Enrique Campos – Perdí

By starrymag | June 29, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) That’s a question that’s yet to be answered. I’m still in the search. I started as a tango singer, very traditional in terms of sound. I continue that part of my persona when I am live on a show, but in terms of my sound – now that I started writing my own songs – I started playing with other sounds that I like. I think it’s a process that many artists go through before they become public. Not that I think I’m famous or anything, but now I’m starting to deal with other music that I like, getting together with people that have different backgrounds and I am trying to do the best to merge them to create a sound of my own.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I was raised in a family with no specific musical background. I was never part of musical gatherings with my parents or grandparents. I never heard music as a child that stuck with me or anything like that. It was something that just came to me. I always loved acting since I was very young and I started singing because it was like acting. My interest with music had to do with stage presence. I think I am more of a performer than a singer. I am starting now to work more on my musical skills, composing my own songs and knowing more about music and harmonies and stuff like that. My interest started with Michael Jackson, Prince and David Bowie. I was also very much a fan of many Argentinian singers that have that presence. In black and white pictures everyone was sort of made up with a lot of makeup so that their expression could be very visual. When cinema started that technique was so new that everything had to be exaggerated. I love that sort of old Hollywood thing that had to deal with stage mostly and vaudeville and that exaggeration. I love the performance. There are a couple of singers like Raphael from Spain and Sandro from Argentina. They are both very theatrical in their singing.

 

Q) Your new song “Perdi” was created and shot during this time. What was the inspiration behind it?

 

A) There was one song that came out before “Perdi” called “Indiferente.” It was a song that I recorded in Mexico with a Mexican producer called Camilo Lara. I loved that new sound. I listen to a lot of cumbia from Argentina and Latin America throughout my life. There is a new wave that has an urban sound. After that, I went to see a young producer in Argentina and we started coming up with ideas on how to mix our ways of working. I went to the studio knowing the bridge and how the verses would go. So, this guy started working on a beat and I started rapping over that. In one day, we had almost the whole song down. I liked that experience and the sound. I listened to a lot of that, but I had never worked in that sort of way. I liked working with someone who was from that environment. I had the music and the lyrics, but we added some parts that I wrote at the studio the only day we recorded just before all of this occurred. So, it was very nice to experiment. I would like very much to work in that sense again. At the same time, we had to finish the song from our homes, without being in the same room. So, I recorded some vocals and the producer mixed them with what we had from our one and only day at the studio. It was quite strange, but I think it worked, given the circumstances, we did a nice job in terms of what we had.

 

Q) What made you decide to shoot the video on an iPhone rather than wait to do a big budget production?

 

A) There were a couple of factors involved. Due to the pandemic, Argentina had a strict lockdown. It took a long time to realize the curve wasn’t flattening so there was no schedule to plan with. I had to shoot this video because it wouldn’t be right to release a video for a song that would be out three months old. I wanted to show the reality in which we were living its layers. You wake up, you check your phone and then the last thing you do is check your phone again and turn off the light. Our new reality is being alone at home. So, it’s about me being alone and how that fits into this sort of matrix we are all leaving in.

 

Q) What kind of fan response have you received to the song?

 

A) It’s a mix. There’s a lot of people that question that I am going too far away from tango and that traditional sound. I understand that. But there are also other people that like it. It’s much more of a happy sound, in a sense. People tell me “I love that it’s so much you. And that has nothing to do with tango. It’s so modern,” while others tell me “it´s nice, but I liked more what you were doing before.” I’ve written poetry since I was a young child, and every time I release a new book there’s that same sort of thing. It’s part of the deal.

 

Q) How much do you contribute to the production of your music?

 

A) I try to be as much involved as I can. I am learning to find and express how I want things to sound. And not just musically, I want it to be like that in terms of the presentation as well. It is very, very important for me. Now that the music is written by me, I am very focused so that the final product is close to how I wanted it to sound. When I listen to it, I can tell if it sounds good to me and if it doesn’t. I am also learning a lot as I go, and I like learning about the technical aspects of recording as well.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song?

 

A) Oh, with many people! I am working on six or seven songs with different people. Compared to how I usually write, by myself, I really like collaborating and writing with other people. The more collaborations I do, the better. I’m working with people on music that is sort of closer to tango, and also with people that make much more commercial music. I’m working with a new wave of people, which I love. I’m learning at this point and I think that’s really good.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of your music?

 

A) I would like to tell them to enjoy the ride. If you know me and you liked what I’ve done before, great! If you don’t like what I’m doing now, let me get somewhere and then judge me, but not just now. We cannot tour at the moment, but there is a lot of stuff on social platforms. If you like someone that isn’t that popular or famous, great, if not, try once in a while to give a chance to somebody you don’t know. It will give you a new perspective on life and that is what art is about.