ABOUT
Ross Owen is an artist, producer, and engineer from Highlands, New Jersey. Dwelling between his home studio and Atlantic Record’s studio in NYC (where he currently works as an engineer), he finds himself on both sides of the creative process often, whether it be producing his own material or working with artists on Atlantic’s roster. As a multi-instrumentalist, Owen pieces together the majority of his own alt-folk arrangements, frequently reaching for open-tuned guitars, banjos, and worldly percussion, while also never being afraid of distorted bass, raging synths, and sampled drums. Owen walks the line of serious and lighthearted in his songwriting and constantly asks, “what if?”, with songs in his catalog that reflect on human’s impact on the earth or others that look at the simple pleasures and ironies of everyday life.
Owen and his partner Georgi James’ latest EP Trail Mix was released in April 2023. Acting as the couple’s love letter to the great outdoors, the collection of songs was inspired by their travels up and down the US’s North East Coast, camping on top of Owen’s Subaru in their rooftop tent. The Aquarian Weekly described the work as “grounded and so atmospheric that it, in itself, celebrates the power of human connection and humbleness this planet grants us” (read the entire article here). Owen and James bring this raw acoustic energy to their live performances, having been harmonizing vocally and playing music with each other for over a decade since they were both teenagers.
Owen has always been surrounded by music thanks to his father, Scott Campbell, who was a recording engineer in Scotland for several Grammy nominated artists in the 80’s/90’s. He started learning guitar at three and released his first record Sylvænus (2018) at sixteen. Along the way to this first record, Owen had been exploring various instruments that interested him, which would eventually let him evolve into the multi-instrumentalist that he is today. The album contained thirteen songs written by Ross and produced by Scott, who helped show him the ropes. This creative process paved the way for Owen to produce his second album, Seed (2019), where he put together another double-digit collection of raw yet carefully crafted songs before turning eighteen.
Once the pandemic of 2020 hit, Owen explored his progressive influences during lockdown in his third album, Organic (2021). During this time he had really dove deep into the recording process, experimenting with bringing his drums out into his parent’s living room with vaulted ceilings instead of the basement studio. This was also the first record where he invited James to sing on, after having her playing bass and singing in his live band for three years up until then. The album still featured hints of Owen’s acoustic heartbeat, while also gaining comparisons to David Bowie and Beck by The Aquarian Weekly when they called him an “experimental rocker with timeless pop sensibilities and a knack for show-stopping improvisations” (read the entire article here). Although Owen has returned to his roots with acoustic-driven music in his latest releases, Organic shows the various genres that he takes influence from and carries with him through all of his productions.
As a producer/mixer, Owen has developed his craft over time through his own studio albums along with having the privilege to be a part of the process in other artist’s work, such as Jessica Browning’s two studio albums Into Me Sea (2021) and Her Odyssey (2023). Being a musician first, he loves to be given the opportunity to perform any instrument in the room, construct the sought-after part that best serves the song, and then polish it up in the mix/master later on. Having experience in each step of the production process, Owen is always utilizing his intuition and creativity alongside knowledge to bring the artist’s true vision to life. Working at Atlantic Studios in NYC has only allowed Owen to learn and grow more as an engineer and producer, embracing every chance to observe how other engineers and producers work in their sessions to make the magic happen.
When not in the studio, it’s safe to assume Owen is camping somewhere in the North East US with partner Georgi James. The outdoors continues to keep Owen grounded on his path as he makes music and finds peace by always holding the planet’s natural offerings up high.
Click here to learn more about Ross’s record label, Virtually Atomic.