"People can poke fun of me all they want about the inefficiencies of my art. Which I find cute. Because the fact of the matter is don't judge me based on everyone else, judge me based on other people who did what I've done with a 50 dollar laptop, a keyboard, a pencil and a whole lot of not giving a fuckness' about a standard.  You see that's not an excuse - it's a source of my pride!  I'm proud of myself for being able to create and do what I've done in my house by myself.  On my YouTube channel, did you see my personality at all? Not really, All I almost ever put out there is what I created.  If you knew me you knew me, if you didn't you didn't. But what I created, lives, for anyone to see. Yes, judge me on those type of people because after all those are my people.  I love that maybe a creation or something I did can inspire someone else from the ghetto to do the same thing, and not worry about anything else other than the expression for art sake. to try and keep sane, don't get locked up.  I'm not the only mother fucker who creates from the ghetto, with no peace inside or outside your home. Ever try to write a story only to have to pause just to be ready to kill or die at a moments notice because of some bullshit going on outside that you gotta' get involved in? I have.  Plenty of times:) And if you never have, then awe you're cute. To those that have, those are my people.  and If you're here, you probably are one of my people too. We are all in the hood, I happen to know how to play the piano without ever taking a lesson.  I love the expression that comes out, it's not rap, rock, not pure classical, it is just me.  I don't mind being different. Ever. That's the difference. :) Thank you for listening! Nothing but my soul goes into everything. And that's where I want it. Because in the end, I'd rather my soul lives on in my creations, then rotting away locked up somewhere.  Death can't take my shit away.  I live in everything I've done. And always will. " - Nicholas Camarena. 

Click here to return to the official Nicholas Camarena Website!

Wana hear some? Click "play" on the video below and listen to 2 hours' worth of music by Nicholas Camarena. 

Music from them hands

Nicholas Camarena (the Octopus) was a musician from Fresno California. At the age of only fifteen, his mother bought him a Magic Light Keyboard for Christmas. A few short months after that, he was making his own music! At the age of sixteen he created his first real piano song from start to finish. While looking at electric pianos at a local shop, Nicholas started playing that song on one of the pianos there. 

 The owner of the shop was impressed, and asked Nick how long have you been taking "lessons?" Nicholas responded with "Never." The owner walked Nicholas and his father to the "stage" where a grand piano was sitting in the center. This piano was reserved for pianists who performed for small concerts the store held. The owner told Nick to play his song on that piano! 

He soon developed a unique skill to improvise through his songs to lead up to a hook he created! Later, Nicholas started to come up with hooks, many of them, and played the songs with much of the body improvised to record them! By the time he was 19, those original 'tape recorder' recordings were turned into a CD album, with the help of the San Diego legend "King Tet" Eric Van der Wyk, in California. Celebrating those mostly ambient pieces in their very own time capsule in an album called "Child-Fire". 

 The pieces in the collection above you are about to hear are songs he composed using a "Casio CTK 6250. keyboard". Though his approach was more professional, in the organization and mixing of the songs, he still kept his experimental attitude towards a lot of the tracks. Using other vocalist, or prerecorded vocalist to help enhance the track, for the most part he still managed to keep his music with that retro, yet fresh sound to it! In this collection, you hear full emotional piano compositions in "Faded Expressions", as well as more of a dance vibe track in "An impish look". Along with experimental tracks, like "Mother Mary'' and "Atmosphere". Starting off this collection is "Death of an Octopus'', which always gets an emotional reaction, and is why it was one of Nick's favorites, along with users at freesound.org, who downloaded the song more than 270 times in less than a month when it was made available to creators!  (update: it's 1,236 as of 2/16/23 update: 2023 times as of 10/5/2023)

 If you hear it on his track, 99.9 percent assured he's the one playing it! There are no other musicians, or pre-recorded loops from any other user sound design (with the exception of audacity and heartbreak) (update: in the forever music project, he discovered bandlabs and has used different sounds of instruments from there.  But Nicholas is against using any pre-recorded loops.  To him that isn't making music.  He has tried that and said it feels "uncreative, your own soul isn't going into it, so what's the point?". The above songs were crafted by Nicholas for a very specific target using a different program. For the most part, everything that comes out of that keyboard came from his hands playing it! From drums, strings, guitars, piano, base and anything in-between! All were played by one man.  He has used sample voices from generous groups at Freesound.org which Nicholas also places his music to be used for free for non musician creators who need sounds and music. The way a keyboard musician was supposed to be! One man, one keyboard, music his way. We hope you enjoy the music!

Latest Official Music Videos

Check out some accompanying videos 

March Of The Zombies

Octopus   Featuring Nicholas Camarena and Lady Moon

"Isolation" 

Was made ''before'' the shutdown and before anyone knew anything about the virus! Check out the video and see how close he was to actually telling the 2020 story in 2019 before  even he knew what was to come!

"Faded Expressions" 

"Steampunk"

"Crossing the New World"