NT: Hey man! Can you give an introduction to the people that haven’t heard of you yet?
O: 'ello, brother. I sure can: I'm Owsey, or Owen, as some people say. I'm a quiet guy, and recently I've focused a somewhat preposterous amount of time on musique. I like to put emphasis on the importance of adding visuals and themes to music. I'd hope most would agree that a certain substance is born from these traits. In fact, my favourite part of my musical endeavors is when I add a title and piece of cover art to the finished product. It can only increase the music, I believe.NT: You’re quite a prolific producer (at least you are recently!) Where have all these tracks come from? Have you been sat on them for a while, or are you just constantly making music?
O: A meld of varying reasons: I had what you might consider an album of music developing over the past year. About half of my recent uploads stemmed from it. However, I broke the whole coherent mix of tunes, as it eventually became littered by too much music, and so it upset the constancy of the initial theme. The rest of the tracks sprouted through other reasons, such as my unquenchable thirst to put music to the work of my favourite photographers, a fair amount of free time, and a general urge to simply make music. Herbal teas ignite the ol' inspiration too.Owsey - She Had One Chance Before He Sailed Away
NT: Where do you take influence from, both within and outside of music? Some of your tracks seem quite cinematic, and there’s something about the names you choose that adds to that, in my opinion.
O: Well, I feed off the enthusiasm of storytelling artists, such as Fjern, Kevin MacInnis, Mew and The Decemberists. These people know how to add an additional element beyond the music itself: telling good, clear stories. They have influenced my workflow significantly, and it was in fact Fjern who lured me into this realm. The departments of outside life definitely direct my music in certain ways. The titles, as you've already picked up on, are often in regard to my own experiences. Though adding a sprinkle of fiction to music is always fun. It's cliche, but nature can't help but to sneak its way into my tunes. Getting out there beyond conventional living is important. I'm with Lord Byron: "I love not man the less, but Nature more."
NT: What’s with the pictures of the girls that you use for artwork so often? Any particular reason behind that? Not that anybody’s complaining....
O: Well, mostly an affinity for the photographers behind the subjects. Owsey must contain some of his secrets though. I don't mind what people make of them, but it's worth noting that I regard the cover art for my tunes very, very fondly.Sorrow & Owsey - To Yearn And To Reconcile
NT: For an ‘underground’ producer, you’ve built up quite a following on Soundcloud (almost 1500) all without a release of any kind. Did you do anything to get that following? If not, how does it make you feel that you’ve amassed so many fans just like that?
O: I ain't complainin'. 1500 pales in comparison to the "accomplished" artists out there, but it's important to me, and I'm unable to say how much the feedback and listens encourage my growth. However, to be frank, Soundcloud has a flawed following system, mostly due to the "follow me backs" evident everywhere you go. I could account many of my followers to this particular category, I'm sure. There were no secrets behind it. The fact that my avatar was an attractive photograph of an attractive woman for a while probably helped explain some of the following. I don't know. It's still on the rise even with a surreal avatar of myself boasting the head of a wolf though!NT: Do you have any releases forthcoming, or do you just intend to carry on giving them away?
O: A bit of both. I have some very cool label interest, but I really shouldn't reveal too much just yet. Best not to get my hopes up. Interest has been expressed to release my Birdy remix on limited vinyl, alongside Essay and T.I.P., which could be very cool. Other than that, I'll always give away free music alongside label releases. Birdy - Shelter (Owsey Remix)
NT: And finally, if you had to pick your three favourite ‘Night Tracks’, what would they be?
O: Stumbleine - Tremolo Sorrow - Guardian
Burial - Untrue
I hope it's OK to also chime in with a little about Roof Light and Birds of Passage's new project, Brother Sun, Sister Moon - these guys are putting out some of my favourite music right now, blending all sorts of moods. Some very suitable "night" music in there.
NT: Thanks for your time man! Be sure to check out more of his tunes and follow him and other members of the Night Shift Collective on Soundcloud.