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Camp America

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"Cheap-hop beep-bop lap-pop"

Location: Chichester, United Kingdom

Website: http://www.myspace.com/campamerica

Bio: Join a band. Believe you're the next big thing. Get disillusioned when nothing happens. Repeat.

Do whatever it takes to fund the cycle - in this ... (more) case though, we're not talking about dealing or pimping. More like TV gameshows and medical trials. The low point was probably composing mobile phone ringtones for the people responsible for elvismobile.com. Despite multiple tours, radio sessions for LA's KCRW and BBC Radio 2, even a private showcase for Rick Rubin in LA, none of these bands made the grade.

But that's all in the past.

Steven Cowley's youth was spent coaxing sounds from the family Atari. Then came the afore-mentioned ill-fated bands. It was only after he purchased a computer of his own and started experimenting that things started coming together. Throwing whatever he could find into the mix - charity shop keyboards, borrowed guitars, vinyl found lying in the street - Camp America came to life as a one-man laptop project.

Cheap-hop, lap-pop, beep-bop... Whatever it is, the sound of Camp America was made public with the release of the Camp America EP in early 2008, featuring vocals on one track by Joel Pott from Athlete. Bringing to mind the likes of RJD2, Grandaddy and Daft Punk, the positive reaction to the EP has led to collaborations with other singers and MCs, with a full-length record planned for 2009.

As well as the original material, the Camp America remix style has caught the attention of bands far and wide, with recent remixes commissioned by Bloc Party (Wichita/Atlantic), Athlete (Parlophone/EMI), You Say Party! We Say Die! (Paper Bag/Fierce Panda/PIAS), Andy Hunter (Nettwerk) and unsigned buzz bands such as The Framework (Toronto), Caves (Portland, Oregon) and Helicopters (Chicago). (less)