By Moroccan DJ and producer Kamil Ghaouti continues to prove he’s one to watch with two new tracks out this month. Both released on his Kameleon Records label, ‘Public Demand’ is a fresh tech-house cut fully loaded with dancefloor bounce, old school influences and future-facing sonics. ‘Chasing Stars’, meanwhile, is a more peaktime party monster where driving beats and euphoric highs contrast with ethereal vocals and lullaby-like dips. Both reflect the chameleon nature of Ghaouti’s musical style.
Genre Explorer
Impressively, at just 24 years old Kamil Ghaouti has already chalked up nearly a decade of experience in dance music. A genre explorer, he began making music at 15. Four years later, his journey accelerated with the release of ‘Magnets’ on Lost Frequencies’ record label Found Frequencies, under Armin Van Buuren’s Armada Music. Since then, he’s enjoyed a string of releases on Protocol Recordings, KnightVision under Warner Music Benelux, Zero Cool, Strange Fruits, Scorpio Music and more. His 2022 remix of ‘Émotif’ for French rapper PLK amassed over 20 million streams, soaring to the top of the charts in over 70 countries.
Blurring the Lines
With ‘Public Demand’ and ‘Chasing Stars’, Kamil Ghaouti once again showcases his knack for crafting tracks that blur the lines between the past, present and future of electronic music. We caught up with the LA-based artist to find out more…
How do you navigate the diverse landscapes of the various labels you’ve released music on throughout your musical journey?
I love dance music in all of its aspects and don’t want to limit myself to one specific sub-genre, which is why I’ve worked with so many different labels. For example, Protocol was my dream label back when I was 16 and making only progressive house. The track I ended up releasing there years later was a future house track, which taught me to always do what I wanted creatively and think less about what the labels want to hear and more about what I want to put out.
Releasing on a Warner sub-label was also a big deal for me back then, considering I was 18 and didn’t have many label releases yet. ‘One More Night’, the single I released on there, is a mellow pop song that I had a lot of fun making as I’d never gone this pop before. I don’t think it contributed that much to my growth as an artist in terms of numbers but it did give me more confidence to approach other big labels afterwards.
Tell us more about your collaboration with French rapper PLK…
This was a very important project to me as PLK has been one of my favourite artists for years now. I had no idea the remix was going to become an official release with him on it when I made it. A friend asked me to remix ‘Émotif’ one day as a challenge. I did it that same night in less than 30 minutes, just for him initially. Then I sent it to PLK and his team a few months later after it did well on Tiktok and it ended up being my biggest release to date.
It garnered over 20 million streams and charted in over 70 countries. How has this achievement impacted your approach to future projects and collaborations?
Nothing really changed after the success of the remix in terms of how I approach new projects and the people I work with but I definitely had a lot more people wanting to work with me, especially on remixes. I did feel a little pressure knowing there were a bunch of people waiting on new music from me and probably expecting something in the style of ‘Émotif’, which isn’t something I do often. I’m still very much open to collaborations though, as long as I love the music.
What do you believe are the universal elements in your sound that resonate with listeners worldwide?
I grew up mainly on pop music so without necessarily planning for it, I always end up putting catchy pop elements in my tracks, even when the genre doesn’t usually allow it. There are a few things that define my sound that you’ll find in most of my releases – high-energy drops, a summer/sunset feel and a euphoric outro full of ear candy and atmosphere.
Can you share some insights into the challenges and rewards of managing your own label, Kameleon Records?
Launching my own label was always something I knew I’d do at some point in my career but not this young. I love the freedom and control it brings me but it does come with challenges I never thought of, such as being alone in promoting my music and having to figure it all out, which is hella fun but not the easiest in the beginning. I spend much less time making music and a lot more time worrying about all the things that make a song successful since all my next releases for the year are planned out and ready to go. But at the same time, I’m more consistent than ever before so I wouldn’t have it any other way. Owning a label also teaches you so much about the industry and the way things work, which was a big reason I wanted to do it in the first place.
How do you position yourself within the evolving landscape of dance music?
The way I see it, every three to four years a new genre of electronic music takes over. Right now, afro-house and tech-house are up there. I can’t tell for how long it’s going to be that way but I never go with the current and new trend just because it’s hype. I just follow my taste and what I like and if that doesn’t match what most people like that’s okay. If I listen to a genre and its artists a lot, I’m going to want to try it out; that’s what happened with tech-house and a lot of my releases this year are in that genre.
Based on your own experience, what advice would you give to aspiring DJs and producers looking to make their mark in the industry?
I’m not where I want to be yet in my career so this advice is probably going to change over the years. There’s a lot of people trying to make a career as a DJ/producer so I really think you need to release the music you have on your laptop, even if the conditions aren’t the best. It takes a good amount of luck to make it just a little bit. The more music you drop the more that luck gets provoked, increasing your chances. I believe that’s what happened with my remix for PLK; it’s not the best song I’ve ever made yet it’s the biggest one because everything just aligned for it to happen.
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