Apart from his sense of humour, Fireflies best encapsulates the musical vision of the 23-year-old who until recently still crafted music in his parents' basement.

While Owl City have drawn comparisons with fellow American electro-poppers the Postal Service, Young says his main inspirations are more obscure acts such as the Field, Boards of Canada, Unwed Sailor and Helios, as well as 'pizza, doughnuts, chocolate cake, pop tarts, brownies and cheesecake'.

The Owl City story started in the small town of Owatonna, Minnesota, where Young grew up as an only child daydreaming about faraway places, particularly the ocean. As a teenager, he picked up the guitar with the expressed aim of 'covering old Blink 182 songs', but found his feet when he started writing electronic music on a whim.

'I hadn't really delved into the world of programming and sequencing, and the endless roads that you can take via electronic music, so I thought it would be fun to take a stab at it. I got a sequencing program and wrote what turned out to be seven songs for an EP's worth of music. I put that stuff out there on MySpace and didn't really do much with it, just let people discover it,' he told the Music Mix website.

'The response ... was incredible. I can remember going into work six months later, where I worked for Coca-Cola, and putting in my two weeks - telling my boss, 'This has been great, and I've been grateful for the work, but I'm on to something else'. Walking out of that place ... was the best feeling in the world.'

From there, Young started releasing his music through iTunes, and the tremendous response he received led to a deal with a major record label. Young still sounds breathless. 'It's left me bewildered. I can't figure out what's happening to me. It's like waking after a dream.'

Young's rise to fame highlights the opportunities that the internet and social networking sites in particular offer aspiring musicians - a global audience, creative freedom and the chance of instant fame. 'MySpace takes much of the credit for spreading the word. I owe a lot to the World Wide Interweb,' he says.

The first two Owl City albums were self-released over the internet, and Young is now on the road promoting the third, Ocean Eyes, his first since signing with Universal. The album's title is yet another reference to the ocean, common throughout the Owl City back catalogue, a curiosity since Young grew up in a landlocked state. 'I only saw the ocean for the first time a year or two ago,' he says. 'It was fascinating and everything I'd imagined it would be.'

If Young's obsession was born out of a desire to see the world, he will realise that dream this week when he lands in Hong Kong on his first trip outside North America. Joining him on stage will be a full band comprising Breanne Duren on backing vocals and keyboards, drummer Matthew Decker, Laura Musten on violin and cellist Hannah Schroeder.

Young says: 'On stage we also usually have a trained dolphin in a large transparent swimming pool on wheels. We have a good time and we really know how to clean up. Everyone is coming to Hong Kong except the dolphin, because you can't check dolphins on international flights from America.'