Gregor, Photograph: Danny Cohen
For Melbourne-based songwriter and producer Gregor Kompar, music is central to his life, but that doesn’t mean he feels obliged to keep working even when the spark isn’t there. Gregor released three albums of textured, skewwhiff pop music between 2016 and 2020, all through Melbourne indie label Chapter Music, but a long quiet followed 2020’s Destiny.
“I wanted to allow myself to do other things,” Gregor tells Check Check. “There was no need to force it.”
Album four is with us now and Gregor’s patience has paid off. Satanic Lullabies is Gregor’s most structurally and melodically unconventional release to date. That said, the album also includes moments of ornate musicality, such as the piano-driven lead single “The Sparkle,” and flashes of cosmic slow disco (“Reality Rings Loud”) and tuneful ambience (“Lamplight.”)
Gregor will launch Satanic Lullabies at Melbourne venue Jazzlab on Wednesday 3 July. Check Check spoke to Gregor about Satanism, nature, and making the new album.
Check Check: What’s your relationship with religion?
Gregor: Well, I’m baptised Catholic. Other than being baptised Catholic, I have been interested in Satanism as a teenager. But my religious identification is more leaning towards the laws of nature.
How deep into Satanism did you go as a teenager?
Not very deep. Deep as interviews on YouTube and The Satanic Bible. Music, not so much.
Did you find anything that stuck?
Ideas of onus on the individual and rebellion to the norm. They advocate that you can do anything you want but it’s up to you to deal with the consequences. Onus on the individual means, do as you want, not what you’re told to do.
So, if your religious affiliation has more to do with nature, how did you come to make an album called Satanic Lullabies?
Well, satanic to me can mean a few different things, like “humanistic” and “natural,” because they do try to portray humans as just another animal – that’s a big thing in their teachings. So, satanic should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s also a big buzzword and it might offend some people, like Christians. But all I can say is it has multiple meanings.
I like the line in “Angels”, “You know everything is unbearable in heaven.” What were you thinking about when you wrote the lyrics for that song?
Again, several meanings. From the Christian perspective, it could look like you’re trying to tell people that it’s better to join the Devil than to want to go to heaven because it’s kind of boring. Then on the other hand, from a human perspective, it could be an anti-suicide song. You know, “heaven’s unbearable” can also suggest that heaven’s here right now. You don’t need to go up there.
Another meaning that I’ve assigned for the angels in that song is that they are a plant. Not quite a plant, but a living organism.
When did you start working on this record?
Technically, I started on it as soon as I was finished with the previous one, so that was four years ago. But most of that time was inactive. If you were to condense the working time, it’d be less than a few months.
Are you demoing as you’re writing?
It’s the same thing. I don’t really even call it a demo either because I don’t make demos and then make real copies. The demo is the real copy.
Did you play everything on the album?
I’ve recycled some of the flute from the previous record that was done by Hank Clifton-Williamson, who now comprises my whole band. I recycled some of his flute recordings and Lili Hall came in and did a backing vocal.
How much do you think about how people are going to respond to your music? Does that factor into your process?
It does factor into it. I’m not interested in making something that’s going to be unlistenable. I want to surprise people as well with something unexpected within a song or within a style. But I also am catering to my own tastes and desires more than the other. But there’s a balance.
The first track on the album, “Prelude,” takes some unexpected turns. How did that come together?
I think it was a series of little sketches that were done within the same window and then I stitched them together. If you do that, you end up with a surprise. You can kind of stitch anything together if you want to. You know, little sketches and then stitch them together and look at it as a whole and maybe come over the top of all of it with something else to help with the stitching.
Is it just going to be you and Hank on stage for the album launch?
Yeah. Playing with Hank has been very fun. For me, it’s necessary that the venue have a piano because I’m not a big fan of Hank playing an electric piano as a substitute for a real one.
Any plans for a bigger tour?
No. I’ve never done a tour, per se. I do it the way it suits me. Even when I have to do a launch, I get a bit of anxiety.
What’s it been like having the support of Chapter Music?
I’m baffled when people say they can’t make the music that they’d like to be making because they’re on labels that require them to make a certain kind of song. In that respect, Chapter’s flawless.
Gregor will launch Satanic Lullabies at The Jazzlab, Brunswick, on Wednesday 3 July. Tickets on sale here. Get your hands on the album here.
