In the state of Minnesota lies a small town called Owatonna with roughly twenty-two thousand inhabitants; within that city is a quiet road with a modest house. In that house theres an unkempt basement with no windows. Within those confines youll find Adam Young of Owl City hard at work, creating his electronic and melodically infectious brand of music with a simple and singular beauty. Inside this cave, as Adam likes to describe it, he has begun to quickly win over a large audience thirsty for something genuine, something sublime.
Being an only child in a small town, and having no musicians in his immediate family, Adam is hard pressed to say how it all started. Explaining that he always had a push to be creative, Adam picked up his first guitar in junior high school. Growing up in a sheltered bubble and being one of the more shy kids around the neighborhood, Adam seemed compelled to lend his time and creative ideas to music. Ive always been the shy guy, I dont see that changing, but I definitely feel a lot more comfortable than I anticipated. I can hide behind the music.
While his music continues to win followers all over the world, Adam does indeed hide behind his music, not going by his real name (See: Badly Drawn Boy and Dashboard Confessional); but going by the moniker Owl City. Adam was searching more for a mood when coming up with a title for his sound, rather than something easily identifiable. He goes on to explain that most of the artists that catch his eye have something unique about their name, something that lingers.
So one has to ask: how did this Owl City phenomenon begin? How does a young artist writing songs underneath his garage, acoustic foam and books everywhere, reach an audience of millions? Im still trying to figure it out, Adam laughs. Back in June of 2007 it kind of started on a whim. My parents were away for the weekend, and wanting to be loud and make some noise and whatever, I began writing versions of what became my first, self released cd - Of June. I put it up on MySpace the following month and didnt tell anyone. Word of mouth began to spread for Adams music, with demands coming from various parts of the country for an album. Maybe Im Dreaming, released in March of 2008, was Owl Citys full length debut. The album has garnered great critical praise and is a clear representation of Owl Citys progression as an artist. Adam has become a phenomenon on MySpace with over 6 million profile views and over 25 million plays, which is outstanding in such a short span of time. Its clear that, from his basement, Owl City is making a colossal impact on the music scene.
What might be swirling through his head after such a quick and sudden start at stardom? The biggest thing I was concerned-slash-worried about was the live performance never having played a show as Owl City. There was a lot of apprehension. Adams concern, about being a one-man wizard on the keyboard, hunched over a computer, was put to the test recently with his first gig. Most, if not all, of his fears were quickly put to rest as Adam played to a sold out show in Minneapolis. It was surreal, Adam says, to have people buying your t-shirts, singing the words louder than I was; it felt so good.
As listeners on MySpace climb into the millions, Owl City is focused on writing more songs, getting more comfortable on stage, and satisfying a fan base that is growing and eagerly anticipating new material. With a new album available everywhere, Adam's future is as exciting, expansive and as mellifluous as his music. I've loved every minute of it so far, and Im looking forward to whats going to happen next. So are we.
Owl City is a stage name which refers to Adam Young's synthpop/alternative dance project. Formed in early 2007, he called it as a result of his insomnia which forced him to go to his parents' basement and make music in there. From playing music inside the basement, Owl City was ready to showcase his music to the world. He created a MySpace profile and dropped a debut single "Hello Seattle" in 2007 which received more than 6 million plays on the web. Following the success of the song, he released an indie mini album called "Of June" which included 7 tracks. Though only getting self-promotion, the album managed to peak at number 20 on Billboard Electronic Albums chart.
Still unsigned, he was fearless to make another album. In 2008, a full-length indie effort called "Maybe I'm Dreaming" came out. Like his mini album, this record also cracked the Top 20 of Billboard Electronic Albums chart. Every catchy tune which was born from the hands of Owl City was influenced by electronic music from Imogen Heap, Relient K, Boards of Canada and Armin van Buuren.
Having two efforts charting on the Top 20 of the U.S. electronic albums chart apparently brought Owl City to the attention of experts in music scene. In early 2009, he was signed to Universal Republic followed by the outing of his major-label debut album "Ocean Eyes" in July 2009. With "Hello Seattle" remix offered as one of its bonus tracks, the album debuted at No. 27 on Billboard Hot 200 and jumped to No. 8 after three months on sale.
One of his duet songs with Relient K's Matt Thiessen was outed as the lead single from the album. Titled "Fireflies", it entered at No. 97 on Billboard Hot 100 and soon became a hit and ruled the U.S. singles chart. Per November 7, 2009, the track sold more than 878,000 downloads.
His music career rocketed even more with his recruitment as one of the musicians who scores soundtrack for popular TV series "90210". He is also scheduled to tour with Cobra Starship in China and Japan. While 2009 seems to be his brightest year, 2010 is surely another chance for Owl City to build a stronger fans base. He hits the road across the four continents, America, Asia, Australia and Europe, with one of his music inspirations LIGHTS.
