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Sound design for Theatre: Camille Marchadour on Philip Ridley's Tender Napalm


Camille Marchadour composed the soundscape for King’s Head Theatre’s current headline show, Tender Napalm by Philip Ridley. As in most theatrical productions, the music for Tender Napalm is integral, setting the atmospheric and playful tone of the show. 

Camille sat down with us to answer some questions about how he became a designer and what working on Tender Napalm has been like. 

Tender Napalm is on at the King's Head Theatre now, and has had rave reviews.

You can listen to the soundtrack on Spotify, deezer, Apple music and Youtube music now. 

 

Interview

King’s Head Theatre: Hi Camille, and thanks for sitting down with us to chat. I’d like to start off by finding out how you became a Sound Designer? 

Camille: I actually started out as a dancer. I began to make dance films but I would always run into copyrights issues when needing sound or music and it didn’t feel very flexible to me. As a solution to this, I started to play around with my computer and making sounds. I gradually realised that I really enjoyed making music - so much that I completed a few courses and a couple of years down the line here I am! 

 

King’s Head Theatre: So what kind of music do you design?

Camille: I produce electronic music mostly. My work ranges between ambient, electro pop, experimental, but also house, which features in Tender Napalm for the last track. 

 

King’s Head Theatre: Could you explain Tender Napalm’s music and sound design?

Camille: The sound for Tender Napalm is very raw and industrial, it has very little melodic content and holds a very dominant beat. I’d say it’s playful too - in its arrangement and composition. The sound design experly reflects the way the actors approach the play. The last song of the show is actually very club friendly as it has got a more house feel to it!

 

King’s Head Theatre: What are you hoping the audience will hear?

Camille: First and foremost, I hope they enjoy the music. I also hope they’ll connect the last track with the song that is actually sung during the play. It is a remix using the actors’ actual voices and a nice detail to look out for. The original version of this song is actually available online for audience members to listen to on Spotify!

 

King’s Head Theatre: And what has your creative process been like on this show?

Camille: The process has been really incredible. The whole team is so passionate about what they do. It’s amazing to be part of that flow of energy as it just goes round and round through the team and inspires you to push your creativity to a whole new realm. 

 

King’s Head Theatre: That’s great to hear. So how does that compare to how you usually work? 

Camille: I actually work on my own when it comes to my own projects but when I’ve created for live performances in the past it’s mostly been for contemporary dance and I’d say that the approach is different but not incomparable. 

 

King’s Head Theatre: So many talents! Well it’s been great to chat with you and find out more about sound design for Theatre - thank you. Before you leave, what’s next for you?

Camille: Hopefully I’ll be back in London for some more work with Lidless Theatre. But, until then I am actually going to focus on my own solo music work. And I will be releasing a single soon - a duet and collaboration with a french singer/songwriter who is very talented. 

 

Camille Marchadour is a Parisian Sound Designer who composed the soundtrack for King’s Head Theatre’s current show Tender Napalm, by Philip Ridley and Lidless Theatre. The Tender Napalm soundtrack is available now to listen to on Spotify.

To keep up with Camille's work you can follow him on Instagram @camillemarchadour.