Living with autism hasn't stopped Owen Kjiersdam—better known by his stage name OwenMK—from creating music that inspires and uplifts.
As an electro-synth artist and filmmaker, OwenMK has made it his mission to provide encouragement to anyone navigating life's challenges.
His latest album, 'Found My Place Here,' reflects his journey of self-discovery and confidence, blending dreamy melodies with heartfelt lyrics.
Kjiersdam recently released a new video for the song “Believe in Yourself,” from that album.
As the title of the track implies, the song has a message.
“It is meant to encourage those who need it the most,” he says.
“This song was inspired by my father. Before going to college, I had a lot of anxiety about leaving high school and wondering whether I’d be able to succeed with my disabilities.”
According to Kjiersdam, his father would always say, “Believe in yourself, don’t ever give up.” These words clearly inspired Kjiersdam's latest release, his fifth album overall and fourth in as many years.
“My parents were a huge support for the track Believe in Yourself,” he says.
The new music video for the song was filmed by the artist himself in the House of Glass in Mackinaw City.
“It is a very colourful, lo-fi music video,” says Kjiersdam.
“I chose to shoot in the house of mirrors because I wanted to show that you can create any music video without a green screen or filters and I feel it really worked out.”
The effect is very dreamlike, something that could also describe many of the songs on this album.
Kjiersdam cites his musical partner Joel Kahtava as an essential part of producing this album.
Once again taking cues from indie artist Owl City’s Sky Sailing album, Kjiersdam and Kahtava have sprinkled some magical dust on the tracks.
“Our track Paper Planes, which I see as a graduation song, took from that source of inspiration,” he says.
“With Sky Sailing, Owl City’s music feels timeless and never gets old, and that’s what Joel and I aimed for with this new record.”
The song’s promotional video was once again filmed by Kjiersdam.
“I graduated from Digital Film studies in 2019, and that made a big impact on how I shoot music videos, especially regarding the equipment and the people involved,” he says.
“I find it so important to have imagery, especially since I have so many creative ideas I want to bring to life. So I directed the music video, while my friend Jesus Beltran was the director of photography. We also had two actors, friends Paige and Joel. I bought three kites, and we had two cameras. We went to Strathclair Yards to fly the kites, which was so much fun to film.”
Kjiersdam had been working on Found My Place Here, since January 2024.
“I worked with Joel, my producer, and Marco, who produced the beat for the Irish Gaelic song Shatter. Marco often goes by the name Cusped for his own music.”
Kjiersdam feels that he and his collaborators have grown musically since 2023’s Past End.
“With these past four albums, Joel and I have significantly improved,” he says.
“It’s also made me a more confident singer. Joel is an amazing producer and works with FL Studio to create such polished music.”
That growing confidence even led Kjiersdam to audition for Soo’s Got Talent last year where he performed some of his original songs from the Past End album.
That growing comfort in his own skin shows in the new album’s title, Found My Place Here, which echoes his 2016 release, the similarly titled Found My Place.
“The new album’s title describes the place I’m at now and it led me to create these four journal albums that have helped in my autism journey. So, Found My Place Here is a conclusion to my childhood fears. It’s where life feels simpler.”
Kjiersdam’s next music video for the song Blossom will be released on Friday, January 24th, on the Electro Summer Station YouTube channel—stay tuned!
For more information on Owen Kjiersdam (aka OwenMK) and Electro Summer Station, visit his Instagram page, YouTube channel, Spotify or many other streaming services.