Comprador release 'reduce your motion blur'

Comprador recently released new single "reduce your motion blur" on April 4 and the song deals with the trials of maintaining adult friendships.

Comprador is the alias and recording project of Philadelphia musician Charlie D' Ardenne.

Comprador 's new album Please Stay Off My Ass was out on April 25.

Rock Life spoke with D' Ardenne recently who talked the direction of his new music.

Rock Life: How's your day going?

Charlie D' Ardenne: Good. I just walked to my former roommate's house. She's traveling in Greece right now so I'm cat sitting. You might hear them in the background. I have a rehearsal later tonight so I don't think I'm going to head over there until maybe 9, so I'm just chilling here for the time being.

RL: So you've got a couple of singles out that gives listeners a taste of the new album, but what do you want people to know about the new music?

CD: Hopefully, it presents a different side of my songwriting than I've expressed on previous releases. I feel like I approached the songs a little differently. Everything is a little shorter; more concise. I recorded more of it in my bedroom and I did some of the drum tracks in the basement. I engineered more of it on my own than previous releases than going to the studio. It's just maybe a little more homemade than previous releases. I tried not to overstay my welcome. I made them as short as possible.

RL: Simple, but different and honest, is that what you set out to do?

CD: During my writing process, I think my influences definitely come across, but I try to make each song stand out on its own and make it as unique as I can. I think also a part of that was I used to shy away from key changes because I was just intimidated by them. I didn't go to school for music. I know a little bit of theory, but it's pretty elementary stuff.

I feel like I've gotten more confident with it in the last couple of years. If I find a key change I like in like a Elliott Smith song or a Beatles song, sometimes I'll try to either write something around it. Or sometimes II'll have a simple sound idea and ill throw the key change in there. It adds some contrast to the composition.

RL: And you seem to have a wide range of influences?

CD: Hopefully! I try not to troll from the same well too often. I feel like everyone kind of has their favorites. You'll listen to an album a ton of times and then you'll get kind of sick of it and will go listen to other stuff.

RL: How did the new "reduce your motion blur" track come together?

CD: I kind of recorded that one backwards. Typically, once I write the song I'll record the drums first and over dub the other instruments later, but that one I feel like the instrumental parts came together pretty quickly. I did a demo with my mini drums program, the computer drums, and I sent that to my friend Gwen and she recorded the bass part for it. And then at the end of the process I had a Mic set up in my basement so I recorded the drum kit for the track. It was all stuff I did in my room except for the bass part.

RL: And what kind of feedback have you been getting?

CD: People seem to like it. One of my friends plays in a band and they said that was their favorite off of the album. I've been great about getting the album to as many people as I can so a lot have heard the full mastered version already. Yeah, people seem to dig the singles.

RL:And what's next?

CD: I've got a handful of live shows coming up. I'm playing a record release show in Delaware at the beginning of May and then I'm doing a release show in Philly at this venue called The Kennel in mid-May. Then I'm playing a benefit show also in Philly at my friend Kyle's house venue May 23 I believe.

There's this big yearly DIY festival in Philly called West Philly Porch Fest usually the first Saturday in June, but it ended up being in May this year that I might be doing a solo set for, but I'm also playing on the stage with 3 other bands that are playing various porches. So yeah,I've got to figure the logistics out on if a solo set is even doable.

Otherwise, in January I participated in this songwriting challenge. There's a super talented musician in Utah I believe that put together a Discord chat for a bunch of songwriters and they would give us a prompt each day and you'd have to try to write a song so I have a ton of song embryos floating around as a result of that. I might try to flush some of those out into Comprador songs and maybe some for the other bands that I'm in. So that's on the burner as well.

RL: Do you find it difficult to switch between the different projects?

CD: I feel like it kind of helps me as a artist to kind of play a different role in different bands. I feel like it just kind of gives you some flexibility. You might think about songwriting in new ways because everybody approaches it differently. If you work well with a group of people you kind of assimilate some of their skills.

RL: What can people expect from your live shows?

CD: It depends on if I can get an electric band together. We might go into grunge mode at the releases if I can find a bassist and stuff. If I can coordinate practices then I'll do just solo acoustic gigs, which end up being a bit more like casual vibes because you can play stuff you can't with a full band. We wouldn't be able to play songs I hadn't rehearsed with them.

RL: And what is the end game with this project?

CD: I would love to play more shows and maybe go on tour. It's a lot easier to do a solo acoustic tour, but it's also cool to like have a band that's visceral in a different way. I just want to keep on tracking with what I've always done. I just want to keep writing and keep the ideas fresh.

RL: What was the catalyst that got you into music?

CD: I feel like I was around it so far back in my memory. I can't really remember a time when it wasn't something I was interested in doing. My dad plays a bunch of instruments like piano and guitar and a couple of wood instruments so he would typically be playing around the house. My sister and I would noodle around on the piano and the guitar and make little recordings on our Fisher Price cassette recorder. It was just always a part of my life.

RL: And what do you want to say to the fans?

CD: Thank you for listening to my music and for having any interest in what I have to say. I appreciate it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynSXpZIoGwI