Kama (Marco Caminati) was born in Italy in the 80’s and started his music career at the age of 17. From the beginning, his creativity has been influenced by house and tech house. His technical skills, the ability to communicate with the crowd and his diverse musical style have made him one of the most versatile Italian DJs. In the past 10 years, Kama has shared decks with a different top-level DJs such as John Digweed, Mendo, Tube & Berger, Claudio Coccoluto, Chus & Ceballos, Alex Neri, Tiria Weecone, Phil Weecone, Giorgia angiuli, Hector, Silvi Loto, Ryan Crosson, Ralph, Sossa, Rene and many others. He performed at such festivals as Ralph in Bikini, Sky Vodka festival, Onda Muster in countries like Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the USA. He’ll never forget his first concerts and nights in Cocoricò, Peter Pan, Echoes, and obviously he will never forget his first concert in Winter Miami Music Conference, Sankeys Ibiza, Pacha Ibiza, Zoo Project Ibiza, Cafe Mambo ibiza, Faust, Blend It Records label parties in Badaboum, Zig Zag, Rex Club (Paris), Ministry of sound in London and many other clubs in the USA. He’s a resident of Knostra (Ibiza), Exit Club, Stranomondo Agency and showcase No.Music.
How did you first get acquainted with electronic music?
I became interested in electronic music at 17. In fact, I was already very fond of drums and percussion, but at the age of 17 I tried to record such things with friends for fun, and it happened to be love at first sight.
I started going to very famous clubs on the Adriatic coast where I live and the passion grew more and more until I bought turntables and mixers and became a vinyl fanatic, yes vinyl, because when I started there was no other mixing method besides the use of vinyl, and today I miss «this ritual» more and more, because digital technology is much easier to work with for «DJs», and perhaps that is why this great abstract art, I mean music, became a little primitive, so to speak.
How did you first get into producing? Did you produce along with DJing or did one come first, then the other?
I started out as a DJ in Romagna clubs, had a lot of fun, and, thanks to some acquaintances, had the opportunity to play in different clubs that were very famous in Italy at that time. After spending a few years exclusively mixing records, I felt the need for production, I wanted to start making people dance by inserting the music that I had produced myself. I started studying things professionally, because each of us should take this work very seriously.
Everything went hand in hand — by night a DJ, by day a producer, I spent my time (and still do) by experimenting and composing music, in short, a beautiful occupation… I would almost call it a love story, because actually it is.
How would you describe the thrill of performing? How does it feel to know that you have power over the crowd on the dance floor and the ability to create a certain atmosphere?
As I explained above, knowing how to work as a DJ is an art, it takes a lot of «apprenticeship» to know how to lead a track from start to finish, and it’s all really fun when fantastic empathy arises between me and the audience. They come to hear me, and I feel their energy, I feel it, and it is the chemistry with the audience during DJing that makes me go forward every day and improve every day, because there is always something to learn.
Now you are a famous DJ and producer in Italy. What 3 achievements would you highlight during your entire career? What are you proud of?
To be honest, I realized that I got better when a major label like Elrow provided me with several releases and since then I’ve always been making releases with them. Another pleasure was to see my name in the most famous clubs of the world in Ibiza, and not only there. I really understood that I was growing and maturing, the last but not least release on my No.Music label was, well, you know what I’m talking about, it was «ABUSE». Undoubtedly this track gave me a lot of attention with millions of views, which made me perform more and more often.
How do you feel about the difference between old-school DJing, where everything was limited to vinyl, and modern DJing?
The advent of digital technology has facilitated many things such as the ease of finding records from any producer in any part of the world, and this has increased searches, and the number of records released weekly (perhaps too big). But all this undoubtedly results in losing quality. Today anyone who has a computer thinks they are able to create music, but I still firmly believe they are not.
There are many DJs now, perhaps too many, and what has changed is that now many «characters» consider themselves DJs just because they are «famous», but DJing is an art, and as any self-respecting art, it should not be so inclined towards fashion. Behind it there is a lot of study, a lot of sacrifices and, above all, a lot of passion.
Where do you think electronic music culture is heading?
Everything comes back, even music, and I think that the genre of house is real, it will always be my favorite, in which there is no fashion but only culture.
How would you describe the Italian electronic music underground? What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses?
I traveled a lot thanks to music and I had the opportunity to live and perform in fantastic places. In Italy, starting with radio and television, there is little culture and it’s absurd how in Italy you still go dancing to the music you listen to all the day on the radio. It’s really absurd. There are no discoveries or innovations, just ignorance.
There are many talented DJs in Italy, but unfortunately they don’t have the opportunity to perform because here a big name still means everything, stifling all those artists who would spit blood just to perform without payment. Unfortunately, they don’t grow their own resident DJs inside a club and this is very wrong because I think this is the core of the club culture.
How do you see the future of Italian electronic music and what will be your role in this future?
I am currently involved in several great projects, most notably my music label, which has its own showcase, a real party with important Italian residences and more, and we can’t wait to start again because we have a lot of new, very popular merchandising and our releases are starting to be appreciated more and more, and then Stranomondo Agency with Leandro, I think it’s a great band. We do fantastic things with the most famous Circo Nero as well as other really interesting formats. We are also very happy to work with him, we are growing very quickly, and, frankly, I owe him a lot too. Thank you, Bichero. I don’t think about the future, but I’m focused on every opportunity the present offers me, and to be honest, after this covid-19 I can’t wait to get back to performing in clubs around the world.
On which label would you be honored to release several of your releases?
I am currently preparing 5 singles that I will release this year. Labels? Well, of course this one — No.Music, others, unfortunately, I still can’t name them, but for the simple reason that I still don’t know;)
What are you working on now and what are your plans for this year?
I’m improving all of our merchandising, as I said before, I really care about it and we achieve great results also by going to very famous boutiques both in Italy and abroad, and we also decorate our showcase and we can’t wait to present you our new club show.
What are you especially looking forward to in the next few months?
After covid 19, I really can’t wait to get back on some journey, a source of inspiration and ideas that I can use in the studio then, translating those ideas into my music, and then, of course, a great dinner with many friends, which, unfortunately, I do not see due to this pandemic. I hope I will return to normal life, even if it’s going to be very difficult for me.
A few words from you for your fans and our readers
Friends and readers, you all know about this sad period, sad to us and the entire public entertainment sector. It cut our wings at such a crucial moment that it is difficult to stay positive, but I am sure that with time and with the proper vaccines, we should have a glimmer of confidence, I’m waiting for you at the console to dance with me because I can’t wait to destroy the dance floor and I can swear it will be epic.
