showing this balance of personalities with a heavier rock spirit," says Mario.
Additionally, Pablo talks of his writing contributions with the track Me Voy: "It's a song I wrote while still in music school. I presented it as part of my final project on my Production class, with English lyrics. Some time later, Mario and Samo listened to it and they loved it, so I decided to write the lyrics in Spanish, which was a total challenge. In the end, it turned out to be very introspective and honest."
Samo composed ¿De Qué Me Sirve la Vida? a painful piece written just before boarding a plane in Miami. "Something at that moment moved me to write it, as if it was being dictated to me. From the first line to the last, I couldn't avoid crying. The melody and the lyrics are simple and describe exactly what I was living at that moment."
"Mientes", the first single
Mientes is a track written on January 10, 2009, a day when disillusion was turned into song. It is important for Camila because it demonstrates its growth after four years on the stage, the same as the maturity of a writer/producer that learns to weave with provocations and complaints with more subtlety. In other words, sound and lyrics-wise Mientes suggests a more "dramatic, powerful, intense, autobiographical and real" kind of Pop; not without speaking about love or turning its back on sweetness, it now knows how to reflect deeper, supported by a full orchestra and heavier sounds.
This single is the tip of the spear of a project that grew naturally, away from superficial arrangements. In the band's words, it expresses a personal goal that needed to be expressed: "As musicians, we have a mission… Seeing the kind of mature pieces we have accomplished, we are sure we can cause people to feel something different… we are like missionaries that go from place to place, in the middle of chaos, sharing experiences," Mario points out.
On his end, Pablo talks amply about the band's sound "I think that Pop is always associated with plastic, cheesy, disposable music. What we are looking to do in Camila is to make songs that come from a deep place and have quality, with good arrangements. For this, we brought in influences ranging from Soul to Rock. Also, what we experienced during the tour wasn't always love and happiness. There is pain and nostalgia in the album. We believe that maybe these are universal emotions that are more intense than love in its self. The songs on this album show that B side that was just beginning to appear in the first one".
About Camila
Founded by multiple award-winning composer and producer Mario Domm (Torreón Coahuila), Camila was born one day while recording Reyli's first album when Samo (Veracruz) was called in to do the back-ups. When tested, his timbre, power and tuning impressed Mario so much that he invited him to work in a new ensemble where their voices would compliment each other. "I heard Salmo through the speakers and they were booming because of his vocal power," remembers Mario.
Having just one piano, they decided to add a guitar. The first to come to auditions was Pablo Hurtado (San Luis PotosÃ). "With just one year left to graduate, I received a call from Mario inviting me to an audition in his studio," says Pablo. "I went to the studio and there I met Mario and Samo. The sang 'Abrázame' with just the guitar and then told me, 'OK, now you play, join us." We went at a number of songs for a few hours, and two days later they called me and invited me to be part of the project, as a fellow band member".
The rest of the story would write itself live, backing up compositions for a first album that would go on to win multiple awards, Todo Cambió. Parallel to this and in a curious way, Camila's name would fortunately come up to be filled with meaning, thanks to its alliance to Sony Music and Westwood Talent. As such, with the thought of doing 30 concerts in the Mexican Republic during 2007, Camila did not imagine that the success of its singles Abrázame, Coleccionista de Canciones and Todo Cambió would take them to more than 300 performances over the course of two years. "To arrive at a place where people don't know your face, but they know your songs, is a privilege; as well as playing twice at the Metropolitan and the Auditorio Nacional, to sold out crowds in less than two months," says Mario.
Without a doubt, the formula to this trio is how well they compliment each other: "I admire Mario a lot for his way of writing songs, for his perfectionism when he produces and how attentive he is to everything," explains Pablo. "I think he is a genius. Samo is a virtuoso singer with amazing feeling. Despite not knowing music theory, he has the intuition and the ear that allow him to create incredible harmonies. He is very creative and has a huge vocal range."
Having experiences in the Nokia theaters in New York and Los Angeles, and the Coliseo in Puerto Rico, all over Central America and at the Barquisimeto, in Venezuela (where they packed 100 thousand people), in multiple forums in Colombia, at the Ferro and the Gran Rex in Argentina, and finally at the Viña del Mar Festival in Chile, Camila never dreamed of a better closing to their cycle: "We took home the two Antorchas and the Gaviota! We were supposed to perform three songs and ended up doing nine," they recall.
Keeping in line with the title of their song, Todo Cambió, life changed for Camila during their inaugural tour. This is how Pablo remembers it: "I went from a sedentary life to seeing myself involved in a tornado of activities and emotions. I traveled more than I had traveled in my entire life. I have learned so much. Now I enjoy this wonderful opportunity to make music with talented people and I have the luxury to live doing what I love most."
Camila Band Members
Mario Domm
Having total consciousness of his mission in life, this composer and producer knows how to always invite reflection on love from innovative points of view. This is what Kalimba, Reyli, Alejandra Guzmán, Paulina Rubio, Alejandro Fernández and Thalia believe, having contracted him as musical creative on numerous recordings. In the same way, working on these and other projects, like Sin Bandera, Domm has become one of the most prominent producers in Mexico, something that he particularly highlights in Camila.
Having the philosophy of not abusing technological resources for the sake of believing that a song pretty much births itself, and that being a good producer means being able to tell that fine line between both worlds, Mario says, "The protagonists of each album should be the composers and the singers, not the producers." This idea has made him winner of the following awards: Six SACM (Song Most Played on the Radio) Awards for different compositions written for Alejandra Guzmán, Kalimba and Camila; two Billboard awards; three Lo Nuestro awards; five GRAMMY nominations in four different categories (engineer, producer, composer, and musician); four MTV awards and five ASCAP awards for the Most Played Latin Pop Song on US Radio.
Samo
Choir member at a church from the time he was five-years-old, Samo saw how each Sunday that space of Veracruz transformed into his very own Auditorio Nacional. Pushed by his parents and siblings, he later aimed to become an opera singer, and finally was recognized as one of the 100 Best Voices of Mexico in a talent contest. As such he arrived in DF. He was back-up singer for artists like Reyli, which he met Mario Domm through. Presently he is vocal figure and he is evolving as a composer:
"My career as an author is on the rise," he explains, "the first tracks I have ever coauthored have been professionally recorder with Camila, yet there are other singers that are recording my songs. The fact that Ednita Nazario in Puerto Rico and the United States; and Diego Schoening in Mexico selected tracks that I wrote, not only for the repertoire of each of their latest albums, but also that as first singles, they have had a favorable response from the public, gives me the clear proof that I am doing things right. Also, the fact that Gloria Trevi, Christian Chávez and Yuri worked with me to choose songs written by me is another indication that I have all the talent to become a more well rounded artist for the public.
Pablo Hurtado
A graduated producer and audio engineer from the Fermatta School of Music, Pablo was born in San Luis PotosÃ, at the heart of a musical family. He started playing the piano at age five. His father introduced him to the guitar during adolescence and thanks to The Beatles, Brahms and Andrés Segovia, he learned the love for sound quality. He went on to have cover bands and play in musical theater. At age 21, in dire circumstances, he arrived at DF to study his bachelor degree, which he finished with a scholarship for his high achievements. This is how he describes his role in Camila:
"Mi role within Camila is more than just 'the guitarist'. I make all the arrangements for the acoustic and electric guitars on all the albums, working as co-producer alongside Mario Domm. Additionally, I am co-author or co-composer on some songs. On the personal end, my partners tell me I am the balance of the group".
