Q&A: Sofia Camara Is Preparing for a Summer of Music
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY GIGI KANG ☆
TORONTO-BASED RISING POP STAR SOFIA CAMARA—released her latest single “Girls Like You” on May 30, and it’s a great addition for your summer playlist.
It’s a shift away from Camara’s usual reflective ballads. “Girls Like You,” accompanied by easygoing visuals matching the song’s unworried sonic tone, is Camara’s take on a fun transition into the summer season. It’ll be perfect for Camara’s festival debuts at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 3 and Osheaga Festival in Montréal on August 1.
Following summer, Camara will head out on her first headline tour, The Healing Hearts Tour, in October to meet her listeners in Europe and the UK with new music.
“To make a little shift in someone’s life is all artists can ask for,” she says. “We want to make everyone feel heard and connected and safe. If I can make the crowd feel that way, then I’m more than happy.”
Read our full conversation with Camara below.
LUNA: “Girls Like You” is different from the ballads we’ve heard from you before. How did you decide on the new direction?
CAMARA: I was sitting in the room with Nathan Ferraro and Lowell, who are the two other writers that I wrote the song with, and it was actually Lowell’s idea. She was like, “I feel like we should do something different. Let’s pivot.” I was terrified. It was new for me. In the beginning when we wrote it, I actually wasn’t a fan of the song. I kind of forgot about it, then a month or two later, I re-listened to it and I was like, “Wait, this is actually really fun.” So kudos to them—they pushed me to do it.
LUNA: You’ve worked with them before. What about your collaboration works well?
CAMARA: When we wrote “Who Do I Call Now? (Hellbent),” it was strange how all the stars aligned. I hadn’t seen them in maybe a year and a half before we wrote that song, and then we just clicked. We sat in the room and it felt like everyone understood each other so well. Lowell would share an idea, Nate would be like, “Let’s just change this one word,” and I would change a melody or something. We all blended really well together. We always end up back in each other’s space because it’s really fun and natural.
They make it such a safe space. I feel like you get the best music when you know the room is a safe space. We can hang out and laugh and it’s not always that serious. I think the whole point of creating songs together is walking into a room and, if that day, you only get a storyline, you don’t get any vocals, that is a start. That’s how a lot of our songs happen. With “Girls Like You,” we had written the chorus and the verse. We didn’t have a pre-chorus, we didn’t have a second verse yet, and we didn’t have the bridge. It’s cool that we can do it piece by piece.
LUNA: You teased “Girls Like You” online and during live shows. Did that initial response have any influence on how you approached the release?
CAMARA: My idea was to bring it to the live show and see how people react. When you’re in person, it’s a whole different vibe. You see the crowds chanting and dancing and having fun—that’s the exact type of reaction you want for a song like this. I think the key to posting online and teasing songs is being genuine and honest. So if that means propping up your phone and dancing and singing out your car window, then that’s exactly the type of energy I wanted to have.
LUNA: The videos have that exact energy. In the lyric video and visualizer, it’s super laid back.
CAMARA: When you think about summertime, hanging out with your friends, and enjoying time with your girls, it’s always laid back. In the summer, I remember sitting in the car with all of my friends with the windows down, the wind blowing in your hair, and there isn’t a care in the world. There’s no destination. You’re just driving to drive around, and listening to music. When we were writing the song, we wanted to capture that emotion.
LUNA: What are you listening to this summer?
CAMARA: “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter. I also feel like there’s still so much time [for summer releases.] I’ve been listening to my songs (laughs). I’m wrapping them up so I’ve been locked into the world of finishing songs!
LUNA: Speaking of summer, you’re going to be playing Lollapalooza. How are you feeling about that?
CAMARA: It is so overwhelming. I try not to think about it so ahead of time because it’ll really make me anxious leading up to the show day. It’s so crazy to even be able to be there. It’s something that I feel like every artist dreams of doing. It’s really exciting.
LUNA: Are you hoping to catch anyone’s performance while you’re there?
CAMARA: I know that Sabrina Carpenter is going to be there. I’m on the same day as Gracie Abrams for Osheaga in Montréal. She is someone I really look up to right now. I’m excited to watch both those artists live.
LUNA: Are you much of a festival goer yourself?
CAMARA: I get really anxious in crowds! Even performing, I just worry. It makes me nervous as an artist because I’m like, “Wait, everyone, space out!” I always worry about safety issues. It’s so cool to bring such a big community of people together to listen to music, which is really beautiful in so many ways, but it makes me a little anxious!
LUNA: Earlier this year you announced your first headline tour. What are you planning that listeners can look forward to?
CAMARA: This is something I’ve thought about for years—my own headline tour. It’s definitely going to be a tour filled with a lot of new music. A lot of emotional but fun music that I’m really excited about. What I really want is an experience. I want people to walk in and, by the end, when they leave and go home, feel like they’ve shed some skin. Something they haven’t let go of; feel ready to move on from something; turn a leaf. I feel like every show I’ve done, it has changed me so much as a person. To make a little shift in someone’s life is all artists can ask for. We want to make everyone feel heard and connected and safe. If I can make the crowd feel that way, then I’m more than happy.
