The alt-pop singer/songwriter wants you to judge him on his tunes
The deviously dark Pat Campo is set to create serious waves with his new album, ‘Clouds In My Head‘. We caught up with Pat to talk about his unique sound, finding it hard to focus on making music, and puppets:
Let’s get straight to it: can you tell us a bit about this strange puppet that’s showing up every time we search online for Pat Campo?
‘I’m always trying to let people know that my work is not my look. My artistic developments are not a result of my image. There are so many friends of mine who are creative as hell, but always stop themselves from following through certain projects because they think their look just doesn’t cut it. This puppet is kind of a way to inspire them to never stop being creative no matter what their image is like.
How would you describe your sound to people who’ve never heard of you?
‘Rock, powerpop, electropop. I always tell my friends if that Foster The People had a threesome with Soulwax and Foo Fighters, their child would be my music.
Your album Clouds In My Head is a creative juggernaut. How long did this album take to make?
‘The album probably took me a little over a year to produce. All the song ideas were cultivated in a time span of over three years; the extended period of time it took to get everything together was due to the stereotypical excuse of ‘life getting in the way’.
Can you tell us a bit about your songwriting process?
‘Actually, most of the songs on this album came to me in dreams. I dream a lot about music, and the songs that affect me the most right before I wake up are the ones I tend to work on. After arranging and perfecting that idea as much as possible, I lay down the beats and rhythm tracks first. At this time, I get a little anxious about vocals, so I do them as soon as I know the beat and tempo is right. Guitar, bass, and synth all come after that, but not necessarily always in that order.
Where do you find inspiration?
‘When it comes to song ideas, I always revert to life experiences. You can’t go wrong when it’s real, and the realer the experience, the more unique the song turns out. There’s something therapeutic about releasing personal information in the form of a song. I guess the vulnerability of the whole process makes me feel emotionally stronger as a result.
‘Is there a specific theme that runs through ‘Clouds In My Head’?
‘Every song for this album was quite a bit of work to write because of too many external factors. At the time of recording, I started to feel unfocused and almost restricted because there were too many things going on around me. As opposed to having your head in the clouds – which means that you can’t focus on the things around you because of daydreams – I called the album ‘Clouds In My Head‘, meaning I have too many factors surrounding me that don’t allow me to focus on my daydreams, which is my music and art. Luckily, I overcame that.
Who would be your dream collaboration?
‘I always love Dave Grohl‘s stuff, and from what I’ve heard and seen on interviews, he seems like a very down-to-earth guy.
Do you have any advice for any artists who are looking to make an album?
‘With the advent of inexpensive pro gear and cheap computers, it’s easy to become part of the herd and make subpar albums. Don’t settle for that. Have a vision. Make sure the end results meet that vision, and not come up short. Get outside professional help, if you need to. Inherently we’re artists at heart, and not necessarily technical engineers or mixers or mastering people. Oh, and work, work, work to get the sound you want. Never say ‘well, that’s close enough’.
