Introducing The Soulful Singer-Songwriter… Cameron Saul
Cameron Saul is an artist and industry leader in every sense of the word. He sees beauty in the mundane and uses his craft to reflect on the world inside of him. As he unveils his beautiful debut single ‘Dance Alone’, we spoke to him about his journey so far, his passion for sustainability and changing the world, one mission at a time.
Hi Cameron, thanks so much for chatting with us! Could you tell our readers a little bit about who Cameron Saul is and what he stands for?
I’m someone who feels very deeply. I care about people and how they are treated. Justice – and therefore injustice – matters to me. I care about our precious planet and the incredible diversity of extraordinary creatures, plants and sentient beings that we share it with. I care about my family and friends. I find it very easy to see beauty, even in the mundane, and to share love. I make sure to tune in to the miracle of life happening around us in the moment. Without doing that, we are in danger of becoming lost at sea and missing the treasure in the day-to-day. Songwriting is one of my essential tools for reflecting on the world inside of me and the world around me and joining the dots between the two. It’s a way for me to stay connected to the magic and the mystery of life. I stand for mother nature and for people who don’t have a voice.
Congratulations on the release of your debut single’ Dance Alone’! Your music has a rich cultural background and blend of traditions and sounds. Did you find yourself travelling in search of this diversity, or is it representative of what you’ve discovered along the way?
That’s a great question! It’s a blend of all those things. I’ve lived a life of being driven by a deep mission and passion, understanding how I can use creativity – primarily fashion, music and art through the BOTTLETOP and #TOGETHERBAND sustainable design and advocacy brands that I founded – to be in service to people and our planet. That journey has taken me all over the world and has led to so many diverse experiences, friendships and relationships across diverse cultures. Songwriting and music have been my way of processing it all and helping me to understand these experiences, celebrate the learnings and the progress and release the elements that no longer serve me. So yes, my music is representative of my life’s journey, and it’s also inspired me to reach further…
There’s a lot of soulful and characterful genres infused in your music. What sort of artists and histories would you say comprise your main influences?
I gather ingredients and inspirations from wherever I am. I just landed from Sao Paulo and on Saturday my friend Julia was playing me songs by samba legend Cartola and Maria Bethânia. Such a vibe. I’ve been listening to a lot of Milton Nascimento and Djavan on this trip and Bruno Berle who I saw perform while I was there. His energy on stage was beautiful and timeless. So yes, Brazilian music has had a big influence on me. I grew up listening to Simon and Garfunkel, Björk, Kate Bush, Elton John, Cat Stevens, Sting and the Police, Carly Simon and George Michael. Incredible songwriters. Mum would also play classical music, opera and jazz – and as boys my bro Will and I got into soul, hip hop and then house music, disco, afrobeat and all kinds of electronic music from the tropical to the cosmic becoming a huge part of my life and my love for the dancefloor – but it was the power of a song with a great melody to communicate deep emotion that would always move me most. Artists including Nick Drake, Blood Orange, Nick Mulvey, John Martyn, Bon Iver and Fink have all been sources of inspiration musically.
There is a clear, strong love for nature in your writing and activism. Is that something that developed from a young age? Do you have any specific memories of falling in love with mother nature as a child?
I grew up in the countryside in Somerset and had a beautiful, very fortunate childhood, charging around outdoors and playing endlessly, but I think I largely took nature for granted when I was younger. It’s been on my journey as an adult working in remote places that I’ve since been inspired by nature and particularly six years ago, going on a solo trip to the Amazon rainforest and spending a week alone with an Indigenous community called the Yawanawá in the SouthWest corner of the Brazilian Amazon. Understanding their relationship with nature and the respect they give nature changed things for me fundamentally in terms of the way I see the living world around me. They helped me to discover an awe and reverence for nature that has changed my life.
How about the poetry in your lyricism, where does that come from?
I think that the poetry in my lyricism has come from my mum, who has a natural way with words and writes very beautiful and powerful poetry. She has an incredible memory for poetry and songs and will sometimes recount a poem that matches the feeling of a moment that we are in.
You have been working with acclaimed folk producer Fink on your upcoming album. How did that collaboration come about, and what did working together achieve in terms of elevating the songs into a fully-fledged record?
I have known Fink since I was 20 and he has always been super supportive of my music and my mission with Bottletop and #Togetherband. I’ve always been a fan of his music since Biscuits for Breakfast, his first record as a singer songwriter, and it was such an honour to have him produce the album. He is insanely talented and had lots of ideas in terms of the sound of the record. I trusted him completely, and I love what he did with it.
From performing at Glastonbury to across Brazil, what has been your favourite experience of playing music live?
My favourite show was our most recent at The Bedford in London because it was the first time we brought the incredible string section we have been working with together with the drums, bass and guitar. The sound was epic, and it unlocked so much feeling in the music. It enabled me to experience the songs in a whole new way.
Can you tell us a bit about your activism? What do you do and advocate for?
I run a sustainable design brand called BOTTLETOP, which I Co-founded in 2002. We create craft and atelier programs (currently in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sao Paulo, Brazil and the Amazon rainforest) that support economically disadvantaged women and Indigenous communities through the creation of collections of bags and accessories using all kinds of leading-edge waste and regenerative materials ranging from seeds from the Amazon rainforest to recycled ocean plastic and recycled illegal firearm metal. In 2019, we launched a global campaign called #TOGETHERBAND in partnership with the UN Foundation, which is an advocacy platform using fashion, music, art and creative culture to spread awareness and inspire action on the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals for a healthy planet.
If you had to give a headline to your sustainability movement, what would be the biggest takeaway you want audiences to learn from your platform?
I would want everyone to know that they have the power to make change and that it starts with how we show up for ourselves, our families and our communities each day. We are living at a critical moment in our human history in terms of the interconnected challenges that we face – ranging from climate change and biodiversity loss to geopolitical conflict and growing inequality – and it’s vital that everyone brings their unique gifts, passions and interests to the table when it comes to making change. We need everyone on board!
What are your plans for the rest of 2025?
I’m still figuring out my plans for this week!
