112
113
114
115
112
113
114
so long, casiotone owen ashworth’s cat doesn’t recognise him any more words dani lurie portrait des tan By the time you read this, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone will be no more. The band, affectionately referred to as Casiotone or CFTPA, is the solo music project of Owen Ashworth. Since its inception thirteen years ago, he has recorded five albums and a string of compilations, EPs, splits and singles. Ashworth began making music exclusively using the band’s namesake; that is, on small battery-operated keyboards. He’s since moved on to include synthesisers and other instruments, but the music has never lost that endearingly lo-fi, electroindie sound that has won the hearts of fans and critics. The songs themselves are best described as character studies, vignettes of people too smart for their own good, often lonely and lost in their own lives. Liberal arts college graduates frequently feature, aimlessly shuffling through their twenties via one-night stands and café jobs. Beneath witty lyricism, the songs seep regret, missed kisses, middle class poverty and achingly unrequited loves. The sweetly bipbop keyboard tones and catchy drum-machine-led melodies soften the blow of what might otherwise be the saddest songs you’ve ever heard. Owen Ashworth is in London, one of the stops on Casiotone’s final tour. The 33 year-old, Chicago-based musician is burly in a checkered shirt, his face framed by a beard and Elvis Costello glasses. You could place him against a forest backdrop with an axe, and it would seem fitting: a poster boy for the intellectual woodsman. It doesn’t help the association that there’s a red-tinted lamp next to him that fills the room with a Twin Peaks quality. There’s a quiet stoicism to Owen. He speaks in measured tones in his West Coast American accent. He’s friendly, and humble to compliments about his music. You know he’s heard it all before but you still get the impression that he’s genuinely appreciative. It’s been a long journey as Casiotone, he explains. “From the time I was 20 til now, I feel like a pretty different person. I’ve been doing this one thing for thirteen years and it’s been really great. I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot more things than I really had any initial aspirations to. It didn’t really occur to me when I started out that it would possibly last this long. It’s been great but I feel like…” He pauses. “I still really enjoy making music but there’s a lot about the music business and the day-to-day upkeep of having a musical project that I find really exhausting. It takes me away from what I really like about music, which is making songs. I love writing, I like recording. That’s kind of the point. It’s incredibly flattering and validating to meet people who like the music, but I feel like there’s so much I’ve gotten jaded about.” You get the sense of someone who’s weary for a chance to step out of the music business and back into what he really loves: music for its own sake. After years on and off the road, it’s no surprise Owen wants to go home. “I’d like to spend more time at home. I kind of feel like I’ve been in this weird time capsule or coma for a really long time, where I’ve been on tour so much that I feel like I’m missing out on a lot of my personal
115
112
113
114
115
112
113
114
so long, casiotone owen ashworth’s cat doesn’t recognise him any more words dani lurie portrait des tan By the time you read this, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone will be no more. The band, affectionately referred to as Casiotone or CFTPA, is the solo music project of Owen Ashworth. Since its inception thirteen years ago, he has recorded five albums and a string of compilations, EPs, splits and singles. Ashworth began making music exclusively using the band’s namesake; that is, on small battery-operated keyboards. He’s since moved on to include synthesisers and other instruments, but the music has never lost that endearingly lo-fi, electroindie sound that has won the hearts of fans and critics. The songs themselves are best described as character studies, vignettes of people too smart for their own good, often lonely and lost in their own lives. Liberal arts college graduates frequently feature, aimlessly shuffling through their twenties via one-night stands and café jobs. Beneath witty lyricism, the songs seep regret, missed kisses, middle class poverty and achingly unrequited loves. The sweetly bipbop keyboard tones and catchy drum-machine-led melodies soften the blow of what might otherwise be the saddest songs you’ve ever heard. Owen Ashworth is in London, one of the stops on Casiotone’s final tour. The 