Meet Camilo Sanchez | Musician, Composer and Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Camilo Sanchez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Camilo, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
Life is too short to give up. I think we all have a mission on this planet. It doesn’t matter if you are an artist, a doctor or an accountant. We just need to follow our inner light. Nothing is written and never is to late to keep pushing our dreams, to keep going and learning new things.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a musician, songwriter and producer from Colombia, who is sometimes involved within the music industry working in strategy and advice for other artists, and also a freak and deep seeker of listening to new music almost every day of the week.

My artist path started very very young when I was living in Tunja, a small city in Colombia. I think I was six years years old when my parents gave me my first nylon guitar, and since that day, everything changed.

I remember that my mother gave me some guitar books to learn how to play in a simple way, and months after, she sent me to take guitar lessons with the guy who wrote those books. Can you imagine my happiness at that age ? That guy was my Hendrix, but playing traditional Colombian music such as cumbia, porro, bambuco, among others genres.

My joy would be greater when I received the news that I was accepted in a high school which had an agreement with the Institute of Culture and fine Arts, to study music in the afternoons after the classic mornings full of maths, science and history. So I had piano, guitar and flute lessons, corporal expression, theater, among others that helped me to evolve my skills and learning other things around music that I didn’t know at that moment. Then, I changed to a catholic school and basically I grew up there playing rock with my band mates during the week, and also playing guitar and singing at the church almost every Sunday. At that school, we had a private music room with electric guitars, bass, drums, congas and amplifiers, so many times I took advantage of having this room and just went there to play all instruments while I was listening to Carlos Santana, Soda Stereo, Depeche Mode and U2. I reckon this part in my life was very important. Being alone in that room, gave me encouragement to try to play the right notes, only guided by my ear because I had no knowledge in music theory to improvise.

After playing the electric guitar of my school, I was craving of having my own guitar, so my mother, ants, uncles and grandparents gave some money , kind a fundraiser to buy my first electric guitar, an Ibanez brand new, purple colour with a white pick-guard. I’m still have that guitar to remember how some things can change lives and how important it’s to make decisions and risks. Thanks to that, I decided to move to Bogota to study music professionally at the university, and here I am. Living in Los Angeles, after having the opportunity to travel around the world with music, touring with different artists and still learning, because never is late for that, and sometimes, we have to remind ourselves of that again.

Currently, I’m part of an artist collective called “Monitor”, and also, “Monokoi”, my solo project that I started in the loneliness of my room during the pandemic with my guitar, a synth, a laptop and one microphone. This is the first time singing my songs because usually the projects that I’ve been part, there was always a singer, so this is a different and a vulnerable way to show my music with other perspective.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
L.A. is a city that offer plenty of things to do. However, a must it will always be going to the beach early, breathe and read. Then, you should cross the city driving to Silverlake to have dinner in a Taiwanese restaurant called “Pine and Crane” and finish the night dancing around some funky and R&B vinyls in one of my favorite spots in Hollywood, “Good Times at Davey Wayne’s”.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My main shoutout is for my mother in Colombia. All my my efforts are dedicated to her, who has been an important support to me from the very beginning on this longe path of being an artist. I would also like to give two shoutouts more, the first one, to my uncle and almost second father Omar, for encourage me and give me timely advice in the midst of the storm and the second one to my dear friend Juan Galeano from Diamante Eléctrico, who opened his door to share music and a true friendship.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_camilo_sanchez/

Image Credits
Rick Perez Emiliano Caballero Hugo Rubiano