Solcal

Cal Owen is a guitarist, electronic musician and audio engineer, currently located in London, UK. Originally from Portsmouth, and soon to be a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, he is probably best known for his guitar work with UK alternative bands Hundred Reasons and Scholars, but has also done extensive studio work, and has performed as live guitarist for Jeff Wayne (The War of The Worlds) and pop-soul singer RosieMay. His love of electronica began in his teenage years, when he was introduced by his cousin to bands like Massive Attack, Errors and Bonobo, and since then he has spent hundreds of hours sampling and mashing up other people’s tracks and making instrumental electronic music on computers. On tour with Scholars, he would spend long drives between gigs with headphones on in the back of the van while his band mates slept, and eventually came up with some tracks that he loved. Though navigating his busy writing and touring schedule put his electronic plans on hold for some time, 2016 finally brought the release of his debut four-song EP, titled Games E.P.

With influences that range from alternative rock, to film scores, to bands like The Chemical Brothers, Moderat, Booka Shade, Royksopp, Aphex Twin and the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for the film Drive, Cal’s music is at times minimal and soulful, and at times hard and punchy, conjuring early eighties post-punk like the Cure and New Order, combining rock beats and house music with a decidedly psychedelic underpinning.

Some of Cal’s career highlights include being the live guitarist for Hundred Reasons 10-year Anniversary shows, which included playing major festivals and three sold-out headline shows at The Forum, London, and Manchester Academy. The debut album from Scholars, ‘Always Lead, Never Follow’, reached #1 on the Independent Record Store charts, and he was the pre-production sound engineer and music preparation/audio editor for Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds, for which he was part of arena tours in 2012 and 2014, and a live theatre production 2016.

Released in May 2016, the Games EP is available to stream on Soundcloud and Spotify, or for purchase on digital platforms that include iTunes and Bandcamp. Connect with Cal on Facebook and Twitter, and stay up to date with his latest news, live shows and new music.