Driven Far Off

The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.

Owl City Release New Song; Distribution Service

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Owl City has released a new song titled “To The Sky” which is from the upcoming Warner Brothers animated feature film “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole ,” in theaters September 24.

Working in film has always been an irrational dream of mine and since having had the opportunity to do something like this, I am utterly bereft of speech.

The film is directed by Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300), animated by Animal Logic (creators of Happy Feat) – and features “To The Sky” as its title track. The song has been made available for download on iTunes here . The soundtrack will be available everywhere digitally and exclusively at Borders physically on September 21.

Owl City has also announced a distribution deal in partner with TuneCore, the largest independent digital distributor, to help you share your music with the world. For a limited time, fans choosing to distribute through Owl City Distribution will be eligible to take part in a special promotion. Adam Young will choose his favorite release from all submissions and write a critique of that album. Submissions must be received by December 1, 2010 so hurry on over to Owl City Distribution to get started.

Sky Sailing Release Date, Pre-Order

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Before Owl City, Adam Young recorded a 11 song record in his parents basement and called himself Sky Sailing. These recordings have never before been released but now is the time. An Airplane Carried Me To Bed is available for pre-order on iTunes and is set for release on June 13th. More about Sky Sailing can be read below with a full note from Young on the bands website.

Three and a half years ago, I recorded a collection of songs in my parent’s basement during the bleary-eyed hours of night when sleep and I could not bring ourselves to meet. I was a metalworker, working 6 AM to 4 PM at a warehouse in my little southern Minnesota town. I was writing, creating, thinking, imagining and breathing music with every second I had to spare. Music has always been my dream, but at that point in time, it was merely a feather tossed to the wind. Regardless, my spirits were far from dampened and I created music as fast and as furiously as I could. In my little basement bedroom, I had an old Dell computer, Reason 2.5, a friend’s borrowed Behringer C-1 condenser, a Behringer 8 channel analog mixer and my uncle’s old Alvarez. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing but I was a dreamer and music was my escape so I gave it everything I had. Never expecting my music to be heard anywhere but by my parents through the floorboards above, I wrote for my own ears. I was both artist and audience and I called myself Sky Sailing.

I’ve kept these recordings secret for a long time and they’ve never seen the light of day until now. Long before Owl City was ever a spark of a flame, a lot of blue-collared working days were spent absentmindedly daydreaming about what would ultimately become this collection of songs. From the perfectionist musician’s perspective, a song is never truly “finished” but rather “abandoned” and thus, after a lot of inspiration and reckless experimentation, I emerged from the basement with a 11 song record which I affectionately entitled, An Airplane Carried Me To Bed.

Tooth & Nail Signs Swimming With Dolphins

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Tooth & Nail Records has signed Minneapolis based Swimming With Dolphins.  Formerly of Owl City, frontman Austin Tofte has created ambient electronica pop inspired by the ocean and fond childhood memories of America’s largest lakes. The band will head into the studio this summer to record their Tooth & Nail debut.

“I’m more than excited to announce Tooth & Nail as the home of Swimming With Dolphins,” shares Tofte about the recent signing. “I grew up inspired by so many T&N artists. It’s a great honor now to be a part of this family.”

Independently releasing “Ambient Blue EP,” Swimming With Dolphins have already attracted a huge fanbase, which has only grown thanks to tours with the likes of Owl City, Lydia, We Are The In Crowd and Places and Numbers.

Mr. Fogg – Moving Parts

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Artist: Mr. Fogg
Album: Moving Parts
Label: Kicking Ink Recordings
Purchase: iTunes
Release Date:

Overall: 7.5
Music: 7.0
Lyrics: 7.5
Production: 7.5

Granted, most listeners have probably never heard of Mr. Fogg, but upon first listen one would immediately swoon at his sombre crooning over lovesick electronic beats. And while this Mr. Hudson sounding english heavy heart might be dismissed as just another flash in the pan, his songs bring to life a soundscape of emotion that others may lack, in his debut album Moving Parts.

The album is decidedly different from most others instrumentally, from the Owl City playful ticks of “Moving Parts”, to the almost Nine Inch Nails sounding harsh electronic snaps of “Keep Your Teeth Sharp”. All these different strokes that are painted in the music help keep the album from growing stagnant.

