Naked frontman Camu has ended his 8 year hiatus with the brand new single "Empire State Of Sound" and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the track. Here is the story:
I wrote & recorded the first version of Empire State Of Sound 7 years ago while I was living in East Village New York after my band Naked from Finland had broken up after our second US tour. At that point the only thing I had to my name was my guitar and I decided to write the best song I could in that moment. The song is not only a celebration of the good times I've had in New York, but a shout out, to the energy, motivation & answers those city streets gave me during dark, unforgettable & trying times. For me, New York will forever hold a very special place in my heart. It is where I found myself, the love of my life & some of the best friends & experiences that I will cherish forever, not to mention I've recorded a lot of music there & it is the first place I was able to explore & express different sides of my music style. Empire State Of Sound is a window to my NYC experience & my very own NYC anthem. My ode to NYC.
Fast forward to a few months ago, I suddenly started rearranging the song in Hawaii, out of the blue I sent it to the guys in my old band NAKED, because life is too short and I felt it was time to share my music again. The final version of the song was actually recorded by us in 4 different countries simultaneously. Voila. Empire State Of Sound.
With the video, I wanted to create something personal & authentic, rather than your generic video of a bunch dudes playing on top of a building� I lived in NYC & I walked those streets every single day for years, so I know it. I know the street hustlers, the deli owners, the restaurant workers, bartenders etc, & they all know me! There's even a shot in the video of a street hustler I used to give money too every day, it wasn't planned & it was epic! The video was purposely shot with a bunch of cuts to really emphasize the fast & ever changing pace of the city. Everything in the video is of my hood & old stomping grounds, plus a few quintessential NYC spots in the area. I actually directed the video & a friend of mine, Kevin Vonesper filmed it for me. I had two other photographers lined up to actually meet me in NYC and shoot the video originally but they both fell through on the same day haha. Kevin and I did some NYC hustling and did the whole thing in 2 hours & I added in a couple extra takes then edited the whole thing together on my laptop in Hawaii. It was really awesome to see the whole thing come together, it was the first video I directed & edited.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself right here!
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