33 year-old, Chicago-based musician is burly in a checkered shirt, his face framed by a beard and Elvis Costello glasses. You could place him against a forest backdrop with an axe, and it would seem fitting: a poster boy for the intellectual woodsman. It doesn’t help the association that there’s a red-tinted lamp next to him that fills the room with a Twin Peaks quality. There’s a quiet stoicism to Owen. He speaks in measured tones in his West Coast American accent. He’s friendly, and humble to compliments about his music. You know he’s heard it all before but you still get the impression that he’s genuinely appreciative. It’s been a long journey as Casiotone, he explains. “From the time I was 20 til now, I feel like a pretty different person. I’ve been doing this one thing for thirteen years and it’s been really great. I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot more things than I really had any initial aspirations to. It didn’t really occur to me when I started out that it would possibly last this long. It’s been great but I feel like…” He pauses. “I still really enjoy making music but there’s a lot about the music business and the day-to-day upkeep of having a musical project that I find really exhausting. It takes me away from what I really like about music, which is making songs. I love writing, I like recording. That’s kind of the point. It’s incredibly flattering and validating to meet people who like the music, but I feel like there’s so much I’ve gotten jaded about.” You get the sense of someone who’s weary for a chance to step out of the music business and back into what he really loves: music for its own sake. After years on and off the road, it’s no surprise Owen wants to go home. “I’d like to spend more time at home. I kind of feel like I’ve been in this weird time capsule or coma for a really long time, where I’ve been on tour so much that I feel like I’m missing out on a lot of my personal
115
112
113
114
115
112
113
114
Self-portrait by Owen Ashworth.
life. I mean, I love travelling but I can’t do it forever. It’s crazy. And my life is fucking falling apart otherwise. I mean, my cat doesn’t even recognise me. I hate how little direct involvement I have in the lives of my friends and family. I just feel like it’s time to just buck up and be a real person.”
figure I’ve had some really great experiences with my music for the last thirteen years and I want to quit before I hate it. I feel like I had a lot of these experiences and it’s stupid to think that it has to go on forever. There are other things that I’m excited to do, so it feels like a good place to stop.”
Part of the strain has come from Owen’s fiercely independent approach to managing his own career. He’s never had a manager, and he’s carried all the weight of his own decisions. “I’m glad I’ve done a lot of things on my own, and it feels good. I feel very proud of what I’ve accomplished. But I don’t want this to be my whole life. I feel like I have other interests and it feels really shallow that so much of my time is focused on this one thing.”
So what will Owen be doing once Casiotone is over? Since dropping out of film school in his early twenties—the popular tale being that he started writing songs because it was a cheaper way to tell stories than having to buy film—he’s mused on different career paths, although has never made a commitment. At one stage he thought about becoming a barber. “There was a while when I was cutting my friends’ hair a lot and I was like, ‘I’m okay at this,’ but the idea of actually having to go to beauty school or whatever it is doesn’t really appeal to me.”
It seems that most of the contention comes from working within the industry. “Honestly, I’m kind of disgusted by the music business and the industry of music,” he says. “It’s just not a game I really want to play in the end.” Casiotone may be over but Owen isn’t quitting music entirely. There’s a new music project waiting in the wings: Advance Base. “It was the name of a meteorological outpost in Antarctica in the 40s. I read a book about it and really enjoyed the book, and I just like the idea.” The new band name is also nod to Advance Base Battery Life, a collection of singles and compilation tracks that he recorded as Casiotone between 2004 and 2007. “I kind of like the idea of there being sort of a string or connection that will make the transition a little easier.”
“No pun intended, but I’ve got all these hair-brained ideas. I guess I’m kind of finicky and I have these flights of fancy of things I’d like to try doing.”
Owen plans to play shows with Advance Base but is adamant that he’ll be touring a lot less. He won’t be turning into a recluse either.
