La Camilla
Temper

"Temper"... Could the first (and last) solo album by Camilla Henemark, better known as La Camilla, have been titled differently? Well, obviously yes, but for a character like her, there could have been nothing more emblematic, for better or worse. But first, a bit of context: who is Camilla Henemark? Swedish with Nigerian origins on her mother's side, born in 1964, on October 23rd, the first day of the Scorpio zodiac sign. "Born, I was born, born with the Scorpio rising", she sings in one of the most "disorienting" anthems of "Disco Extravaganza", the first and most experimental album by Army Of Lovers; it's also notable that, aside from the intro "Birds Of Prey", "Scorpio Rising" is the eighth song on that mythical album, just as Scorpio is the eighth zodiac sign; with Alexander Bard, there's never anything random. But let's leave Antares and all the other stars of that constellation to shine in the firmament, and return to this earthly creature, as earthly as one can be: La Camilla.

The original vocalist of Army Of Lovers, alongside Alexander Bard and J.P. Barda from the start, but that's not all: in the '90s, she reportedly had a relationship with Carl XVI, the King of Sweden, at least according to certain rumors, appeared as a guest star in the video for "Stranger Aeons" by Entombed (from royalty to death-metal enthusiasts, no one is immune to her charm), and also ventured into politics; in short, she's had a decidedly interesting life... and limited by her temperamental excesses. Capricious, diva-like, an incurable troublemaker, she was first expelled from the AOL in 1991, right after "Massive Luxury Overdose", thus missing the chance to participate in that monumental work "The Gods Of Earth And Heaven", replaced around the mid-2000s after yet another tantrum before a concert with a blow-up doll by Alexander Bard without batting an eye, and in the recent reunion (2013) to promote yet another greatest hits, she was kicked out again after a series of fierce arguments with the other vocalist, the less charismatic but much more reliable Dominika Peczyski. A true rock star temperament (most likely amplified by cocaine), genius, and recklessness; oh dear, genius little if any, yet compensated by an uncommon charisma, a glance at the video of "My Army Of Lovers" is enough to realize both her extraordinary stage presence and her unmistakable style as a vocalist. Who knows where she could have reached with a minimum of brains, but after all, her status as an outsider (and also outcast, repeatedly) enhances, at least in my eyes, her allure enormously.

After her first eviction from AOL, it was Alexander Bard himself who kept her more or less afloat by "gifting" her in 1992 "Everytime You Lie", (the video will be partially mimicked about ten years later by the mediocre Kylie Minogue, open and closed parenthesis), the only thing released under her name to have obtained a vaguely respectable commercial response, but after a few years (and presumably other squabbles) this relationship also ends: it's 1996, Army Of Lovers has effectively ended, and La Camilla wants to go solo, prove she can shine even without her Pygmalion, and finally seems to be arriving at the long-awaited moment of her first solo album: a contract with Sonet (a Swedish branch of Universal), recording sessions completed without apparent problems, everything is ready for release, except that the first two singles are essentially ignored by the public, and the label decides to cancel the album release. It must have been a severe blow for Camilla, finding herself with a career over before it even began; a difficult, washed-up character, too niche, better to focus on some aspiring teen-pop star, younger, more marketable, more malleable. The record label's perspective must have been more or less this, and so "Temper" became an inaccessible rarity, a kind of Holy Grail for every self-respecting Army Of Lovers enthusiast.

Black and white cover, sober and aggressive look, afro hairstyle: a total shift from the gaudy priestess/prostitute outfits flaunted with Army Of Lovers, yet the various authors and producers who assisted her on this album were careful not to completely dismantle the character masterfully tailored to her by Alexander Bard: "Temper" is a La Camilla album, not just any pop-diva put-on, and you can tell immediately. Her signature style has always been an unmistakable arrogant and sensual spoken-word, which with its low and slightly husky tone magnificently comes through while bypassing the obstacle of a very limited vocal range; for the choruses, reliance on other people's backing vocals, exactly as was done in AOL. I initially imagined the classic tacky europop, Alcazar-style and such, but "Temper" is light years away from this archetype, so much so that it doesn't at all sound like a hit-parade product: the lyrics, imaginative and philosophical, sometimes even introspective, maintain an unmistakable Bardian imprint, and musically a much more "ambient" than dance electronic sound prevails. "Temper" is particular, I don't want to say it's a refined album but there's an atmosphere here... strange, almost tired, almost anguished; it's not ideal background for a foam party, not at all.

"Free Your Mind" is surely one of the key episodes: it offers semi-acoustic new-age sounds with very pleasant results, "sex is cracking me up on the inside, drugs are taking me down to the borderline"; Camilla confesses, trying to put some distance between herself and a life on stage and photo sets, but ultimately deceives no one, her sensual charge comes through anyway, it is her blessing and curse. Then we have "Silencio", by far the most successful among the three "Latin-infused" attempts of the album: La Camilla magnificently narrates an ancient epic of outlaws, shootings, and burning passions, with evocative and somewhat ghostly appeal, she seems like a younger, voiceless sister of Grace Jones but the impact is nonetheless remarkable, as is "Twin Souls", a melancholic and disorienting slow piece (especially in its lyrics) that closes amplifying the sensation of surprise and inscrutable bewilderment conveyed by this hidden and forgotten gem called "Temper". Not even the more danceable episodes like "JB Baby", "Queen Bitch Day", and the tacky Latin-pop "Caballero" can truly be called cheerful, an unsettling, vaguely Bowie-like shadow always looms, more than ever dominant in the decadent mid-tempos that dominate the tracklist, above all "Liar", "The Witch In Me", and "Tango Life".

There is finally the strange case of "I'm Not In The Mood For Lovers", where Lovers is meant to be understood as a contraction of Army Of Lovers: the first single, and also the aspiring "anthem" to the new artistic life of our towering Amazon, who declares with her usual peremptory manner that she no longer wants anything to do with Alexander Bard and his entire entourage; with better promotion it might even have had a certain impact, nice trumpets, choruses, super catchy kitsch tune, fun video perfectly in line with the character. Beware though, it's only appearance: the version released as a single is not the same as the album version, and with the arrangements and synths in the "Temper" style even a piece like this changes significantly, conveying different, more oblique, and sophisticated sensations. An emblematic contrast, which is somewhat the leitmotif of this unfortunate project, La Camilla character vs. Camilla Henemark human being, beyond makeup and silicon breasts: here both exist, and the former never manages to hide the latter, with her vulnerabilities and weaknesses. An emblematic story, I would say instructive about certain dynamics of the music biz, a fascinating album with a touch of enigma, a much more fragile and complicated "artist", much more naive than one might think, and for this very reason, she's endearing. I would like to dedicate this song to her, it ideally also speaks of her and is perfect to grandly close this journey.