Camylio has been making music for the better part of five years, but Take My Bones, his debut full-length via Mercury Records, feels like the first time he’s fully shown up as himself.
“I really feel like you meet Camylio, the musician, in this project,” he told Juice Box Press in an exclusive interview ahead of the album’s release. “Growing up, my introduction to music was guitar playing. Listening to some of my favorite albums, playing along, learning the licks. Somewhere along the way, a lot of my artistry became more about the songs and my voice and the songwriting. This feels like the perfect reunification of that.”
That reunification is the throughline of everything Camylio wants people to hear in this record. Where his previous EPs leaned heavily on piano or vocal-forward production, Take My Bones puts the guitar at the center in a way that is deliberate and personal. He taught himself to play at eight years old, grew up with idols John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Kaleo, then spent years making music that largely set that side of himself aside. This album brings it back front and center.
The emotional themes of the record are equally intentional. Camylio described it as a journey from darkness to light, from tension and toxicity in the early tracks to something more grounded, and even happy, by the end. “The tone of the production starts in this darker, BookTok – for lack of better words – dark pop world,” he explained. “You can kind of hear the character mature towards the end. It goes from this strenuous, somewhat toxic place in relationships to these beautiful love songs. It’s representative of my journey growing up and going from 19 to 24.”
That BookTok comparison isn’t by accident. Camylio’s music found an unexpected home in the online community a couple of years ago, when his song “Trouble” began circulating among fans of Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing and The Empyrean series. He woke up one day to hundreds of comments insisting his songs were made for those books and characters. Yarros herself eventually followed suit, using his music in official promotional posts for her releases.
“I never could have predicted it,” he said. “I posted that song with an entirely different vision for who I thought it might connect with. But the BookTok community, once you really get into it, you realize people don’t love those books because of the glamorous top-down synopsis. They feel the pain and the love and the emotions of the characters. I’m really honored to be a part of that, because I think that’s the root of what I do as well.”
With Take My Bones arriving just days away, Camylio was clearly excited about what was coming. He singled out a track called “Strung Out on You” as the one he’s most eager for people to hear. It’s a guitar-forward song he described as feeling like “racing down a highway,” built around what he called the best guitar lick he’s ever written.
“My favorite part about this album,” he said, “is that it’s about the songs, my voice, and the musicality. You really get to meet Camylio the musician.”
Take My Bones is now streaming.
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Featured Photo Credit: Zade Batal
Nathan Smith is a Providence-based music photographer and journalist focusing on capturing the special moments and unfiltered magic of live performances. Whether he’s shooting established artists at sold-out TD Garden shows or documenting the rise of emerging local bands, his goal is the same: to pull viewers directly into the heart of the moment.
His writing spotlights rising artists and local scenes, with a focus on telling the stories that often get overlooked. A lifelong music fan and musician himself, Nathan approaches interviews and portraits as conversations rather than transactions, building trust with artists so their genuine personalities can shine through. Whether he’s backstage, in the photo pit, or at home in front of the keyboard, he brings the same curiosity and care to every assignment.
Outside of his press work with Juice Box Press, Nathan works regularly as a photographer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous bands in the Boston and Providence area. Nathan also plays violin with a local orchestra, follows Celtics basketball almost religiously, and is an avid fantasy reader.