The breakthrough London-based dance vocalist, songwriter and DJ speaks about her Grammy-nominated work, creating the track “Ashes” in front of a live audience at ADE 2024, and building both community and confidence as an artist.
Welcome to Sound Advice, the series spotlighting artists’ creative process and their SoundCloud journey. We’ll get the inside knowledge straight from the source on how musicians, producers and creatives are leaning into everything SoundCloud offers to elevate their sound, get heard and catapult their careers. Sound Advice is now available in audio format on the SoundCloud Stories profile.
Camden Cox is a vocalist, songwriter and DJ based in London. Camden has credits on some of the biggest dance hits of the last couple of years, including “Go Back” by John Summit, Sub Focus and Julia Church, and “Escape” by Kaskade and deadmau5 (featuring HAYLA), which netted Camden a Grammy nomination. She’s also dropped vocals for Eli and Fur, Dombresky, Sonny Fodera and many more, as well as her own solo tracks — the most recent of which, “Ashes,” was written in a live session with SoundCloud at the 2024 Amsterdam Dance Event. Camden’s gearing up for a big year, with new features for Gorgon City and KREAM. We talked to her about using SoundCloud to build her career and make connections, including using the private playlist feature to organize demos and pitch collaborations with other artists. We also get into the formative influences that got her into dance music specifically, and we learn more about how she got her foot in the door with some of electronic dance music’s biggest names.
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE FEATURING CAMDEN COX
LISTEN TO “ASHES” BY CAMDEN COX
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE
- Camden Cox joins us on Sound Advice from her home in London. Although winter feels far from the beaches and terraces of her packed summertime tour schedule, she tells us how she finds this cozy downtime fruitful and exciting.
- We hear about how Camden fell in love with music through each of her parents. Her childhood was an education in performance and creation, which inspired her own artistic journey.
- Camden tells us how, although she’s a writer first, it was DJing that unlocked a new level of music for her. As an early self-described “technophobe,” she came to understand how to write better electronic music through DJing, learning that every set is a lesson.
- We speak with Camden about her beginnings on SoundCloud, and how the platform allowed her to share her music with other artists. Hosting her own, early music on SoundCloud opened up new worlds of connection and collaboration; going from solo writer to feature vocalist, then onto writing for major artists who, in turn, discovered her through the platform.
- Camden imparts advice for how writers, producers and vocalists can read the room during session work, and how having the right attitude always pays off. And for those keen to focus on dance music? It’s all about knowing the culture inside-out — be an obsessed fan first, and artist second.
- We hear the story of how Camden worked on Kx5’s track, “Escape,” which earned her a Grammy nomination. Camden tells us about the poignant lyrical inspiration for “Escape” and her love of deadmau5 and Kaskade.
- Camden tells us about her latest track, “Ashes,” and recalls the experience of creating it with SoundCloud at Amsterdam Dance Event 2024. In front of a live audience, with producer Andy Seldrake, Camden co-wrote and sang “Ashes” from scratch. We hear about the process of creating this “hopeful song from a dark place,” and the advice she’d give to other artists about on-the-fly music-making.
- Having grown in her artistry through SoundCloud — from a hopeful amateur to a Grammy-nominated multi-hyphenate — Camden breaks down how the platform amps up her current work flow, including how custom private playlists help her pitch to potential collaborators.
- Reflecting on her journey, Camden shares tips for how to best use SoundCloud to find kindred spirits within music communities. Seeing the platform as a connective tissue, Camden says, is key to building confidence and not being precious about letting your music out into the world.
LINKS AND EXTRAS
Follow Camden Cox’s journey on SoundCloud.
Press play on Camden Cox’s latest solo track, “Ashes.”
Follow HAYLA, Oden & Fatzo and Vintage Culture, all of whom have collaborated with Camden Cox.
Hit play on John Summit and HAYLA’s “Where You Are,” which Camden Cox co-wrote.
Go back to where it all began with Camden Cox’s first-ever track on SoundCloud, “Not The One.”
Listen to Camden Cox’s Grammy-nominated collaboration with Kx5 (Kaskade and deadmau5) and HAYLA, “Escape.”
Check out Camden Cox’s track, “Gold.”
Tap in with Patrick Topping, another artist Camden Cox met through SoundCloud.
Explore some of Camden Cox’s favorite dance tracks, by Olive, deadmau5 and Sonique.
Discover the latest electronic music on SoundCloud on the Buzzing playlist.
Never miss an episode and follow the official Sound Advice playlist on SoundCloud.
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF SOUNDCLOUD
- Learn more about using DMs to connect with fellow artists and potential collaborators.
- Learn more about how to make a custom playlist on SoundCloud.
- Learn more about unlimited uploads, available with an Artist Pro subscription.
- Learn more unlocking access to unlimited distribution, available with Artist Pro.
- Learn more about getting heard with SoundCloud’s updated algorithm, available to Artist and Artist Pro subscribers.
To discover additional features a SoundCloud Artist or Artist Pro subscription offers, visit here. To catch up on past installments of Sound Advice and make sure you don’t miss out on future episodes, visit here.
CREDITS Host: Vivian Host, Executive Producer: Mike Spinella, Producer: KC Orcutt, Audio Engineer: David “DibS” Shackney, Coordinator: Trevor McGee, Editorial Associate: Lauren Martin
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