Craig Owens has released Empathy Is A Gift, a 4 song, 7 minute grind-core EP he recorded last summer in his bedroom. The project, which Owens collaborated on with a friend, is called BEA5T.
“Growing up some my favorite bands were Ed Gein, the Locust, Converge and Botch. I've always wanted to do a grind-core thing. My friend Hiram was down to make an album, so we did. He came over and stayed with me for a couple of days in Malibu, and we recorded the entire thing in my bedroom,” Owens shares. “We just wanted to make an album because it felt good—not for money, not for fame—but because we love music, and making art is cool.”
The EP was launched via Cheer Up Kid!, a subscription-based service through which Owens will share one previously unreleased song from his extensive back catalog each week. Last week, he shared a demo-cover of Counting Crows’ “Anna Begin,” which he recorded with fellow ex-Isles & Glaciers member Brian Southall.