Cloud Companion - Same Picture (Single) + 10 Questions

"Same Picture" is the second single off Cloud Companion’s upcoming album, "Ordinary Time.” This synth-driven, mid-tempo groove offers an exploration of reality as experienced through daily life. Influenced by the Tao Te Ching, “Same Picture” emphasises the ever-changing perspectives through which we encounter reality, inviting listeners to contemplate the significance of their perceptions.

Known for their contributions to the sensational collaborative performance group TC Superstar, Cloud Companion is the solo project of musician and songwriter, Aaron Chávez. Cloud Companion’s music is best described as bedroom pop meets contemplative exploration/meditation. For Aaron, making music is about “Expressing the relationship between cosmic and human perspectives, non-dual spirituality, and experiencing the sacred in the everyday.”

Working closely with longtime friend and collaborator, Connor Cambell, Cloud Companion has crafted their full-length solo debut. From mid-tempo beats, sparkling synths, and lyrics about day-to-day life to warbly, wind chime-like pianos, soundscapes of suburban neighborhoods, ruminations on emptiness, non-duality, and the divine, “Ordinary Time” is the embodiment of Cloud Companion. The perfect introduction to the emerging artist. Aaron says, “I consider these to be my heart songs, and there’s a vulnerability that comes with releasing them into the world. It feels like it’s been a long time coming, so I’m excited for these songs to finally be free out there.”

Cloud Companion sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

I’ve always loved playing music. My mom signed me up for piano lessons when I was 4, and I didn’t know any better - I thought that was just something everyone did like going to school. Pretty much as soon as I could play piano I was composing pieces, and in middle school I started adding words to my songs. The first time I ever performed was at a coffeeshop in my home town of Plainview, TX called the Broadway Brew. I was 12 or 13 at the time, and I played Hey Jude and an original song called Career Day at an open mic night. I got the whole shop singing along to Hey Jude like I had heard Paul McCartney do on this live recording, and it felt so magical to have everyone singing along. I knew that day that I wanted to perform and play music for the rest of my life.

2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?

Laraaji, Arthur Russell, David Byrne, Brian Eno, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, and Toro y Moi are all influences for this project. Sufjan Stevens, Danz CM, Gungor, Japanese Breakfast, Woo, and Porches are also influences. Would be amazing to work with any of those artists who are still putting things out.

3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?

Cloud Companion’s debut album, “Ordinary Time,” comes out this September. It’s a record about appreciating this experience of conscious, embodied existence through everyday life.  We’re dropping a single each month leading up to the release of “Ordinary Time” and gearing up for a Midwest tour at the start of September.

4. How would you describe your sound?

I think of the project as bedroom pop meets contemplation/meditation. For this record, there’s two kinds of songs: cloud songs and sky songs. The cloud songs are largely characterised by mid-tempo beats, punchy synths, and groovy keyboards. The sky songs, on the other hand, are filled with warbly, wind chime-like pianos, soundscapes of suburban neighbourhood’s, and spacious synth pads.

5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?

One time I was making a car payment over the phone and I was sitting at the piano playing while I went through the automated process. Something happened and they had to put a real person on the line, but I just kept playing softly while she asked me the procedural questions about my payment info. At the very end of the call right before she hung up she said, “by the way, I could hear you playing the whole time, and I feel so relaxed and calm now. Thank you so much for playing that beautiful music.” That made me cry! In that moment I felt ecstatic that my music could bring someone peace in the middle of their workday, and it reminded me that a big part of why I make what I make is to help people feel appreciation for this life experience in a moment to moment way.

I was also proud the day that I released the first single for Cloud Companion. It took years to focus my energy to make this project a reality, so it felt really good to see it out in the world. It’s only the very beginning!

6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

Make lots of music and put it out there. It doesn’t have to be the greatest thing you’ve ever made, and the more you do it, the better you’ll become at knowing what kind of things you want to make and how to make them. I got stuck in iPhone demo world for YEARS with this first album and it took a while to get things into a DAW. If I could go back, I’d have spent more of that time crafting the actual music and putting it out there way sooner instead of imagining all the possibilities of what it could become.

Make the music that YOU want to make but also consider what kind of environment and what kind of audience you are making your music for. What kind of venues do you envision playing with this project? What are you trying to communicate with your art? What kind of mood does your music contribute to? Asking yourself those kinds of intentional questions will help inform your creative decisions.

7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?

Dorio, KindKeith, and Pelvis Wrestley are three of my favourite bands in the Austin scene right now and are definitely worth checking out.

Carol, an artist from Brooklyn who just recently put out an album called “More Than A Goodbye” is another one to check out. She sang on a couple tracks for Ordinary Time.

Also out of Brooklyn is The Admiral - an audio-visual project by Joel Ronson and Sarah Neides that follows the story of a fantasy sea captain out of water in his attempts to navigate life on land. They’re releasing “Admiral 3” later this year on a record label I co-founded with Connor McCampbell (TC Superstar) called Flyer Club Records.

And lastly, TC Superstar, which I’m also a member of, is releasing new music this year as well - a space-disco record called “Static / Dynamic.”

8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

MAHAL and Outer Peace by Toro y Moi have definitely been on repeat lately. Also can’t stop listening to The Disco Dancer soundtrack. It’s a Bollywood film that came out in 1982 that my friend Brian introduced to us, and everyone in my friend group has been obsessed with it ever since. Connor and I have watched the film at least 10 times since April.

9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

I like to play sports with my friends (dodgeball, baseball, volleyball), swim, go on walks, learn about astronomy and geology, watch cartoons, and hang out with my cat Luna.

10. Name Three things you can't live without when in the studio?

I feel like this question is about gear, but I’m not that much of a gear head. If I had to choose, I’d say my Apollo x8p and the Universal Audio preamps/plugins are a great foundation for getting a quality sound, so that feels valuable to me.

Two other things I can’t live without in the studio are a glass of water (room temp) and pretending to play guitar while I record vocals. I don’t know why I do it, probably a timing thing, but it just feels good to pretend to play guitar while I record my vocals even though I don’t perform often with a guitar.

More recently I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my Korg Prologue - that’s my favourite synth at the moment, and it’s on all the new stuff I’ve been working on.