“My father was a big Pat Metheny fan – hearing him started to make me obsessed with the idea of playing music”: Berklee-educated and endorsed by Strandberg, meet Camilla Sperati – the fusion phenom hand-picked to open for Steve Vai

Italian guitarist Camilla Sperati has been building a serious rep as a major new force in the rarified world of fusion.

Taking her influences from the likes of Frank Gambale, Guthrie Govan, and Scott Henderson’s work with Tribal Tech, Sperati – who lives in Rome – has spent time at Berklee College of Music in Boston, opened up for Steve Vai, bagged an artist endorsement deal with Strandberg, and self-released a mini album, Moonrise, with a full-length outing on the way this year.

Her smooth, mellow tone and updated take on the classic sounds of the fusion era have earned her a constantly growing following on social media platforms.

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We recently threw five questions her way.

What inspired you to start playing?

“My parents were not musical. They were alt-rock fans, actually, but my father was also a big Pat Metheny fan, so hearing his music started to make me obsessed with the idea of playing music. I heard someone playing a guitar in person, and that was really what set the seal on my need to play.

“In fact, when I got a guitar at 11 years old, it came fairly easily for me. My first guitar was a Stratocaster, which was a great way to kick things off. When I was 16, I moved on to a Music Man John Petrucci model, which seemed to suit the kind of fusion music I was starting to play.”

Camilla Sperati - Surfers (Music Video) - YouTube

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You won a summer scholarship to Berklee in 2017. What was that like?

“I had to study and prepare for the audition. I was really getting into fusion at that time, and I was working hard on my phrasing. I also had to show that I had good rhythm guitar chops. Of course, the experience of going there was really cool, as I studied with some really great professors and made some good friends.”

How did your deal with Strandberg come about?

“They contacted me in 2022, thanks to a fan who wrote to them and suggested they should check me out. I play the Classic Boden. I love their instruments; the guitar feels very different from any other guitar I’ve ever played, plus they look so cool and so modern. I use the neck pickup a lot.

“I play through a Kemper Profiler – I really like digital amps. I did try some real amplifiers, but I didn’t find anything I liked until I got the Kemper in 2016. I usually use the Marshall JVM setting. The only effects I use are reverb, delay, and compression.”

Camilla Sperati - Moonrise (Full EP Stream) - YouTube

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Are you able to make a living playing guitar?

“Yes, but that’s because I have a lot of students; teaching is my main source of income. I also play on some sessions, and I offer my playing on Fiverr for different projects. I get a lot of requests on there – sometimes it’s for a solo, but it can be for rhythm-guitar ideas as well. I do get some requests to add something that I don’t think is very good, which can be a challenge. [Laughs]”

What’s next for you?

“I have a new album, Amber, coming out later this year via Bandcamp. There’ll be a couple of singles coming out before it. There isn’t really much of a music scene here in Italy for fusion, which is sad. People are always telling me I need to move to America, but that’s easier said than done. I’d like to get a manager who could help me take things to the next level. That’s the plan at the moment.”

• Moonrise is out now via BandCamp.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.