Exclusive Interview with Cam Ezell

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Artist Spotlight: Cam Ezell

Sonically, “Game of Roulette” leans into big, funky textures that give a subtle nod to the spectacle of Las Vegas. Listeners will experience that sense of flash and chance in both the instrumentation and the lyrics. The production balances groove with restraint, mirroring the push and pull at the heart of the song: the thrill of the bet, the risk of staying in the game, and the tension between control and chaos.

Our conversation with Cam Ezell takes us inside the mind of a creative powerhouse — and what continues to inspire them.

PapersPlanes: Where do you find inspiration for your lyrics and melodies?

Cam Ezell: I use my personal experiences as a starting point and then put a more relatable spin on it to become lyrics. Lyrics typically come first for me. Then, I head to the piano and plunk out keys to come up with a melody. This takes a lot of trial and error, but I know right away when I’ve found the right melody for the lyrics.

PapersPlanes: How do you handle writer’s block or creative slumps?
 
Cam Ezell: I accept that I don’t have any ideas at the moment, and I don’t try to force anything. I go about life and eventually something pops into my head.

PapersPlanes: What comes first for you: the music or the lyrics?

Cam EzellThe lyrics typically always come first. I am constantly thinking of ideas or lines and writing them in my Notes app on my phone. 

PapersPlanes: Do you ever revisit old songs to rework or find inspiration?
 
Cam Ezell: Yes, most of my songs stem from lines or ideas that I’ve written down that I fuse together to create more powerful lyrics or a stronger story for the song. However, I try not to dwell too long on the lyrics because overworked lyrics are never as good. 

PapersPlanes: How do you typically come up with ideas for new songs or projects?
 
Cam EzellThe majority of my ideas stem from personal experiences. 

PapersPlanes: What inspires your creative process, and what sparks your imagination?
 
Came Ezell: I use my personal experiences as a starting point and then put a more relatable spin on it to become lyrics. Lyrics typically come first for me. Then, I head to the piano and plunk out keys to come up with a melody. This takes a lot of trial and error, but I know right away when I’ve found the right melody for the lyrics.

PapersPlanes: Do you have a favourite method or technique for generating ideas, such as freewriting or brainstorming?
 
Cam Ezell: I am constantly jotting down ideas on my phone. I then have a big list of thoughts to pull from when I am ready to compile complete lyrics. My best ideas usually come to me relatively quickly, and so it doesn’t take long for me to write a song. When I have to brainstorm to come up with lyrics, I am typically not as happy with the result.

PapersPlanes: How do you approach combining different genres, styles, or influences in your music?

Cam Ezell: As a new artist, I am currently exploring that and having fun working with different sounds and chord progressions to blend pop/rock and R&B.
 
PapersPlanes: What personal qualities do you think are most important for a musician to have?
 
Cam Ezell: Patience, determination, consistency, and a true passion. The industry does not always provide immediate gratification, so you have to love what you do and keep pushing forward.

PapersPlanes: How do you continue to improve your musical skills and knowledge?
 
Cam Ezell: I go to industry networking events to learn about others’ experiences, and I continue to learn a lot from the producers and sound engineers that I collaborate with.
 

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Ase Odin celebrates community and culture with his single “We Got This”

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Ase Odin’s is an artist from Nigeria whose track “We Got This” is an upbeat song that celebrates the power of culture, coming together, community and support. All of these aspects have one unifying factor: the Seattle Seahawks. The track “We Got This” celebrates the power of community amongst the fans and the players.

The track “We Got This” has features from THEO MA1 and Gravelly who bring hip-hop verses to the afrobeats inspired track. The song combines multiple musical styles, reflecting Ase’s wide range of musical knowledge. The communal atmosphere of “We Got This” is strong. The music video was shot at Lumen Field, the stadium where the Seahawks play.

“While we were shooting the video, people walked up to us and wanted to be a part of it. We embraced this fully since the song was about the community amongst the fans and we enjoyed talking with them about the team and the comradery amongst everyone.” he said.

Ase Odin has been playing music his whole life with his earliest memories of it dating back to watching his Dad practice. As the years went on, Ase found himself still interested in music, however, schooling in Washington state took priority. The music of Nigeria remained in him and the shutdown of COVID finally allowed him to find the time to dive back into it.

“Nigerian music is my heritage and where I learned the fundamentals of music. Back then, we made instruments out of whatever we could but the music was still in them. The beat and the notes would still come from them. Now, I use regular instruments but the cultural foundation of where I came from is still within me. The emotional weight of the music that was still there years ago is still with me today.” he said.

The communal aspect of music is the core for Ase. His music is community centric and conversational. He wants the emotion he puts into it to be felt by listeners and evoke an emotional response. With this, there is exchange and conversation. Ase achieves this through the purposeful arrangement of the harmonies and the chords.

“When they hear the music, I want them to have clarity. I want it to be clear that I’m making music to be able to relate to them.” he said.

This relatability aspect will be enhanced even more with the music Ase has coming this year. He plans to discuss the things people are going through across the world such as wars and social injustices but also discuss the love and happiness that still exists too. By tackling each of these topics through different musical genres, he hopes the emotional intensity is felt by the listeners.

“I’m planning to do love ballads, reggae, rock, hip-hop and of course afrobeats. The storytelling, melodies and rhythm will always reflect our daily lives. I want people to know ‘You are not alone. We are all going through this.’ I also want people to share their life experiences with me. The energy and movement of shared experiences is going to be prevalent in all the music.” he said.

The title “We Got This” is a reflection of everything Ase Odin believes in musically and morally. The community based atmosphere runs throughout the whole song and will continue to run through all his music. By connecting and uniting people through his music, Ase will continue to converse and communicate with listeners through the music in a variety of ways.

You can see more of Ase Odin’s community based music by keeping up with him on these platforms.

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok  | Facebook

The Starlight PR Team thanks Ase Odin for taking the time to speak with us.

“We Got This” on Spotify

 

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