Making his name known throughout the Bay Area and beyond, Christopher Catalano, better known for his professional name Owl Green, has an inherent passion for music like no other. Owl Green has a drive and fire for music in him that’s sometimes lacking from modern artists hoping to make it big. He’s been working towards perfecting his crafts for over a decade, including two years of vocal training to solidify his sound. Inspired by legends like Andre 3000, Nas, Anderson. Paak, and Frank Ocean, the prolific hip-hop artists delivers his own echoing renditions. Self-described as “lo-fi vibe with swing and swagger,” Owl Green aims to bring his individual sound across the West Coast and throughout the country and more.
This year, Owl Green released his 3-song EP “Tuesday” which received much praise from listeners and media outlets. The overall concept of the EP was to cover all spectrums of the versatile artist’s talents. He also gave it a title to stand out, since “Tuesday” is the only day of the week that doesn’t have a purpose designated to it, Owl Green created one. He’s one of our absolute favorite artists for his lyrical concepts, the way he energetically drives his performances on and off the stage, and the way he’s involved with art in many forms. Not only does Owl Green make music but you can catch him making his name known in the photography and podcasting worlds as well. Stay tuned for more!
Listen to the EP “Tuesday” by Owl Green here.
Hey Owl Green, welcome back! We're completely captivated by “Blah Blah Blah”, you have such a strong and energetic presence throughout your tracks, comparable to Chance the Rapper. Can you tell us more about your intentions when you first began to curate this release? This track for me has been a long time coming. I think for a few years now I've really tried to create a track like this and my biggest issues are trying to find a beat that matches this style. When I found this track I instantly knew what flows I wanted to use and what I wanted the track to be about. It's a fun song, and I wanted to make it a song that is fun to listen to but also has an uplifting meaning to it.
You've had such a strong love and passion for music at such a young age! How do you think you and your music have grown since you first started writing, versus now? I would have to say my biggest stride as a writer is just my overall technique in general. I used to just want to say the hardest thing and rhyme well. Now I approach every 2 or 4 bars with a new style or rhyme scheme. I also know in what part of the track I want to write certain flows or melodies. Also the adding of that melody really helped me break through some new really cool sounds. It has helped with my spacing which has carried over to the rap side and I've felt a difference.
We’re really vibing with the “Tuesday” EP you put out this year! If you had to point a new listener to one of your tracks to get an overall feel for your sound, which track would you choose? The track I would point them to is "I Swear." It further shows all my best qualities as an artist and has a dope ass hip hop vibe. This track really is one of the best versions of a song that people expect to hear from me. Good bars, both witty and goofy, a vocal melody breakdown, ad-libs, and a dope beat. I think the one thing that people find in my music is that no matter how fun or vibey the track is, it's relatable. And I think this track has that element, it has a really hopeful outlook and a "start your day off" type of song feel.
What was the filming process like for your video for "Spend That"?! This is actually a funny story, this video concept was drawn up way different than the final product. The original idea was to film the first half of the video in a house in the Hollywood Hills and at a black and white party. Last-minute I scratched that idea because it was becoming too hard to coordinate with extras and locations. I ended up just renting a studio with plain walls in downtown Los Angeles. A lot less eventful but or cool but it got the job done. The second half of the video went as planned. I went with a nighttime walking around in the city feel. my main goal was to find places with cool lights so when we did the post effects we had some light elements to work with. All in all the video took only 2 filming sessions, no reshoots and a lot of post effects by my main video man William Dubb.
What have been the main changes you’ve noticed in the music industry within the time you’ve been making music? The biggest change I've seen in music since I have started has to be how much power the artists have today. With Instagram and other social media platforms artists nowadays can become huge without having to get signed to a label. The biggest listening platform used to be radio, now it's Spotify. And guess what, anyone can upload a song on that platform. I think you also see because of this, artists now are more likely to be a "do it all" kind of artist. Like they make all their own beats, edit and film all their videos and do all the design work for merch. The power is in the hands of the creator these days and it's a beautiful thing.
It was great having you here on BuzzMusic! Tell us more about what's next for you after this EP release? Any shows in the near future? Thanks for having me again! What you can expect from me next is going to be another video drop from my EP, still, have one in the chamber. After that, I will be releasing some singles. I have a few collabs I am super excited about to start off the year with some artists I'm stoked to be working with. I have some new sounds and vibes I'm excited to share, and nervous haha. I also have another EP I've started to work on as well so a lot of new music and content coming your way. Show wise I have one coming up here in LA on December 4th, stayed tuned to my Instagram for more information.
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