DJ Urban Owl: Hard Work, Talent, And A Love For His Craft

Tune into DJ Urban Owl’s stream, and you’ll be presented with either a heavenly dose of trance or a bouncy house music party. Both genres have their own unique purpose in his space as an artist, and he cherishes each one dearly. 

Urban Owl is an Illinois-based DJ and producer that all viewers and fellow artists should have on their radar. One reason he gravitates heavily toward spinning trance, in particular, is due to the challenge it brings him. “It’s not as easy as it looks,” he says, “I love those kinds of obstacles.”

On the music production side, he mainly focuses on progressive house and trance. Production comes with many challenges, and Urban Owl calls it a love-hate relationship. Despite all the frustration that comes with creating music, it affords huge perks, which for him is sharing it with others. He adds, “I love it in the sense that I am creating something from the heart and love being to express myself in this medium.”

If you catch him jamming outside of streaming, he’ll probably be listening to progressive trance, as some of his favorite artists include Armin van Buuren, Dash Berlin, and Oliver Heldens. Interestingly enough, his real roots are in hip hop, which is the first genre he started DJing when he was just fourteen years old. He was tone-deaf as a child, which posed many hurdles for his development as a musician. However, he ultimately decided to pursue DJing because it gave him a sense of happiness he really never felt with anything else.

Streaming and DJing developed as two separate paths for Urban Owl. As a former professional gamer, he spent a lot of his time in the gaming scene on Twitch. After a six-year hiatus, he decided to rejoin the pro gaming realm which ultimately turned out to be something he did not want to pursue. Although he describes the scene as toxic, it’s what helped him finally decide to get back into DJing and production–his true passion.

Finding his path with streaming and DJing was a long journey, however. When asked what his childhood self would think about the career he’s building today, Urban Owl says, “I think my childhood self would be absolutely floored and overzealous about it.” As a creative, he feels like music is something he should’ve been doing all along.

He also likes to put his creativity to the test with graphic design, something he has an eye for. Along with music, he’s decided to funnel his energy into graphic design.

Humble and talented, Urban Owl credits his best qualities to his step-father, who raised him as his own. “He is a hard worker and a great provider,” he says. “I can only strive to emulate who he is and what he has accomplished.”

Down the road, DJ Urban Owl would like to be playing festivals. Until then, he’ll continue to perfect his craft as both a DJ and producer and grow his community on Twitch. Urban Owl’s community, “The Owl’s Nest,” is a great place to vibe to top-tier music and meet like-minded friends. 

DJ Urban Owl is currently live Tuesday-Friday at 5:30 AM CST & 7:30 PM CST. His most up-to-date streaming schedule can be accessed via his Twitch channel.