Octopus Project 3.8.16

photo by Thalia Juarez

Austin’s cybernetic darlings, Octopus Project, have been playing together since 1999, and after Y2k thankfully spared the Texas quartet and their Moog synthesizers, the group has soldered together all kinds of electronic and analog music. From playful electro-indie rock, hypnotic repetitious electronic minimalism, intricate Aphex Twin style rhythms, atmospheric soundscapes à la Boards of Canada, and the less jazzy, more electronic side of Tortoise, the Octopus Project cover a lot of bases. But it does the band a bit of a disservice to compare them to these other groups. Across their 15 years together their music has oscillated between and mutated into so many different sounds that are ultimately uniquely theirs.

The Octopus Projects recent work includes a soundtrack for Kumiko the Treasure Hunter (2014) which follows a Japanese woman who mistakes a VHS of Fargo (1996) as a treasure map indicating the location of a case of money. They’re also working a new album with producer David Fridmann (Tame Impala, Spoon, Flaming Lips). Get a little sample of their new work they played in Studio 1A below! You can also see them live with Golden Dawn Arkestra at Cheer Up Charlie’s this friday, their official SXSW show at Cheer Up’s on 3/15, and the Octopus Party curated dance party at Spider House on 3/19.

 

–Ryan Wen

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