Five Minutes With...Mosaics
"Making music for an algorithm - on Spotify or social media - is stifling true creativity."
Who would be a musician in 2025? Well, lots of people because it’s fun, rewarding and life-affirming. But it’s also a tough gig, with increasingly small chances of making an actual living from your art. As Mosaics state below, “if we wanted to make money we’d be a covers band”.
And that’s the point - the reason most people start a band is for that creative outlet and the chance to make music with friends, not for that golden cheque in the post. And the indie promotors who put on gigs, and the publications that cover new artists (ahem, like New Sounds Union) do so because they are passionate about music and giving new artists a platform. And whilst there are lots of negatives to dwell on in the industry, as long as there is the will of people to create and support creators, new music will still be made and will still positively impact the world.
Speaking of which, this week we chat with Owen Castillo, singer and rhythm guitarist in the indie four-piece Mosaics about songwriting, collaborations and power ballads. Let’s go!
Q: Describe your music in three words…
Shoegazey, anthemic indie
Q: What’s your musical ethos and your reasons for making music?
We’re a songwriting first band. Always. It’s about the songs, about having something to say with them and doing something that turns us on and we’d want to hear. If we wanted to make money we’d be a covers band!
Q: Tell us a little about the recent single ‘Shock Horror’...
We actually wrote Shock Horror a while ago under the Tory government to be a bit anti-establishment and about how it feels as young people to feel more foreboding than optimistic because of factors entirely outside our control. We didn’t finish it until Labour came in and we were a bit worried we’d left it too late to write an anti-establishment song. Unfortunately for the country (but fortunately for our song), it has remained just as relevant. “Shock horror” indeed.
Q: Earlier this year you released ‘Different People’ featuring James McCartney - how did that relationship come about and what was the process of writing and recording the track?
We have a mutual friend and had a couple of chance meetings with James around London and we all just got on so well. We’d always envisioned ‘Different People’ as a good duet song, because the two verses are basically responses to one another, but we thought using a female vocalist would take it to a country and western place that we didn’t feel was right for this project. Then we thought “hey, I wonder what James is doing on a Tuesday afternoon? Fancy coming to the studio for an hour or so mate?” and surprisingly he was keen. Great guy and a fantastic musician.
Q: How have you approached marketing and promoting your releases?
Socials, radio and playlist applications. It’s not fun, it’s not sexy and it’s time consuming but it’s the only way forward. None of us became musicians to work in marketing but it’s the state of play these days and you have to put yourself at the coalface and get stuck in.
Q: How important is playing live to help rising artists build their audience?
I think playing live is absolutely crucial. More so than just for building your audience, it’s important to know which songs work and which songs don’t before you even think about going into the studio. We’ve recorded stuff that we didn’t really think that much of when we wrote them but have become instant crowd favourites.
Q: How do you balance your music with the rest of your life?
In a word? Poorly.
Q: What song/record by another artist we may not have heard of can’t you stop playing at the moment?
The Quireboys - ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’. Great power ballad, super melodramatic and almost theatrical rock n roll. A great one to blast in the car.
Q: If you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be?
I don’t know how much Spotify and the streaming model has actually helped the industry. It was by no means perfect before, but making music for an algorithm - on Spotify or social media - is stifling true creativity.
Q: In one year’s time, where would you like to be?
Sunning ourselves on a beach somewhere with a strawberry daiquiri after a successful run of major festivals. Or maybe just the festivals.
Thanks Mosaics!