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Peace & Rhythm is thrilled to be working for a fourth time with the multi-talented New York-based Joshua Camp. Some may know him from his years in Spike The Dog, Dirtball, One Ring Zero, Litvakus, or Chicha Libre, while others may have discovered him more recently with C.A.M.P.O.S. and/or Locobeach. Of course still more may not have heard of him yet, and it’s our firm belief this latest release can serve as an excellent introduction to the man and his music and should gain him some new fans. Throughout his career Joshua has shown a breadth of musical talents that is rare these days, from composition to singing, arrangement to multi-instrumental domination, engineering to production (video as well as audio), so in many ways it makes sense that he can be as captivating and dynamic as a one-man-band as he is in a group context. His latest project, C.A.M.P.O.S. — Shake Up the World: Live In The Studio, Volume 2, a continuation of the previously released Volume 1, is just that: a self-accompanied solo act tour de force, played live in the studio, a performance that highlights his multi-faceted skills and abilities to great effect. In this way Volume 2 continues the exciting precedent initiated with the first volume, and comprises a playist that adheres to what would be a “second set” in an actual live concert context. Joshua’s first record for Peace & Rhythm, Miracles & Criminals, was a far-ranging epic double album chock full of all kinds of musical influences, from folkloric and psychedelic cumbia to Cuban son, twisted disco to folky Americana, with touches of electro and synth pop thrown in for good measure. Shake Up the World: Live In The Studio takes that daring foundational vision and performs it as an experiential live album in two parts. But how exactly did this new work come about? As Joshua explains it:

"As a member of the band Chicha Libre, I was writing a lot of music demos, most of which ended up in the group’s rubbish bin. After years of writing these weird little tropical music sketches, I’d amassed close to 30 or so pieces that were just sitting on my hard drive. When the group went on hiatus I thought maybe I could find a home for one or two of these songs, if I was lucky. I sent off 31 tracks to Peace & Rhythm and to my amazement they wanted to release ALL of them on a deluxe double vinyl [Miracles & Criminals, 2016]! Now the wheels started to turn and I had to figure out how to perform this project live. After a fortuitous false start of a 5-piece band (which ultimately became Locobeach), I started to put together a solo live show, a hybrid of old and new technology. I felt this project could only work live with a strong visual / video component so I began teaching myself some basic video editing skills using public domain footage. These videos quickly took on a distinct style and lent themselves perfectly to the C.A.M.P.O.S. music.” 

As always, there are silver linings to dark times, especially if you’re an alchemist like Joshua. As the global pandemic closed in, he decided to get busy evolving and honing this miraculous and idiosyncratic entity called C.A.M.P.O.S. that he had created:

"Fast forward to our current lockdown era and I decided this was the perfect project to create a ‘live’ video series of one of my C.A.M.P.O.S. [double] sets. This is a culmination of a few years of tinkering and experimenting to meld video and audio together in a live solo setting, not to mention months of being cooped up in my music studio… I am pleased with the result and I hope you will be too!” 

The new album continues to reveal fresh elements and reward the listener with little aural treats upon repeated plays. While Miracles & Criminals was the foundational piece in Joshua’s journey as C.A.M.P.O.S., Shake Up the World: Live In The Studio, Volume 2 immediately drives home the sense that an evolution has occurred, sounding fuller, warmer, more organic, confident and dynamic, yet it is at its heart essentially the same because it all emanates from Joshua’s hand. For those familiar with the first album, you’ll love hearing your favorite songs reimagined, stretched and fleshed out into living, breathing performances. Just as in Volume 1, there are some “new” songs as well (which had been played out on stage in venues prior to lockdown, but were not a part of Miracles & Criminals). Of the five new tracks, "Rise Up Shapeshifters”, "The Eighth Door”, and "Cumbia Del Alpha Centauri" stand out as epic cosmic works that will no doubt become part of the C.A.M.P.O.S. classic songbook in the future. And like the first volume, there are some fantastic accompanying videos for the project. When you see them, you get a fly-on-the-wall peek at how the creative process ties into the performative act. The overall vibe feels like a bootleg suite of clandestine electro-tropical-psych-prog rock set pieces filmed in grandma’s attic during the last days of the cold war in Eastern Europe, made to inspire an underground rebel movement that never happened. 

credits

Released May 7, 2021 

Joshua Camp: lead and backing vocals, guitars, accordion, Hohner electravox, guiro, tambourine, organ, piano, keyboards, bass, drum programming, cassette tape recorder, synthesizer, mellotron, electronic and other special effects, samples, and loops. 

Sampled Congas performed by Neil Ochoa. 

Sampled Timbales performed by Karina Colis. 

All songs written by Joshua Douglas Camp, BMI, Calle Del Campos. 

copyright 2021