Michael Compton | Interview | New Album, ‘Wooden Spoon’ | Premiering ‘Headband’
Exclusive video premiere of ‘Headband’ by Michael Compton, taken from the upcoming album, ‘Wooden Spoon’, out September 23th via missingrecords.
Michael Compton is a singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist from the Pacific Northwest. His songs have that glorious Seattle once-underground pop sound that feeds the spirit with joy, and harkens back to sun-craved paeans from many music-filled garages and venues both regional and world-wide.
‘Wooden Spoon’ was created out of gorgeously homemade, drum-looped anthems from his bedroom, then ingeniously realized through collaborations with legendary Pacific NW producer Steve Fisk (Car Seat Headrest, Unwound, Nirvana), bassist Yuuki Matthews (Shins, Crystal Skulls) and drummer Michael Musburger (Posies, Fastbacks). It also features performances by Lori Goldston (cello) and Jacquie Dillon (vocals).
“Artistically, this is typically how I like to develop my songs and album projects. They always start with some sort of specific inspiration, or epiphany. Often, I don’t fully understand when the idea arrives and my process is somewhat like solving a riddle or putting a puzzle together. The more I’m able to let those initial concepts sit with me, the truer the output tends to be”.
The sweetness at the heart of the album conceals a very personal melancholy that Compton experienced in its inspiration, reflected upfront in its title.
“The title of the album came about through meditations on life, current realities we are all facing, as well as personal experiences I was going through”, he says.
Taking advantage of the recent need to hunker down and focus on what really matters, he has made his most personal album yet, putting together a miraculous culmination of his tastes and desires on his delectable new full-length.
This is Compton’s first time being produced by Fisk. “We recorded bass and drums to tape at Crackle & Pop Studio in Seattle, then I recorded guitar and vocals at my home studio. I sent the tracks back to Steve and he recorded all of the keys at his home studio. Lori recorded her cello parts and Jacquie’s vocals were recorded at Retro City Studios in Philadelphia, PA. Steve mixed the album and Ed Brooks from Resonant mastering in Seattle did the final mastering on the album”.
The record is Compton’s 20th independent release for his label missingrecords – “and definitely the best work I’ve done to this point,” he says. Through this collaborative recording process Compton has evolved these soul-seeking, open-hearted tunes into a part-live and part-virtual indie rock solo project, combining recorded drums, bass and keys with his lushly strummed, shimmering guitar work and crisp rhythms built around dynamically soulful vocals.
“Community, creativity, inclusivity, and acceptance and its DIY punk ethos became the foundation for everything I’ve done with my life”
You grew up with the Seattle underground scene. What was that like for you?
Michael Compton: It shaped me as a person and inspired me onto the musical path that I’m still on today. I was fortunate enough to experience this explosion of unique musical creativity that rippled out of Seattle and inspired so many people, myself included. There was no blueprint or expectation and if you had the desire to create, there was an opportunity to do it. I produced shows and worked as a staff member at the Old Fire House, an all-ages venue east of Seattle. So many talented people came through and so many young artists developed there. I was able to play with some of my musical heroes and learned firsthand that a lifestyle making independent music was possible. The underlying tenets of that scene; community, creativity, inclusivity, and acceptance and its DIY punk ethos became the foundation for everything I’ve done with my life and career ever since.
You’re currently promoting your brand-new album, ‘Wooden Spoon’. It’s a very pleasant DIY bedroom effort made in collaboration with the legendary Steve Fisk (Pigeonhed, Pell Mell), bassist Yuuki Matthews (Shins, Crystal Skulls) and drummer Michael Musburger (Posies, Fastbacks). It also features performances by Lori Goldston (cello) and Jacquie Dillon (vocals). Tell us, how long did you work on it and what kind of album did you want to make?
I love that you described it as pleasant. On the surface, creating something that is artistically “pleasant” doesn’t seem particularly radical, urgent, or important but I think in today’s world it can be. There is so much polarization happening right now that I found myself seeking solace in creating these songs. I wrote them over a period of several years, allowing them to naturally develop without pressure. I started with a vision of the project and that guided me. I created several demo versions of each song allowing them to evolve over time. There is a truth in these songs that I wouldn’t have been able to extract if I hadn’t allowed myself to live inside them for a bit. My ultimate goal with this album is to connect with others through it and hopefully elicit some positive emotion from it, whether that be love, inspiration, solace, melancholy, joy or maybe just a feeling of pleasant contentment while listening.
