DT probes… Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - an interview with Owen Ashworth
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (CftPA) is Owen Ashworth of Chicago. He makes laid-back but impossibly involving eletronic pop. CftPA released two albums in 2009 - the all new collection Vs. Children and a rather special compilation of B-Sides, rarities and covers called Advance Base Battery Life. The latter featured an atmospheric cover of Streets of Philadelphia that you can listen to here. The track features ambient artist Concern, otherwise known as Gordon Ashworth, Owen’s brother, who’s also been supporting him on tour a bunch. CftPA is a stalwart of the Tomlab label - home to releases from a number of fantastic artists including Deerhoof, Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy), Why? and Xiu Xiu.
Casiotone is on tour throughout the United States as we speak, and completed a tour of the UK and Europe at the end of 2009.
Anyhow…
Here’s DT’s interview with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. We find out why he has two of everything, how he came to know the lovely crafter Julia Pott and a new hip-hop direction…
DT: The last time I saw you play it was with a full band. How do you feel this changes the spirit of your live shows?
Playing with a full band means I can try different kinds of things. Some of my songs are better-suited for four musicians, as opposed to usual samplers and keyboards. I love that I have the opportunity to present my music in different ways. It gives me a chance to experiment and challenge myself.
DT: You seem to have a very solid live setup and a really coherent live sound – is the gear setup at shows the same as your studio setup? If not, how does it differ?
It’s some of the same stuff, but there’s also a lot of equipment that stays at home. I have doubles of a lot of my live equipment, just in case something breaks. There are a lot of keyboards and other kinds of instruments that live in my music room, and I use a different sampler for the new songs that I work on at home. Lots of the home instruments turn into samples, and those samples turn into songs, and the songs that I decide to play live go into the live sampler.
DT: How was it touring with your brother? Any fall outs?
I love touring with my brother. Since we live in different cities, it’s pretty much the only way we get to spend any time together. It helps that I really love his music, and I look forward to the times that I get to see him play live. I was a little worried about how we’d get along on that big long European tour, but we got along great. We shared a room when we were kids, and we shared the backseat of my parents’ minivan on lots of family road trips and vacations, so we’re plenty used to spend lots of boring time together.
DT: In 2009 you were selected by fans to play All Tomorrow’s Parties in Minehead. What did it mean to you to be “chosen” by fans?
It was a real honor. It meant a lot to know that we were there because people asked for us. Some really nice people came up to me at the festival and told me that they had voted for CFTPA and they were really excited and proud to see me there. I mean how great is that?
DT: The artwork on your albums and promo really seems to capture CftPA’s sound and mood. How do you go about deciding on the concept for the artwork and who does the actual design?
The album design is done by myself and Jan Lankisch, who is Tomlab’s in house designer. He works on most of the Tomlab releases. Most of the simple line drawings on my records, t-shirts, websites, etc are mine, and the fantastic colorful amazing paintings on the the covers of the last few albums were made by Heidi Anderson. For Etiquette and Vs. Children I basically told her what the songs were about and what some of the important central images were, and then she’d send me a few ideas before she actually painted the thing. I really love her art.
DT: The video for White Corolla was created by Julia Pott. Her work’s becoming really well respected over here. How did you first find out about her?
She emailed me and asked if I’d want to make a video with her, and I said yes. It was the easiest thing on the world. She’s great and I’m really happy that she wanted to work with me.
DT: You’ve never been overtly connected with any scenes; do you feel this sense of independence has shaped your music?
I have some good friends who play music, and they have certainly been an influence on me. I don’t know if I’d call it a scene, though. I haven’t ever felt any sort of obligation to make a particular kind of music, and I’m glad for that.
DT: There’s a lot of lo-fi electronica coming from California at the moment, but your sound still really stands out as something different. Do you feel that living in Chicago has given your sound a different perspective to the CA movements?
I’m not really familiar with lo-fi electronica from California in particular. If my music sounds different, it’s probably the result of my ignorance of most indie music. I’m not sure how my new home has changed the sound of my music, but the American Midwest was a definitely a big influence on the lyrical content of the last album. Most of the songs were set in and around Chicago.
DT: Who are some of your favourite artists and bands at the moment?
I just bought a J Dilla album called Jay Stay Paid and I’ve been listening to that a bunch lately. I’ve also been listening to a new album by Otouto, who are a band from Melbourne, Australia. We played some shows together this past fall and I really fell in love with them. I had a similar experience with the music of Robert Stillman, who I just met in Brighton earlier this month. He made a CD called Master Box and I really like it. My brother gave me a John Fahey record for Christmas that I’ve really been enjoying as well.
DT: Do you have a day job? Do you have any tips on how to effectively manage music making when faced with having to work for a living?
Music is my only job. Playing shows and selling shirts and records through mail order are the ways that I pay my rent. I recently started making beats for some local hip hop artists and I’ve really been enjoying that.
It took a good ten years of touring, booking my own shows, working crummy day jobs, losing and borrowing money, sleeping on floors, and doubting myself to get to the point where I’m at now. I almost quit lots of times, but I’m finally at a point where making music for a living feels real and sustainable. Without the support of my family and some great friends, I don’t think I’d still be doing this.
DT: Who’s your favorite children’s character and why?
My favorite children’s character is Rowlf from the Muppets. I like his voice and pleasant demeanor and human hands.
