Dear present time, my album 'Keep Your Friends Close, I'll Always With Mine' is now released into the world! I can't believe I'm finally saying that. Stream it on Spotify, tell an old friend to tell an old friend, and I promise you all this is the beginning of the best albums of my life 🧡
Allow me to also introduce the album on beautiful opaque turquoise vinyl and wallet CDs for the first time ever. Preorder here:
nowherekidfromanowheretown.com
I’ll save a long emotional essay for the liner notes and the zine that are on the way, but let me say this: I never thought these songs would get heard by anybody beyond my friends and probably my mom—let alone a loyal group of fans from AROUND THE WORLD who believe in me and rep what I do. Sometimes I look back at my younger self, and though it’s been a long and dusty road…I'm proud to have made something even a little bit permanent these last 10 years. Pressing this album to vinyl takes that feeling next level.
It's been a dream of mine to press this to vinyl since it dropped all those years ago, and so many of you guys have asked me to many times over the years. So this was my plan all along this year: to reproduce the songs that were missing from the original mixtape and finally release this the way I should have in 2012. Grab a CD or vinyl and support this project because it seriously changed my life.
And this album itself is fittingly about change. I wrote it when I went away from high school to college, and then transferred schools, met a lot of beautiful strangers in Ithaca NY and in New York City and was working on letting go of a big long-distance relationship the whole time. Those were tricky times. I never planned to write this chapter in my music story - I thought I'd simply write about the next phase of growing up. But I couldn't help but wear my past on my sleeve, even while meeting with major labels and traveling around the country. And today is no different. I just want to express myself. If I had any advice for a younger me, it'd be that when you let things go, let them go for good. That starts today with this album and I'm glad we get to send it off with a smile.
Grand larceny you stole my damn heart from me. Much love & I hope you love my album,
-Dylan
released April 1, 2022
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Revisiting KYFC taught me about moving on in more ways than one. I couldn’t have done this without the legendary naebird, Skinny Atlas, Devin Arne, Ryan Falcoa, Ceschi Ramos, Fake Four Inc., Paul Kingston, Wes Henry, Nicole Rich, Lydia Kaseta, & many more...plus every one of my real life friends you see in the album cover photo.
And of course, every single one of you reading this and listening. Damn. 10 years. I can't thank you enough. Proud to say my bucket list for KYFC is now checked.
Keep your friends close
I'll always with mine.
CREDITS
All songs written and performed by Dylan Owen
Produced by naebird, Skinny Atlas, Wes Henry
Mixed by naebird and Wes Henry
Mastered by naebird
Featuring Kinetics, Regina Zaremba, Aidan Cooper, Lydia Kaseta, Nicole Rich
Original album cover photo by Paul Kingston (2012)
Album packaging, design, and art direction by Ryan Falcoa
Special thanks to Devin Arne, Nicole Rich, Pat Capriglione, Paul Kingston
Much love to my Nowhere Kids from now til eternity
Please visit
keepyourfriendsclosethealbum.com to submit to the digital zine, view the full album credits and extended liner notes, and more.
dylanowenmusic.com
@dylanowenmiusic
© ℗ 2012-Eternity Dylan Owen
All rights reserved.
INSPIRATIONS
“Continuing the story, through good times and bad”
“The coldest breakup season of my life”
“My favorite distant Stranger”
“A perfect drive home from an unforgettable show, and learning to let go of those things that haunt you, no matter how terrifying that may be”
“My travels during various changing phases of my life, and the longing to see good times come back around”
“The strength of writing”
“Being in the middle of tension, and holding on to what has already gone away”
“The best freshman year of college I could have asked for. Love you guys”
“By new friends, and the wild hunt for a place called home”
“The loneliest place I’ve ever been”
“Anybody like me hoping on the other side”