Meet Owen Cassidy | Musician & A/V Designer + Multimedia Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Owen Cassidy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Owen, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
I think one of the worst ironies of the creative world is that it is so heavily driven by people pleasing, giving your target market what they want, ‘selling and spelling it out’, catering/pandering, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe it’s important to ‘know your audience’, but making and creating for THEM won’t sustain you as an artist, at least in the long run. So I am always super leery of people who don’t actually MAKE or produce anything and yet feel more than confident enough to share their data or expertise on why the stuff you’ve created won’t work or isn’t cool or trending or whatever. We all know this clown… ‘I’m not an artist/designer/writer/etc., but I know when something is good!’ That really kills my creative buzz. Because that person has already decided that they have better taste and sense and a more valid experience than you, the creator. (Insert over-exaggerated eye roll here.)

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
LIGHTS AT ELEVEN is a moniker for myself and many of my creative projects. I play and produce music, edit corresponding videos/live visuals, take photos, and write. I design my own software instruments, FX chains, and generative music programming systems, creating electronic element-dominated music that makes use of analog and digital input methods, as well as found sounds and manipulated samples from various digital media outlets.

That’s the text block from my website, anyway.

I’ve put out a few releases this year that I’m stoked on, namely ‘Adentro Hacia Afuera’, which is a short, 17-minute album that has 9 songs with full music videos. This record is a new jumping off point for me, and it’s given me a lot of inspiration and insight towards some of the music I plan to put out either by the end of this year or the first half of 2024.

I’ll accept the charge of being prolific, my goal was to self-publish 30 recordings or A/V projects before I turn 31. (Probably because I don’t expect any nods from any other 30 under 30 lists, haha.) Well… I don’t know exactly how many I’ve put out now, but 30 projects is shrinking in my rearview mirror, and we’ve got some time left on the clock 😉

As far as challenges are concerned, they have all been for the most part pretty personal. Take that however you want, but you learn more (ideally) as you grow and get older, and more is revealed to you. I’ve run into my fair share of barriers, usually social or psychological, having to do with my mental health at the time. The most important thing I’ve learned do is to ask for help when I need it, and take it easier on myself. And that’s something I’d recommend to anyone.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well I’ve been living in Montevideo, Uruguay for a little over a year now. And I gotta say for a city of this size it’s rather quiet, which is what I like. There’s people who maybe don’t like this place because it’s ‘boring’ or whatever, but my life is simple here and super low stress. So with that in mind, I would suggest taking advantage of that aspect while you’re here:

Hit las playas, las plazas, La Rambla, los parques… just be content outside and enjoy the weather; drink some mates and have a real conversation with someone you don’t know about something new!

There is plenty of ‘stuff’ to do. Catch a football (soccer) match, visit some museums, enjoy the small but intimate music scene. Catch me playing honky tonk music on Wednesday nights at The Shannon (Irish Pub in Ciudad Vieja). I recommend the songwriter series at KFE Bar as well.

Food: Eat out at least once at a fancy steakhouse, but try to hook up with some locals who can get you into a backyard family asado! That’s the best. Also, tons of quality and fresh ingredients are available everywhere, especially at ‘ferias’ (which are also worth going to just for the social aspect). My point, take advantage and prepare your own food!

I know this is a foreign concept for folks in the U.S., but Montevideo is a great city for just ‘hanging out’. May seem silly, but don’t knock it till you try it 😉

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Whoa. There’s a lot.

All my friends and people I’ve collaborated on projects with over the years like Fede Rivera, Tre Guzardo, Jimmy Henderson, Jason Fowler; the VCFA Community and the experiences I had in it; I guess anyone who’s lent a hand, come to a show, or more importantly given me a second chance, haha.

Website: https://lightsateleven.com/

Instagram: @lightsateleven

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-cassidy-243595109/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lightsateleven

Other: My Books: https://www.blurb.es/user/owencassidy Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6j9xNRRI8e04mUOaBGhzsn?si=3qllMAJwRES1AN7LVNMaPQ Milton Street Studios: @milton.street.studios