Advance Base • "The Year I Lived in Richmond” • 2025

https://advancebase.bandcamp.com/

The year I lived in Richmond

there was a killer on the loose

Four women slain in my neighborhood

It was all over the news

Deborah Lee Hill moved to Richmond

round about the same time as me

She was a peculiar one, the strong & silent type

I'd see her at the bar occasionally

The summer was hot that year in Richmond

Deborah didn't have an A/C

She slept with her second story bedroom window up

Just to catch a little breeze

She woke one night to an intruder

climbing in her window from a tree

Deborah up & ran for a kitchen knife

& stabbed him in his chest repeatedly

The coroner came to take the body

Deborah packed up all her things

She left in her pickup truck as soon as morning came

She'd seen all she cared to see

The rest of the year I lived in Richmond

they talked about murders on TV

Any child could tell you how that killer died

under the knife of Deborah Lee

ifitbeyourwill S05E11 • Owen Ashworth of Advance Base

Owen Ashworth returns to the podcast to discuss his latest Advance Base album "Horrible Occurrences" and the beautifully human stories woven throughout its tracks. Rather than rehashing his origin story (covered in our previous episode), we dive deep into his current creative approach and the emotional weight of performing these vulnerable new songs.

The conversation takes us into Owen's refreshingly authentic touring life—traveling solo in his Subaru Forester, staying with old friends or in characterful motels, and creating space to experience the towns he visits. "I really love traveling... gas stations and motels and diners and seeing the sites," he shares, describing a touring routine built around personal comfort rather than business optimization. This DIY ethic extends to his performances, where he typically sells his own merchandise and makes himself available to connect with listeners.

What emerges is a fascinating portrait of songwriting as a long-term pursuit of meaning. Owen reveals that some songs on "Horrible Occurrences" began as fragments written 15 years ago, only finding completion when new life perspectives illuminated their purpose. The fictional town of Richmond serves as a unifying setting—a deliberate creative choice that allowed him to build "a community where all these stories were fitting in with each other" despite spanning different times and experiences.

Perhaps most compelling is Owen's candid discussion about the vulnerability required to perform these songs. "These shows have felt very heavy," he admits, describing how the minimalist arrangements leave him emotionally spent. Yet he finds a meditative quality in performance, where the music itself carries both him and listeners through difficult emotional territory.

As one of indie music's most thoughtful storytellers, Owen continues to find beauty in everyday human experiences—even the painful ones. Check out "Horrible Occurrences" for its developed stories and beautiful reflections, and catch Advance Base live if you can for a uniquely intimate musical experience.

 

https://www.advancebasemusic.com/

orindal.com

Advance Base Christmas Special 2021

Trick Gum • Bringing in the Dogs • 2021

"A synth-powered track that reminds of playfully lackadaisical ’90s alternative radio hits from the likes of Beck and Cake as well as indie oddities like Enon and Tobacco."

- Stereogum

"Filled with nostalgic pop-punk energy, the band go back and forth over snappy guitar strings and heavy drums"

- Wonderland

"The song glides, relaxed guitars breeze over motorik verses that enchant their way into a snappy Napoleonic synth march of a chorus before drifting back seamlessly into sun-kissed nirvana."

- FLAUNT

LUMP • Climb Every Wall • 2021

https://www.lump.world/animal

LUMP – the product of London singer-songwriter Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay of the band Tunng...Half cute, half dark and creepy, the songs Marling and Lindsay create as LUMP are unlike anything from either of their respective other projects. Marling’s lyrics are spontaneous, immediate, and playful (she drew heavily on her interest in psychoanalysis). Meanwhile Lindsay creates an accessible electronic palette that borders on psychedelic. ‘Animal’ was recorded at Lindsay’s home studio in Margate, Kent and primarily constructed around his Eventide H949 Harmonizer, the same pitch-shifter David Bowie used on 'Low.' 

Advance Base • Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day (Iris DeMent) • 2021

A few months back, I was talking with my friend Mike about our shared affection for My Life by Iris DeMent, an album also dearly loved by Mike's partner, Meg. I told Mike that track 8, "Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day," was one of my favorite songs to play on the piano. Mike asked if I'd record a cover as a surprise for Meg's birthday. So, I did it. Happy birthday, Meg! 

If you aren't already familiar with Iris DeMent's original recording, you can listen here: 

irisdement.bandcamp.com/album/my-life

Happy Meals - Full Ashram Devotional Ceremony (Volumes IV - VI) (2017)

The Devotional Ceremony is Happy Meals connecting with their cosmic inner selves. They realise their Full Ashram Devotional Ceremony, banishing demons, devils and ill will. Devote your soul to the positive forces before the misguided, suffering spirits pull you down and wipe you out. 

DenMother - 2015

Inspired by: warrior drums, haunting chants, distorted synths.

An Occasion For Balloons - 2015

Shadowed beneath a melody drenched in reverb, Nate Wagner outcasts his vocals to become one with the instrumentation – an ambient buzz evoking a tropical aesthetic. ‘Revival’, the preview to the reissue of the bands self-titled EP drifts you into transparent waters, with the dreamy drum beats and the muffled synths resembling the many sounds the ocean possesses, challenging your senses into a confusion, mutating eventually into relaxation. The track continues the pleasant hazy sounds An Occasion For Balloons have produced in previous works, a chilled atmosphere minus the lethargic song structure which outlines a steady balance for the rest of the EP. POND

Numbers Are Futile - Sunlight on Black Horizon - 2015

“Numbers are Futile have clearly achieved that rare mind-altering power that we often dub ‘psychedelic’, without banking on handy signposts like wah pedals or drug references.” – Drowned in Sound 8/10 

“Spacey, fuzzy electronica, full of cascading synths, juddering, tribal drums and faraway vocals singing of fire and oblivion.” – The List ☆☆☆☆ 

“Errors, Steve Reich, Tangerine Dream and Vangelis flash past the windscreen as adrenaline injections pummel the heart over and over again.” – Sunday Herald 

“Unusual and very interesting” – Vic Galloway, BBC Radio Scotland 

“A true kaleidoscope of sound” – Glasgow Podcart 

“I was blown away. I found them utterly arresting” – Through the Wire 

“Synths squelch from the large control desk, while drums thunder away as if someone is about to sacrifce a lamb.” – WOW 24/7