Camelphat Sets Sights on Aspiring DJs with Open Invite for Talent Search

Camelphat have been doing their thing for more than 20 years now, producing epic music under all manner of names and pseudonyms. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until they put out Cola in 2017 that this dynamic duo hit the bigtime.

With a hit single on their hands worldwide and Grammy nominations in the bag, Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala had more or less conquered the scene. But what remained constant throughout their high-profile career was the pair’s dedication to inspiring and encouraging new talent.

Therefore, it comes as little surprise to learn that Camelphat is now setting its sights on becoming the unofficial X Factor for aspiring DJs. Not literally of course, despite Dave having indicated his intent to emulate the music mogul himself.

"I'm going to start wearing my pants up super high, like Simon Cowell,” he said.

Jokes aside, Camelphat comprises two Grammy-nominated DJs who are providing up and coming DJs with the opportunity to collaborate with them and become their first official signee. They have announced an ambitious project that effectively combines an open-audition talent show with a new independent record label, inviting anyone wishing to do so to take part.

There are no lights, no TV cameras and no restrictive policies barring the average amateur DJ from having a go. Instead, they have simply set up an email address and invited aspiring DJs to send in their work, which the guys from Camelphat have promised to listen to each and every one of them, which they are happy to admit is quite the process.

"I've got through about 600 so far," said Dave in an interview with Radio 1, "it's not easy."

Dedicated to Discovering New Talent

Dave and Mike have always been keen to find and promote new talent, so this is far from their first official scouting venture. It is just that this is perhaps the highest-profile and most extensively publicised of their projects to date, which according to Dave is already bearing fruit.

"It's exciting when you actually find someone and it can change everything for the artists. We're working with a few now, said Dave.

"One of the singers we ended up using on the album, he's called Max, his vocals are unbelievable,”

"And that all came from the email address. So it does work, but you've got to have patience."

The guys from Camelphat are well aware of how much time and effort are involved in breaking the industry, having been making music together for nearly two decades before achieving mainstream success.

"We want to give an opportunity to other artists and up-and-coming DJs and producers out there who are maybe struggling to find their way," commented Dave.

"The pressure for us is that we're trying to find the next Cola - not so much in terms of how it sounds, but as a track that can be that big, if not bigger,”

Having been there, done that and got the proverbial T shirt, Dave has a wealth of advice and invaluable insights to share with those the duo ends up working with. As for those planning to take part in the project, he had these words of wisdom to share with aspiring artists from all backgrounds:

"Just be yourself. I wouldn't make another Cola - and actually it would be better if people go out of their way to do the opposite of what we do,” he said.

"One of the things I would say is we've had a lot of tracks that are just very similar to what we already do, and we need something different,”

"We need someone to show us the way and discover what's going to be cool in the next ten years.”