Owl City is the electronic brainchild of Adam Young, who launched the project in 2007 while living at his parents' home in Owatonna, MN. Troubled by insomnia, Young began spending his evenings in the household basement, where a computer and several instruments provided a welcome diversion from his sleeping patterns. He eventually combined those diversions into a blend of electronica and emo-pop, using little more than his computer and various keyboards to record the material. Songs were uploaded to MySpace upon completion, and Young began attracting a surprising amount of attention on the networking site. Of particular note was "Hello Seattle," a fabricated ode to the Emerald City whose viral popularity earned Young a record contract with Universal Republic.

Ocean Eyes, his debut album for the label, was released in 2009, coinciding with the launch of Owl City's first national tour. While on the road, Young watched as "Fireflies" became one of the year's most popular singles, eventually topping the charts in several countries (including the U.S.) and selling more than one million copies. He responded by increasing his touring commitments considerably, and 2010 finds him playing shows in America, Canada, Australia, Germany, and throughout the U.K.

Young also released a deluxe edition on January 26, 2010, and it features six new tracks and a remix of Hello Seattle. The album features guest vocals by Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen on the songs "Fireflies", "Cave In", "The Bird and the Worm" and "Tidal Wave".

Fireflies is currently available for download and purchase in Europe whereas the LP Ocean Eyes releases February 5th in Germany (according to Amazon.de) and February 22nd in the UK.

[Source: Allmusic -Andrew Leahey]