The third studio album by Ross Owen, Organic was released on December 10th, 2021. It is an 11-track experience filled with sophisticated songwriting and a dense yet carefully thought-out production. After having released his first album, Sylvænus (2018) when he was only sixteen and second album Seed (2019) the following year, Organic follows Ross into his twenties; showcasing the purest and most natural sounds that resonate within him as an artist.
Organic is the first of Ross’s albums where he has collaborated with other musicians in addition to his father, Scott Campbell (Mixing and Mastering), who has worked with numerous major label and Grammy nominated artists throughout his career including Robbie Robertson, Annie Lennox and The Blue Nile. Georgi James, an actor & musician best known for her time on Broadway in productions such as the 2012 revival of ‘Annie’ (Pepper) and Elton John’s ‘Billy Elliot: The Musical’ (Debbie)’, features on every song on the record with backing vocals and a blistering lead vocal on “Little to no Reason”.
New Jersey artist Charlie Krause takes an organ solo on the COVID-19 influenced track “Viral Nightmares”, which Ross wrote at the onset of the first lockdown in March 2020 as the pandemic took hold. On the instrumental track of the album dedicated to Chick Corea named “Chickpeas”, Ross invited Berklee School of Music Student Paul Reinhold (Bass Guitar), Jazz Pianist and member of Brian Kirk & the Jirks David Pershan (Electric Piano), and Mike Viani (Drums & Percussion) to bring his love for jazz-fusion to life.
Organic, along with Ross’s past two albums were recorded in his home studio “Avenue B” in New Jersey. During the thick of the pandemic while time was more readily available, Ross experimented moving his drumkit into the living room, which has vaulted ceilings to help create a natural reverb for that “Headley Grange” sound similar to Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.
Ross has always been inspired by progressive rock groups of the 60’s and 70’s like Yes, King Crimson, and Rush, while also loving pop groups who pushed the boundaries like the Beatles, Steely Dan, and the Beach Boys. This can be heard throughout Organic which has songs with pop influenced choruses and musical surprises embedded for the avid listener.
“Organic is a professional piece of progressive pop music, but it is as easy to listen to as the early days of America and the mid-career works of Cheap Trick. Ross Owen crafted something that is familiar, yet personalized, toeing the line of nostalgic while illuminating the importance of appreciating your predecessors” – The Aquarian Weekly.
Ross Owen and Georgi James will be playing some songs off Organic unplugged at the Saint in Asbury Park on New Year’s Day, 2022 with local bands Mojohand and Via Ripa.
