Owl City’s Adam Young released his newest album, Midsummer Station, on August 21 that contrasts with previous works because he collaborated with other artists.
Before this album, Young usually wrote his songs alone, but this time around he hired co-writers and co-producers: Matt Thiessen of Relient K, Stargate (Rihanna and Wiz Khalifa), and the team of Josh Crosby, NateCompany, and Emily Wright.
“Initially, I was anxious about letting other people co-pilot the solo endeavor I’d always play close to my chest, but it was exhilarating not having 100 percent control over what happened,” Young said.
He was driven to try new things and to leave his comfort zone to become a better artist.
“I made my first two records on my own without any outside help and learned that it’s easy to over think what you do by allowing yourself to become too emotionally invested in what you’re doing,” Young said. “In the end, for me it’s about trying new things as an artist. Working with other artist taught me to care about the song as a piece of art created to reach people versus worrying about getting the final say or having my own way.”
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Young stated that for him, artistry and creativity are about trying new things.
“It’s a crime,” he said, “if you look back too much or repeat yourself.”
His collaborations with the other artists really gave him a new and fresh sound compared to his previous two albums as well as giving him a fresh feeling.
“Collaborating kills off a lot of ego and pride issues and that’s a really healthy thing,” Young said.
Moving forward for Young is a very big deal, and it is something that keeps him going.
“To me, it’s all about progressive forward movement, that’s what keeps me inspired. You’ve got to keep yourself inspired,” he said.
Young’s newest hit, “Good Time,” features the well known artist, Carly Rae Jepson.
Now, I am not a big fan of her biggest hit, “Call Me Maybe” but her work in his song is definitely exceptional.
The two came together to create one of the most upbeat songs in the album, and the music video is quite entertaining as well as creative.
In recent radio station polls, their song “Good Time” was a very close second in Alice 107.7’s weekly count down of hits, the song trailed Pink’s newest hit, “Blow Me (One Last Kiss),” by twelve votes.
Personally, I believe this album shows a much more creative side of Young.
Though he is usually a solo act, he was able to push himself out of his comfort zone to expand his knowledge of music, and in doing so he has expanded his audience.
He has a totally different sound, and it is really refreshing. His song “Embers” is a much more positive and encouraging song, the sound over all is entirely new and completely refreshing compared to his last two albums.
Owl City has come a long way from the first album and his first platinum hit, “Fire Flies.”
His newest songs have proven that he is capable of making positive changes and stepping outside of his comfort zone for the sake of progress.
Through this process Young has gained new fans and another place in the spotlight.
Art work used with permission from Moxie.org music service.
