Artists
Pablo Hurtado - Camila
Guitarist and producer Pablo Hurtado is best known as a founding member of the Mexican pop-rock band Camila. Born in Mexico City and raised in San Luis Potosí, Pablo began his musical journey studying piano before embracing the classical guitar at age seven. After playing in various rock bands throughout his teens, Pablo entered the Fermatta Music Academy where he graduated with a degree in production and audio engineering. It was around this time that Pablo joined forces with singer-songwriter Samuel "Samo" Parra and fellow producer Mario Domm to form Camila. The band has since released four albums together, selling over two million records and racking up three Latin Grammy Awards and three Billboard Awards. In addition to his duties within Camila, Pablo also owns and operates his own recording facility, Cypress Overdrive Studios in Los Angeles where he currently resides.
PRS: We’ve heard Camila has been working on a new record, what can you tell us about this forthcoming album?
Pablo: This is a very special album for us because it marks the comeback of the band’s original lineup. After making music for 10 years as a duo, the CAMILA trio is back and we're feeling stronger than ever. We’ve written more than 40 songs for this album and selected 11 of our strongest. We've spent almost two full years locked in the recording studio, carefully working on every aspect of the production. Some of the new songs have the signature style of the band, while others are more experimental, bringing along some elements from our cultural roots.
We’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to record strings, drums and bass with incredibly talented musicians like Sean Hurley (John Mayer), Cheche Alara (Mike Patton), Blair Sinta (Alanis Morissette) and Kiel Feher (Meghan Trainor), at legendary studios like East West, The Village, Conway, United Recording and Henson.
The first single, “Fugitivos”, off the forthcoming album, was released earlier this year and we are about to drop the second one called “120” on September 22nd. We’ll continue releasing a few more singles before the album comes out and I can’t wait for our fans to listen to these new songs.
PRS: Camila recently announced tour dates throughout Mexico well into 2024. Are there any plans to perform here in the U.S.?
Pablo: Yes, we decided to begin the tour in Mexico because that’s where it all started for us as a band, but in 2024 we’ll take the tour to many different countries including the U.S. where we’ve toured extensively in the last 10 years. There’s a huge latin community in the U.S. and we are grateful to have a faithful audience that has grown so much in these last few years, so we definitely want to keep coming back to all these different cities with the new tour.
PRS: What PRS models are you favoring these days and are there any new models you have yet to try?
Pablo: The Hollowbody has been my main guitar since I bought my first one back in 2009. It has a warm tone and the fact that it’s hollowbody makes the piezo sound really beautiful. The Custom 24 piezo, P245 and Silver Sky are essential during my live shows.
For recording sessions outside of my studio, I like to bring the 513 because it has so many different pickup combinations, it’s like a Swiss army knife. It gives me a wide variety of tonal options so I can cover any style with just one guitar.
The new model that I’m really interested in is the Special Semi-Hollow. As a Hollowbody II player, the Special is attractive to me because of the tremolo bridge and the middle pickup that gives it even more tonal options. I’m also interested in the NF 53 and the not-so-new but amazing McCarty 594.
PRS: What do you love the most about your PRS guitars?
Pablo: I love everything about them! They are super comfortable to play, the neck is smooth, the intonation is great, the quality and aesthetics are second to none. What I love the most about my PRS guitars is the Piezo. It’s what makes them unique and irreplaceable for me. It really sounds amazing! It actually sounds better than many acoustic guitars that I’ve plugged in. The piezo is essential for me when I play live with Camila. Our songs go back and forth between acoustic and electric sounds, so the piezo gives me the flexibility to switch between those very different sounds with one single guitar. Having two outputs on the guitar makes it easy to process them independently. After the show, many people always ask me how I made the acoustic simulation with an electric guitar and they can’t believe it when I tell them about the piezo, it’s pretty awesome.
PRS: Are you currently involved with any projects outside of Camila?
Pablo: Yes, I recently worked with artist DannyLux on his new single “Zafiro”. We wrote the song together with Crisantes, who also produced the track. I played a rock guitar solo on it, which is something I don’t get to do very often, so I really enjoyed it. I also got invited by the rock band Allison to record a guitar solo on their upcoming single “Mi Mundo Amanece Hoy” (to be released on September 29th). I’m very excited about this because it shows a different side of me on the guitar.
I also made an online Guitar Production and Recording Course for one of the top music education platforms in Latin America, named CLAMA. I’m about to release a new learning module with more content to be added soon. I’ve had a great response from the students, which makes me feel really grateful. I’ve tried to give them all the information that I wish someone had given me when I started playing guitar and recording my first songs. I believe this course can help them save some time and reach their music career goals sooner.
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