Sometimes you hear a tune that stops you dead in your tracks and inspires a decision that changes your life.
The power of music: From small changes in your musical collection to massive changes that lead you to quitting school at 15 and, eventually, moving to another country to pursue music as a career…
Take Sam Reeves – AKA 17 year old Montana-born, Arizona-raised, Bournemouth UK-based Ownglow – he knows exactly which tune led him to change the path of his life completely.
“I got into producing because of UKF,” he grins. “It was B-Complex Beautiful Lies VIP…
“It had everything I love in it; it had great sampling, it was enegetic and had great atmosphere and emotion in it. Everything I want to convey with my own music. The second I heard it I needed to know how it was made…”
Four years and an impressive free download repertoire later and his first official release on Pilot Records lands this week. Both cuts – Gold and Tension – resonate with such rich jungle heritage we had to find out more about this talented youngster. It seems he’s been making money from his creativity for several years now…
You think 17 is young to be releasing music? He was taking on graphic design commissions at 14…
“I grew up in a spot where there was no such thing as drum & bass. Or anything at all really! I moved to Arizona from Montana when I was 12. I didn’t know anyone and there was nothing to do. All this isolation harboured a creativity and thirst to learn new things. I did a lot of graphic design between about 12 and 16, some of which was professionally paid for… I did things for YouTube channels and did some identity designs for universities and a high school. I gave it up when my thirst for production took over!”
Ownglow’s roots are pretty dark in places…
“When I was 15 I dropped out of school for a year and a half to work on music. I had quite a dark period in my life for a minute and really had no idea what direction things were taking and what I wanted to do. Teenage angst I guess. So I thought long and hard about it and realised that the light that really drove me was music. Music is my own glow. You can’t harbour a negative for too long.”
He’s also a bit of a badboy DJ…
Club entry might be 21 in his native US. And he’s still too young to (legally) enter a club in the UK. But that hasn’t stopped him picking up skills in the live environment. He’s been known to smash it out on four decks….
“I can play on two, but I’d much rather four,” he grins. “I’ve played some really sketchy underground raves for several years now, and my friend ran a bar back home that I was able to come down and perform on. I’m ready for any type of club set-up you all can throw at me…”
Case in point: this slamming 28-track/28 minute mix…
Ownglow 4 Deck Mix by Ownglow on Mixcloud
Ownglow – Gold / Tension is out now on Pilot Records
Support on iTunes: http://ukf.me/1uW8kjB
Stream on Spotify: http://ukf.me/1yaF2RZ
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