Fiddler Ian Cameron hopes for Grammy gold
Vancouver musician collaborated with Singapore producer via the Internet
Vancouver- bred fiddler Ian Cameron has never met Singaporebased music producer Arun Shenoy. Yet, thanks to the wonders of broadband Internet technology, they ended up collaborating on Rumbadoodle, Shenoy’s album nominated in the Best Instrumental Pop category at this year’s Grammy Awards.
When Cameron lands in L. A. for the awards ceremony this weekend and finally meets Shenoy, it will be his first in- person encounter with a man he has been working with for more than two years.
Cameron admitted he didn’t take Shenoy too seriously when he told him the album, for which Cameron co- wrote the title track and another number entitled The Violin Song, was up for a Grammy against the likes of smooth jazz heavy- hitters Chris Botti and Dave Koz.
“( Shenoy) seemed like a straightshooter, but you know people say all sorts of stuff online,” Cameron said in a phone interview from Whistler, where he performs during the winter season with his duo Ruckus Deluxe. “So I took it with a grain of salt. But then I checked on the Grammy site and there it was. How bizarre is that?”
A Suzuki method student at age 5, the 50- year- old Coquitlam- based musician gave up the instrument when he was a teen to play rock guitar but eventually migrated back to the violin.
Around the turn of the millennium he built his website efiddler. com, and it completely changed the way he approached music.
Since creating the site, Cameron has collaborated with hundreds of artists and producers, creating and selling violin samples and loops for a variety of projects.
“Even though the Internet has had a detrimental impact on the music industry, it’s been hugely beneficial to artists,” Cameron said. “Guys like me can collaborate with people we’d never otherwise meet.”
Will appending a “Grammy- nominated” or even perhaps a “Grammywinning” stamp to his name help boost his visibility? “It definitely adds a sense of credibility,” he said.