“Stung” is the highlight track of the album, with the echoed harmonies and the catchy chorus. The song brings together the entire essence of the album, what feels fleeting and distant is much closer after all in Mr. Fogg’s world. It’s an adventure of the soul, that feels connected and disconnected by the artists all at once.

While at times Mr. Fogg could be too comparable to other artists, it is just one hump to get through while listening to the songs. They are well put together, and most importantly sound genuine in their effort. Moving Parts will keep you in motion, no matter how sad things can get sometimes.

The Best Of 2009

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Below you can see our top 10 lists for 2009. Feel free to comment on them and even leave your own lists to share.

Ben Minsky

  1. A Day To Remember – Homesick
  2. The Dangerous Summer – Reach For The Sun
  3. New Found Glory – Not Without A Fight
  4. John Mayer – Battle Studies
  5. Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic
  6. Set Your Goals – This Will Be The Death Of Us
  7. Jay- Z – The Blueprint 3
  8. Saosin – In Search Of Solid Ground
  9. Taking Back Sunday – New Again
  10. The Devil Wears Prada – With Roots Above And Branches Below

Favorite Band of 2009: The Dangerous Summer

Bryce Jacobson

  1. Say Anything – Say Anything
  2. The Dangerous Summer – Reach For The Sun
  3. Owl City – Ocean Eyes
  4. The Fold – Dear Future, Come Get Me
  5. Set Your Goals – This Will Be The Death Of Us
  6. Sherwood – QU
  7. Skillet – Awake
  8. New Found Glory – Not Without A Fight
  9. Twin Atlantic – Vivarium
  10. Tegan & Sara – Sainthood

Favorite Band of 2009: The Dangerous Summer
Favorite Song of 2009: Say Anything – “Do Better”

Manual Garcia

  1. “Veckatimest” by Grizzly Bear
  2. “The BQE” by Sufjan Stevens
  3. “Two Suns” by Bat for Lashes
  4. “Noble Beast” by Andrew Bird
  5. “Beggars” by Thrice
  6. “Popular Songs” by Yo La Tengo
  7. “The Ecstatic” by Mos Def
  8. “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” by Phoenix
  9. “It’s Blitz” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
  10. “Hold Time” by M. Ward

Owl City Announces Spring 2010 US Headlining Tour

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Owl City has announced a spring headlining US tour kicking off on March 30th in Boise, ID and ending May 2nd in Milwaukee. Joining Owl City on tour will be LIGHTS and Paper Route. Check out the dates below.

March   30th         Knitting Factory                                                Boise, ID
31st         Knitting Factory                                                Spokane, WA
April      1st           Paramount Theater                                        Seattle, WA
3rd           Roseland Theater                                            Portland, OR
5th           Fillmore                                                               San Francisco, CA
6th           Fillmore                                                               San Francisco, CA
7th           Fox Theater                                                        Pomona, CA
8th           Soma                                                                     San Diego, CA
9th           Club Nokia                                                          Los Angeles, CA
10th         Marquee                                                             Phoenix, AZ
12th         Salt Air                                                                 Salt Lake City, UT
13th         Ogden                                                                  Denver, CO
15th         Stubbs                                                                  Austin, TX
17th         Nokia Theater                                                   Dallas, TX
19th         War Memorial                                                   Nashville, TN
20th         Tabernacle                                                         Atlanta, GA
22nd        DAR Hall                                                              Washington, D.C.
23rd         House of Blues                                                 Boston, MA
24th         Terminal 5                                                          New York, NY
25th         Electric Factory                                                 Philadelphia, PA
28th         House of Blues                                                 Cleveland, OH
29th         Royal Oak                                                            Detroit, MI
30th         Riviera Theatre                                                 Chicago, IL
May       1st           State Theater                                                    Minneapolis, MN
2nd          Eagle Ballroom                                                 Milwaukee, WI

Help Owl City Find The Missing Toys From His Room!

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Owl City is in need of help to find the missing toys from his room. Have you see the video for “Fireflies”? There is a picture on our site of one of these toys from Owl City’s video. Clicking this picture will bring you to the contest page where you can store the collected toys that you find online. Find and click on all 10 toys to be entered to win an autographed toy! 5 Grand Prize Winners will be chosen randomly on or about September 23, 2009. Click read more for some hints.

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