You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about or what I’m trying to say here, maybe you’d just wonder.
Is that Owl City? Definitely.
Owl City is the name of a synthpop/electronica one-man project formed in early 2006 by the man who happened to go by the name of Adam.
A brief background about the artist:
He is Adam Young. He prefers daydreams over reality. Music is his muse. He writes and records in his basement. His songs are all he has to show for his sleepless nights and he hopes for his listeners to enjoy it as much as he enjoyed creating them.
Alluding to musical inspiration from the likes of Boards of Canada, Prefuse 73 and Sigur Rós, the vegetarian insomniac also asserts God, G-rated movies and optimism as real-world influences.
Owl City has often been compared to The Postal Service, and also to Ben Gibbard’s main act Death Cab For Cutie to a lesser extent. The comparisons come from the similarities of their voices, the 1980s influence to their electro-pop, and both bands using guest female singers on some of their songs. Though Adam takes this as a compliment, the question is often asked and having him irritated, he once had the thought of responding that he has never heard of The Postal Service. Well for me I’d feel the same way, because I don’t like being compared to anyone. Who does?
I AM
But the latter’s lush, electronic-emotional is a definitive influence on Owl City’s own brightly hued, shiver-inducing electro-pop ditties, while the former symbolizes Adam’s epistolary approach, with every song sounding like a chamber opens from his heart and zipped cross-country to a lovelorn crush.
I AM — Adam Young, trying to know if there’s someone out there, listening.
Rhapsody shared a lot about Adam’s albums particularly on his debut EP, Of June, Adam sang of floating in space in a set that referenced cruise ships, airplanes and nonstop modern motion, sounding at once thrilled with distance and nostalgic for a simpler, stay-at-home lifestyle. He came into his own style with Maybe I’m Dreaming, which found him fleshing out his subtle, catchy sound with acoustic guitars and more intricate songwriting. This is the sound of being young, in love and 110% alive.
- What a blissful recording and I don’t have anything to say about this brilliant artist.
His latest album is released this year because of his hit-single ‘Fireflies’ that has reached the top of the charts, very relaxing Ocean Eyes. “The stars lean down to kiss you/And I lie awake and miss you,” murmurs Minnesota MySpace sensation Adam Young on “Vanilla Twilight,” a typically dreamy track from his major-label debut. (Take note, MySpace! It really does great in dealing with artists and music and stuff.) Throughout Ocean Eyes, Adam Young sets his breathy croon over gentle laptop beats and goes on about romance, the joy of spying fireflies and how he gets nervous going to the dentist. Often, Young sounds like a cuter version of the Postal Service. Love songs like “On the Wing” — a ballad with a plush, twinkling electro beat where the singer lies awake dreaming of his beloved — are serious mush, like a zealous e-mail you’ll regret in the morning.
“Shimmering pop gems that blend lyrical charm and electronic glamour into fluffy mountains of candy-coated melody.” That’s how people see Owl City.
Okay, I’ve said enough about the albums. Aside from liking the profound lyrics and unique musicality even the rarely edited voice, moreover, I make Owl City’s songs my lullabies <3 but the best part and indeed I like so much about Adam Young is that He lives and sings for Christ. I really liked Owl City more when I knew about this fact — just because of what Adam said, “I follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. He is my life, my strength, my all.” I fell much more in love with the songs and my motivation in music and in Christ was pumped up.
I love The Saltwater Room, I’ll Meet You There, Hello, Seattle, Fireflies, Vanilla Twilight, …everything.
So you love Owl City? Got his albums yet? I’d be glad to share with you all of the songs and talk more about it with you. And maybe we can jam and play it as a band, well hopefully.