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 there’s an unkempt basement with no windows. Within those confines you’ll find Adam Young of Owl City hard at work on his electronic and melodically infectious music of simple and singular beauty. Click here for Owl City Tickets.
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. The same adjectives could easily describe Owl City’s first official album – Ocean Eyes – due to be released in the UK on 1st March 2010.
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 neighbourhood, Adam seemed compelled to lend his time and creative ideas to music. “I’ve always been the shy guy, I don’t see that changing, but I definitely feel a lot more comfortable than I anticipated. I can hide behind the music.”
So one has to ask: how did this OwlCity phenomenon begin? How does a young artist writing songs underneath his garage, acoustic foam and books everywhere, reach an audience of millions? “I’m 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 digital EP - Of June. I put it up on MySpace the following month and didn’t tell anyone.”
Adam has since become a phenomenon on MySpace with more than 12 million profile views and 50 million plays, which is outstanding in such a short span of time. He had sold 25k albums and 200k digital tracks in the US before he had received any radio play or done any touring, which is simply jaw dropping. It’s clear that OwlCity is making a colossal impact on the music scene.
As listeners on MySpace climb into the tens of millions, OwlCity gets set to release the debut single in the UK, Umbrella Beach; a track that conveys Adam’s trademark desire to escape in dreams, oceans and sky. This will be followed by the hit single Fireflies on 15th February, which made it to No.1 in both the Billboard Top 100 Chart and the itunes chart. The album Ocean Eyes is released on 1st March.
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 ‘OwlCity.’ There was a lot of apprehension.” Adam’s concern, about being a one-man wizard on the keyboard, “hunched over a computer,” was put to the test 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.” The word-for-word sing alongs and sell out shows have since continued as Adam and his band embarked on a sold out tour of America in autumn 2009.
Having already won a huge fan base in America, Adam hopes to win lots of fans here in the UK when OwlCity hits our shores in February 2010. When asked about visiting the UK Adam said, “I’m excited to see what it’s like, I only hear good things about it!” As he continues to satisfy a global fan base that is constantly growing and always eagerly anticipating new material, OwlCity’s future is as exciting, expansive and mellifluous as it’s music. “I’ve loved every minute of it so far, and I’m looking forward to what’s going to happen next.” So are we.
UK TOUR DATES
17th Feb - Komedia, Brighton
18th Feb - Islington Academy, London
19th Feb - Academy 2, Oxford
20th Feb - Academy 2, Newcastle
21st Feb - Academy 2, Birmingham
22nd Feb - Academy 3, Manchester
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