September 14, 2015 | 0 Comments

ADVANCE BASE – NEPHEW IN THE WILD is at Top 200 Radio Now!!!

I need to tell you about my totally amazing add from Sept 1: it’s ADVANCE BASE!! That’s Owen Ashworth, formerly known as CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE—one of my all-time favorite bands, for real, this is super special to me, like check out this review I wrote of one of his albums back in 2009, long before I knew the guy!!! Since then I’ve gotten to work with him a couple times, including working his first Advance Base record in 2012, and putting on a show he played in Brooklyn later that year. If this is your first time hearing of this guy (it shouldn’t be if you’ve been around for a bit, but I know it’s fall at college so a lot of you are brand-newbies, so some of you get a pass), you’ve got a lot to catch up on. There’s a whole constellation of stuff to get into here if you end up liking this guy even a little bit. His brother’s an electronic/found sounds musician named Gordon Ashworth (who used to go by Concern). He produced beats for the excellent rapper Serengeti. He frequently collaborates with Nicholas Krgovich, known under his own name as well as his projects P:Ano and No Kids. He co-wrote and contributed electric piano to some songs on Sun Kil Moon‘s latest album Benji; also Mark Kozelek of SKM released Advance Base’s first full-length album through his label, Caldo Verde. Owen also runs his own label, Orindal Records, which put out this current album as well as records by many of those aforementioned artists. You may have noticed Advance Base’s NPR First Listen a little while ago, or BrooklynVegan‘s nice recent tour post (which also includes a full album stream), or Rick Moody’s thoughtful interview with Owen in The Rumpus, or Consequence of Sound‘s nice feature on the single “Pamela”, or Impose‘s feature on that same track, or PopMatters‘ feature on the single “My Love For You is Like a Puppy Underfoot” (which features female vocalist Jody Weinmann), or the Spin review that calls him an “auteur”. Basically what I’m getting at is: this one is a BIG DEAL!! I’m sorry to report that this record went out almost 100% as a download, so please don’t be offended if you didn’t get a hard copy, it wasn’t personal (THIS TIME!), but please DO check your email (it’s there, assuming you work at a radio station and we know each other even a little bit) and download it, even if you hardly ever download, because THIS RECORD IS WORTH IT!!! And then get to spinning this record ASAP, it’s IMPORTANT!!

ADVANCE BASE

NEPHEW IN THE WILD

Orindal Records

It’s been three years since Advance Base’s debut album, A Shut-In’s Prayer, made #19 on MOJO Magazine’s “Best Albums of 2012” list. Since then, singer, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Owen Ashworth (who formerly used the moniker Casiotone for the Painfully Alone) has published a book of drawings, made beats for Chicago rapper Serengeti, recorded the debut single by psych-folk troubadour Julie Byrne, paid tribute to gospel & outsider music legend Washington Phillips (see 2013’s The World Is In A Bad Fix Everywhere EP), contributed electric piano & co-writing credits to Sun Kil Moon‘s critically acclaimed 2014 album, Benji, & produced more than a dozen other releases for his own label, Orindal Records. Ashworth has finally turned his focus back on his own music & given us Nephew in the Wild, the second official album by Advance Base.

Nephew in the Wild is a nostalgic, melancholic & occasionally harrowing collection of lo-fi indie rock & electronic pop. Electric pianos, drum kits, drum machines, autoharps, Omnichords, Optigans, Mellotrons & the occasional guitar lay the foundation for sweetly sad stories about lonely Midwesterners trying to make sense of their troubled pasts. In the world of Nephew in the Wild, the internet hasn’t been invented yet, & a change of address is the only thing a person needs to exit their old life completely. Disappearance, displacement, hell-raising, child-raising, Christmas, Michigan, arson, aging & animals are recurring themes throughout the album.

Nephew in the Wild was recorded by Ashworth in his basement in Oak Park, Illinois, with additional instrumentation by Nicholas Krgovich (No Kids, P:ano, Gigi), Mike Adams (Mike Adams at His Honest Weight, husband&wife), Howard Draper (Tre Orsi, Okkervil River, Shearwater) & Mat Sweet (Boduf Songs), among others. Ashworth’s baritone vocals & frank, conversational lyrics sit at the front of the mix throughout nine of Nephew in the Wild’s ten songs, while guest vocalist Jody Weinmann takes the lead on the album’s only co-write, “My Love for You is Like a Puppy Underfoot.”

RIYL: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Magnetic Fields, David Bazan, Sun Kil Moon, Smog, Daniel Johnston, Nicholas Krgovich, Mount Eerie

Start With: 1, 7, 5, 6 FCC: 1 says “ass”, otherwise CLEAN

FALL 2015 TOUR DATES:

September 25 – Chicago, IL @ Pinky Swear !
October 15 – Columbus, OH @ Tree Bar
October 16 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Roboto Project *
October 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Sound Hole *
October 19 – Manhattan, NY @ Mercury Lounge *
October 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Silent Barn #
October 22 – Albany, NY @ Low Beat *
October 23 – Boston, MA @ Lilypad *
October 24 – Bar Harbor, ME @ Lompoc *&
October 25 – Portland, ME @ Apohadion Theater *&
October 26 – Winooski, VT @ Monkey House
October 27 – Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
October 29 – Detroit, MI @ Lager House
November 2 – DeKalb, IL @ House Cafe +
November 4 – Birmingham, AL @ Spring Street Firehouse %
November 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn %
November 7 – Greenville, NC @ Art Avenue %
November 8 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 %