His latest idea is to open a food cart in Portland with his brother, with whom he shares a passion of food and cookery. “We’ve been sharing recipes for a long time. It just seems like an accessible plan right now.” He describes the growing movement in some parts of America for small, portable food carts that sell freshly-cooked, high-quality and inexpensive food straight to the public. He admits that he doesn’t have a business head—he just wants to cook—which is exactly why he finds that kind of accessible restaurant business so appealing. He hopes to strip away some of the “bureaucracy of the business part of opening a restaurant.”
“I’m not going to drop out of society. No, I think if anything, I just want to be more involved in my own life and just be home more. I
Owen talks passionately about his own speciality dishes—“collard greens egg rolls”—and his particular love of Southern American ‘soul
food’. He sets mouths watering with the description of his mashed sweet potatoes “with coconut milk, five spice, ginger and maple syrup.” He even reveals the recipe for a simple but effective peach cobbler that his grandma used to make. “I really like cooking for people,” he explains. “I feel like it’s a different kind of creativity. I’ve found when I’ve been frustrated working with music, I’ll just go cook something elaborate. There’s something really comforting in putting together the ingredients. I feel like there’s a real order to it but there’s also a lot of room for creativity. It feels very practical sometimes.” It’s different, of course. “Making music is such an abstract thing that sometimes it’s hard for me to see the use in it. Sometimes it can be a couple of years between the time that I have an idea for a song and get some version of it recorded, to the time that people actually hear it, so I feel like a lot of the ideas just live in this sort of extended suspended animation. Whereas cooking feels much more like instant gratification.” Given his interest in different types of food, touring the world with Casiotone has had its perks. “I enjoy being a tourist and I think eating is a really important part of being a tourist and being in a different place,” says Owen. “I love the opportunity to try weird stuff. I was just in Hamburg and I had a rhubarb soda for the first time, which was amazing. And when I was in Berlin, I had Sudanese falafel, which has a lot of the same components that are in your standard Lebanese cooking but they pour peanut sauce over everything, and it was so good. “I feel food is such a practical thing and it’s so instantly representative of the place it comes from. I feel like it’s a really nice way—an important way—to experience where you are. Coming home with the recipes is just like having souvenirs.”
owen’s grandma’s peach cobbler recipe “A cobbler is a very kind of traditionally Southern dish,” he says. “Just a lot of fruit and cake. It’s the easiest thing to make and it always amazes people.”
Ingredients 110g margarine 2 cans of sliced peaches 1 pack of yellow cake mix cinnamon or nutmeg frozen blackberries (optional)
One. Strain the peaches and put them in a pyrex or a baking tin. Optionally, “I’ll add frozen blackberries and I’ll also put just cinnamon or nutmeg or whatever spice, just to dress it up.” Two. Make up the cake mix and cover the peaches with it. Three. Melt the margarine, and drizzle it over the top. Four. Bake the mixture, following the cake mix directions for the cooking time.
115
112
113
114
115
112
113
114
Self-portrait by Owen Ashworth.
life. I mean, I love travelling but I can’t do it forever. It’s crazy. And my life is fucking falling apart otherwise. I mean, my cat doesn’t even recognise me. I hate how little direct involvement I have in the lives of my friends and family. I just feel like it’s time to just buck up and be a real person.”
figure I’ve had some really great experiences with my music for the last thirteen years and I want to quit before I hate it. I feel like I had a lot of these experiences and it’s stupid to think that it has to go on forever. There are other things that I’m excited to do, so it feels like a good place to stop.”
Part of the strain has come from Owen’s fiercely independent approach to managing his own career. He’s never had a manager, and he’s carried all the weight of his own decisions. “I’m glad I’ve done a lot of things on my own, and it feels good. I feel very proud of what I’ve accomplished. But I don’t want this to be my whole life. I feel like I have other interests and it feels really shallow that so much of my time is focused on this one thing.”
So what will Owen be doing once Casiotone is over? Since dropping out of film school in his early twenties—the popular tale being that he started writing songs because it was a cheaper way to tell stories than having to buy film—he’s mused on different career paths, although has never made a commitment. At one stage he thought about becoming a barber. “There was a while when I was cutting my friends’ hair a lot and I was like, ‘I’m okay at this,’ but the idea of actually having to go to beauty school or whatever it is doesn’t really appeal to me.”
