“It is a constant and newfound and likely lifelong journey to stay in touch with myself”
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Camille Schmidt has quickly carved out a space for herself in the indie-folk world with her raw, introspective songwriting. Her debut EP, Good Person, released in June last year, introduced her deeply personal storytelling, exploring themes of shame and perfectionism with an acoustic, intimate sound.
Since then, Schmidt has expanded her sonic palette, embracing elements of punk and synth-pop on her excellent debut full-length album, Nude #9, which arrived last month.
In her interview for TPW, Camille reflects on the shift in her musical style, the personal experiences that shaped Nude #9, the challenges of navigating vulnerability in songwriting, the pitfalls about writing about people you know, and the awkward conversations that follow.
The themes on Nude #9 span everything from queer identity to mental health and familial relationships. How did you navigate balancing such deeply personal topics without feeling overwhelmed or overly exposed in the process?
Oh yeah yeah great question. I felt more exposed when I originally wrote the songs, when the people close to me were hearing some of my thoughts and experiences for the first time. That felt scary. But the experiences themselves, most of them I had processed pretty fully before writing about them. And I will say that the songs are, yes, very personal, but there was a lot that I intentionally did not include: verses I took out, songs I didn’t put on the album because they were too personal to have out in the world.
The Predatory Wasp 