Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Interview December 2009
By: Liane Escorza
Rockfeedback’s Liane Escorza caught up with Owen Ashworth, the man behind one man lo-fi synth sensation Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, ahead of his appearance in Oxford late last year.
[Photograph copyright Liane Escorza 2010]
Rockfeedback: What brings you to the UK right before Christmas?
Owen Ashworth: “Well, I was invited to play in Istanbul and other parts of Europe and I mentioned to my booking agent that I could stop by some cities in England to play pre-Christmas shows… and here I am!”
RFB: You have quite a following here…
OA: “Yes, especially English speaking countries. I have recently been in Australia, New Zealand, … obviously the States, the UK, Ireland… I guess where the record is available.”
RFB: Do you find any differences in the way the people react to your music in these countries?
OA: “There is obviously a difference in cultures, even within the countries themselves, the regions…. like, it’s not the same to play in Georgia than in New York or Chicago. And it is true that Europe usually requests longer sets. I have to embrace performances that are an hour or more in length instead of the 45-minute act I tend to play in the US.”
RFB: Tell us about how you came up with your sound.
OA: “It started with what was available to me when making music. I started writing songs when I was at school, when I was taking creative writing lessons. I guess it was a form of expression. I was always interested in film but I thought that was a medium that was so unattainable. It’s a huge scale to try and get people to listen to you or read your work, but when it comes to music, you don’t have to get too personal.”
RFB: It is seems to be harder nowadays to be recognized in music in any case, since so many bands and performers are competing within all these newly accessible platforms: the internet, radio, magazines, podcasts… Artists now need to be directly more responsible to engage the fans.
OA: “Indeed. Making a record or making an impact to start with is very hard. You either have to play loads of concerts, which luckily I enjoy very much, or you do licensing and advertise and things like that. I feel a lot of people waste a lot of energy doing that. I’ve had song on a TV show, also in Italian TV but it was all by chance; I was just approached, you know. I’ve heard horror stories about Skins, how they totally take advantage of that and take most of your money anyway.”
RFB: Where do you see music going?
OA: “I’m not good at music business but I play because I guess I am good enough at it and I really enjoy it. I was never too involved in the music industry, if you know what I mean, as in ‘interested’ or knowing what was going on so I couldn’t even say how things will look like in the future.”
RFB: Your music now has a bit more of instrumentation…
OA: “Yeah, when I started playing I borrowed a little keyboard from my brother, which I still haven’t given back (laughs) – I got him a new one though – but it has been a slow evolution, I toured, I made a record, then I toured again and each time I added a new trick, a new sound. I didn’t feel like there was a point when I had to change. I guess initially I was making no money doing this and it’s not like I’m making lots now but earning a bit allowed me to get a bit more equipment and be pretty free and play music with other people.”
[Photograph copyright Liane Escorza]
RFB: You have played live with a band before or collaborated in albums.
OA: “Yeah, it is a lot of fun, getting your friends to play with you and tour around, but ultimately, it can get too much; I can’t ask them to do it forever, they have their own projects, they have to take time off and it becomes a bit of a task to pull it off. I do like the idea of trying projects with other people in the future where it’s equal state, though…”
RFB: What are your current plans on the horizon?
OA: “Oh I’m making some beats for this guy that raps; I heard a couple of tracks and I liked it very much so yeah. It’s nice to get involved in someone else’s work, you know?”
RFB: Why did you move to Chicago from California?
OA: “Well, I felt like CA was a bit of a bubble and I wanted to experience new things and explore other parts of the country and Chicago is a very different city, it has a very criminal history and it is fascinating architecturally and also in terms of musical history; but to be honest I didn’t move there because of the music - It was more of a personal choice. Maybe in a few years I will move somewhere else (smiles).”
RFB: Did you hear about the fight for the number 1 spot between the X factor finalist and Rage Against The Machine?
OA: “You know? I didn’t until I got here! Someone explained it to me briefly because I am not into these kind of TV programmes. How did RATM feel about it?”
RFB: They said on the radio that they were really pleased about it. But the record label eats the cake because they’re both signed to the same one.
OA: “Oh really?? Now THAT is interesting… what a win win, eh?”
Artists in this article: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone