Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (CFTPA) was the musical solo-project of musician Owen Ashworth (born April 22, 1977) of

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

. CFTPA was active from 1997 to 2010, and released five studio albums, alongside numerous other releases. CFTPA toured with other indie artists such as The Donkeys, Papercuts, P:ano,

The Dead Science The Dead Science (formerly The Sweet Science) is an experimental pop band based in Seattle. The band consists of guitarist/vocalist Sam Mickens, Jherek Bischoff on bass and Nick Tamburro on drums. Jherek Bischoff's brother Korum was the drum ...

David Bazan David Bazan (; born January 22, 1976) is an American indie rock singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona who now resides in Seattle, Washington. Bazan is the lead singer and creative force behind the band Pedro the Lion and was the lead singer ...

, The Rapture, and

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

. Following the end of CFTPA, Ashworth began a new project, Advance Base.

History

Owen Ashworth started CFTPA after dropping out of film school in 1997. The project was initially established under a set of

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" ( da, kyskhedsløfter). These were rules to create films ...

-like rules: short songs, played in C, on the white notes of Casio keyboards. The band's musical style was characterized by the use of electronically-produced beats, cheap keyboards, and slow, frank lyrics. From ''Etiquette'' onwards, CFTPA widened in musical scope, adding more analog instruments and crafting an overall more organic sound. In 2010, Ashworth announced that he was retiring Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, as well as the songs he wrote under that name, although he planned to continue making music under the name Advance Base. The project's final show was on December 5, 2010, the thirteen-year anniversary of its first show. In 2011, Ashworth started the label Orindal Records, through which he releases his own music as Advance Base, as well as other artists including Gia Margaret and

Dear Nora Dear Nora is an indie pop band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1999 by songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Katy Davidson, drummer and vocalist Marianna Ritchey, and bassist Ryan Wise. Ritchey and Wise were previously members of Wolf Colonel. They n ...

. Owen Ashworth's brother is Gordon Ashworth, who makes experimental harsh noise as

Oscillating Innards Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

and ambient works as Concern; Gordon also plays in grindcore/black metal project Knelt Rote.

Discography

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone albums

*''

Answering Machine Music ''Answering Machine Music'' is an album by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, released in 1999 on Owen Ashworth's label Cassingle USA. This album was reissued on Tomlab in 2002 and included four bonus tracks (13-16 below). In 2005, a remastered ...

'' - CD/LP (Cassingle USA,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

) (reissue:

Tomlab Tomlab is a German record label based in Köln. It has released works by bands such as The Books, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Deerhoof, Thee Oh Sees, Les Georges Leningrad, and acts associated with Blocks Recording Club, such as Fi ...

, 2001) *''

Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars ''Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars'' is an album by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, released in 2001. This album was reissued and remastered in 2005 accompanying ''Answering Machine Music'' as a two CD set entitled ''The First Two Al ...

'' - CD/LP (Tomlab, 2001) *''

Twinkle Echo ''Twinkle Echo'' is a studio album of Lo-fi music by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. It was released in 2003 on Tomlab Tomlab is a German record label based in Köln. It has released works by bands such as The Books, Casiotone for the Pai ...

'' - CD/LP (Tomlab, 2003) *''Bobby Malone'' EP - LP (Tomlab, 2006) *'' Etiquette'' - CD/LP (Tomlab, 2006) *''

Vs. Children ''Vs. Children'' is the fifth and final studio album by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (CFTPA) was the musical solo-project of musician Owen Ashworth (born April 22, 1977) of Redwood City, California. CFTPA ...

'' - CD/LP (Tomlab, 2009)

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone compilation albums

*''The First Two Albums by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone'' - CD (Tomlab, 2005) *''Town Topic'' EP - CD EP (Tomlab,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

) *''Advance Base Battery Life'' - CD/LP (Tomlab, 2009)

Advance Base albums

*''A Shut-In's Prayer'' - CD/LP (

Caldo Verde ''Caldo verde'' (, Portuguese for "green broth") is a popular soup in Portuguese cuisine. The basic traditional ingredients for ''caldo verde'' are finely shredded Portuguese cabbage or ''couve-galega'' (essentially a type of collard green), ...

/ Orindal / Tomlab,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

) *''Nephew in the Wild'' - CD/LP/CS (Orindal / Tomlab, 2015) *''In Bloomington'' - LP/CS (Orindal / Tye Die Tapes,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

) *'' Animal Companionship'' - LP (

Run for Cover Records Run for Cover Records is an American independent record label based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2004 by Jeff Casazza at the age of 17 with a $1,000 loan, the label functioned as a small one-person bedroom operation in Brighton, until Ca ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

)

Advance Base compilation albums

*''Instrumentals #1'' - CS (Orindal,

) *''Plastic Owen Band'' - CS (Orindal, 2015)

References

External links

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone's Official SiteAdvance Base's Official SiteCasiotone for the Painfully Alone
at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

2008 Interview with Owen at RadioUTD2007 Interview at Bandega.comInterview with Owen Ashworth at Drowned in Sound

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone on Five Tunes2015 Chicago Reader feature on Advance Base2015 interview with Owen Ashworth by Rick Moody for The Rumpus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casiotone For The Painfully Alone Electronic music groups from California Lo-fi music groups Indie pop groups from San Francisco