It seems that most of the contention comes from working within the industry. “Honestly, I’m kind of disgusted by the music business and the industry of music,” he says. “It’s just not a game I really want to play in the end.” Casiotone may be over but Owen isn’t quitting music entirely. There’s a new music project waiting in the wings: Advance Base. “It was the name of a meteorological outpost in Antarctica in the 40s. I read a book about it and really enjoyed the book, and I just like the idea.” The new band name is also nod to Advance Base Battery Life, a collection of singles and compilation tracks that he recorded as Casiotone between 2004 and 2007. “I kind of like the idea of there being sort of a string or connection that will make the transition a little easier.”
“No pun intended, but I’ve got all these hair-brained ideas. I guess I’m kind of finicky and I have these flights of fancy of things I’d like to try doing.”
Owen plans to play shows with Advance Base but is adamant that he’ll be touring a lot less. He won’t be turning into a recluse either.
His latest idea is to open a food cart in Portland with his brother, with whom he shares a passion of food and cookery. “We’ve been sharing recipes for a long time. It just seems like an accessible plan right now.” He describes the growing movement in some parts of America for small, portable food carts that sell freshly-cooked, high-quality and inexpensive food straight to the public. He admits that he doesn’t have a business head—he just wants to cook—which is exactly why he finds that kind of accessible restaurant business so appealing. He hopes to strip away some of the “bureaucracy of the business part of opening a restaurant.”
“I’m not going to drop out of society. No, I think if anything, I just want to be more involved in my own life and just be home more. I
Owen talks passionately about his own speciality dishes—“collard greens egg rolls”—and his particular love of Southern American ‘soul
food’. He sets mouths watering with the description of his mashed sweet potatoes “with coconut milk, five spice, ginger and maple syrup.” He even reveals the recipe for a simple but effective peach cobbler that his grandma used to make. “I really like cooking for people,” he explains. “I feel like it’s a different kind of creativity. I’ve found when I’ve been frustrated working with music, I’ll just go cook something elaborate. There’s something really comforting in putting together the ingredients. I feel like there’s a real order to it but there’s also a lot of room for creativity. It feels very practical sometimes.” It’s different, of course. “Making music is such an abstract thing that sometimes it’s hard for me to see the use in it. Sometimes it can be a couple of years between the time that I have an idea for a song and get some version of it recorded, to the time that people actually hear it, so I feel like a lot of the ideas just live in this sort of extended suspended animation. Whereas cooking feels much more like instant gratification.” Given his interest in different types of food, touring the world with Casiotone has had its perks. “I enjoy being a tourist and I think eating is a really important part of being a tourist and being in a different place,” says Owen. “I love the opportunity to try weird stuff. I was just in Hamburg and I had a rhubarb soda for the first time, which was amazing. And when I was in Berlin, I had Sudanese falafel, which has a lot of the same components that are in your standard Lebanese cooking but they pour peanut sauce over everything, and it was so good. “I feel food is such a practical thing and it’s so instantly representative of the place it comes from. I feel like it’s a really nice way—an important way—to experience where you are. Coming home with the recipes is just like having souvenirs.”
owen’s grandma’s peach cobbler recipe “A cobbler is a very kind of traditionally Southern dish,” he says. “Just a lot of fruit and cake. It’s the easiest thing to make and it always amazes people.”
Ingredients 110g margarine 2 cans of sliced peaches 1 pack of yellow cake mix cinnamon or nutmeg frozen blackberries (optional)
One. Strain the peaches and put them in a pyrex or a baking tin. Optionally, “I’ll add frozen blackberries and I’ll also put just cinnamon or nutmeg or whatever spice, just to dress it up.” Two. Make up the cake mix and cover the peaches with it. Three. Melt the margarine, and drizzle it over the top. Four. Bake the mixture, following the cake mix directions for the cooking time.
115