And do you think you succeeded?
Yes, I do think I succeeded in making the album that I set out to make and I’m hopeful it will find its listeners. There are so many artificial pressures that artists put on themselves as well as realistic business pressures around creating art that you intend to share. I didn’t want those pressures to infiltrate the writing process. Ironically, the pandemic made it possible to achieve this. We experienced a sudden drastic pause in our ecosystem that forced us into this period where the pressures of the music business were gone, because nothing was happening. I don’t know if I could have given these songs the time they needed if it wasn’t for the break we were all forced to take. It has been thrilling to get back at it and start playing again.
You will be touring later on? Where are you going with your tour?
I am so excited about touring on this record. I started playing live again a couple of months ago and it was exhilarating. The pandemic continues to make it tricky to determine the right tour plan, so I’ve decided to chart some smaller Northwest and Northeast tours. My ultimate dream is to eventually perform in all 50 states. I love traveling and have always wanted to visit every state and I like the idea of searching for musical kindred spirits in every corner of our country.
“The inspiration for this album came to me when I was emptying out my childhood home after the unexpected death of my father”
How do you usually approach songwriting? Would you like to share some insight on the song featured on the latest album?
For me it always begins with inspiration. I never really know from where or when that will come. When it does come, I ponder it for a while and allow it to develop further in my heart and mind. It feels a little bit like a mystery that I’m trying to solve. The inspiration for this album came to me when I was emptying out my childhood home after the unexpected death of my father. I had to comb through my parents’ things and decide what to keep, donate or trash. The emotions that came from that process helped develop these songs. There was one point where I came across a simple wooden spoon while clearing out the kitchen and for some reason it brought back all these memories of my father. He loved to cook, and he used this particular spoon all the time. I loved that this simple, plain, temporary object could be so helpful on almost a daily basis and hold these memories. I thought about the role of being a parent and how much we can take our parents for granted and how mine have always been so helpful to me. One of the singles off this album, ‘Headband’ is a tribute to parents and a recognition of the grief that comes from suddenly losing someone. Grief is a byproduct of love, and this song gave me a chance to express that love and appreciation and work through the feelings of loss. I wanted the song to be uplifting and celebrate how love helps us survive. I think that pain born out of hate will break us down — but pain born out of love makes us stronger.
What other musical activities have you undertaken lately?
In addition to this album I’ve also spent time working on building my writing/composition muscles through an instrumental project I call Moss Piglet. I look at it as an alter ego of sorts that allows me to explore different musical paths.
I believe that building creative muscles isn’t too different from building physical muscles. It takes commitment, repetition and a variety of workouts, but if you put in the work, you will see growth. Moss Piglet is part of my creative workout plan. In addition to making music there are so many business-related projects that are part of releasing a record. It’s less fun but necessary so I’m spending a lot of time online, registering my works, building my social networks, verifying credits, updating my business plan, doing research, finding inspiration. It’s an endless and sometimes tiring process that you have to keep plugging away at. I also recently did a photo shoot with photographer Ernie Sapiro to get promotional photos for this release and it was a cool creative change of pace. Though not musical activities per se, I think it’s really important to prioritize self-care into my day to day, which usually means something like taking a walk, catching a Mariners game or cooking a special meal. I believe you have to take care of yourself if you want to perform at a high level and stay mentally strong through the highs and lows.
Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
I’ve been binging on music coming out of Seattle right now. There is currently a really diverse mix of unique artists and bands here and the amount of creativity happening is impressive. I created a Spotify playlist that highlights some of the current music coming out of the Seattle music scene. It’s exciting that venues are opening again, and live music is coming back. COVID continues to impact, and not everyone is comfortable going out yet but I am excited about the wave of music that is growing here. Once it has a chance to really flow it’s going to be awesome.
Klemen Breznikar
Friday, July 14, 2022 at 5 AM UTC+02 | Haley Blais • Darksoft • Michael Compton • Thats Nokay | The Central Saloon | More info here
Michael Compton Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / Spotify / YouTube
missingrecords Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / SoundCloud / YouTube
