Austin Sound

As we witness the continued decline of the recorded music object and the concomitant decline of the greedy music-industry shopkeepers who have made their careers ripping off artists and the public by peddling music to us in mass-manufactured form, it’s interesting to see how the artists themselves are adapting to the new musical landscape. A band like the Octopus Project, Austin’s premier “indietronic” band, might at one time have hoped to eventually “land” a major-label contract, in the hopes that the big tall building bastards in New York or L.A. could help them to “move some product.” These days, what artist in their right mind would even want to get signed to a major? What would be the point? Stick with a local indie label and just do the rest yourself, for God’s sake.

11/2/07
It seems the Octopus Project have found their zany-filmic match with the Zellner Brothers. The local sibling team of David and Nathan put together this video for OP’s song “Truck” off of their latest album, Hello, Avalanche, making the electro-bleeps the soundtrack for what appears to be a military air-show turned Dresden firebombing. The filmmakers have a number of shorts viewable on their website, which also discloses the interesting tidbit that “at the Florida Film Festival, David was urinated on by an alligator.” There’s even a picture.

8/1/07
With their third proper release, Octopus Project seems poised to cement their reputation among Austin’s elite indie groups, and now we finally have a name for the upcoming release. Titled “Hello, Avalanche,” the name seems to further confirm the influence of recording in the Northwest in February on the group. As Peek-A-Boo head Travis Hidgon revealed in our profile of the label, the album will be released as both CD and LP, with the digipak CD featuring a pull-out pin-up of the group. HOT!

7/16/07
Since 2002, the Indie Music Video Festival has been doing their damnedest to preserve the art of the music video (because MTV has long given up on that racket). So every year, the Festival chooses their favorite independent music videos and sets out on a tour to crown the best one, and 2007 has two Austin entries among the finalists.

Not surprisingly, the Octopus Project’s gerbil approved vid for “Music is Happiness” made the list, just as it did for SXSW’s Music Video nominees. Also making the top contenders though, was Beta Valentine’s fantastic “Curse of the Midnight Idol,” the lead track from their 2005 album The Proposition.

7/10/07
Thanks to Covert Curiosity for catching the announcement of the tracklisting for Octopus Project’s new album. Safe to say, OP’s latest, their 3rd release and first in over 2 1/2 years (not counting last year’s spectacular team-up with Black Moth Super Rainbow), is one of Austin’s most anticipated albums this year. As discussed in our recent conversation with the trio, the album was recorded at Seattle’s Bear Creek Studio last February - their first time recording outside of Austin - and we’ve been wondering just how those Northwest winter nights will seep into the songs.

Monday morning the studio booth at KVRX for the Austin Sound was nearly as cramped as the Elysium stage during SXSW when local instrumental visionaries the Octopus Project were joined by Black Moth Super Rainbow to rock the foundation of The Houses of Apples and Eyeballs. Only this time around the trio was accompanied by members of Clap!Clap! and were promoting the Soundcheck Mini-Festival at Emo’s this Friday, June 29. Austin Sound took the opportunity to get the scoop on the Octopus Project’s collaboration with BMSR last year, and the writing and recording of the band’s upcoming full-length due this fall on Peek-A-Boo.

6/26/07
Now moving into its second year of publication, Soundcheck Magazine has re-oriented its outlook to local coverage and distribution. And to celebrate the new focus, the magazine is throwing a party this Friday, June 29 at Emo’s with a stellar lineup of The Octopus Project, Clap! Clap!, Murder by Death, Pilotdrift, Peachcake, and Ian Cooke.

Michael Marshall, publisher of Soundcheck, recently commented to us about the thinking behind the magazine’s new direction. “While, we were doing very well in all of our other markets, we felt it would be more interesting for readers to find more local coverage in addition to the national and international features they have enjoyed in past Issues. Plus, the Austin music scene right now offers SOUNDCHECK unprecedented opportunities. There are more amazing independent, alternative artists in Austin right now than ever. Austin is in a position much like Seattle was in the early 90s. We are very excited to be able to cover all of the change and growth in the Austin music community.”

After taking the indie stage at the Fun Fun Fun Festival Friday afternoon, the Octopus Project will shift gears and storm the Blanton Museum of Art for the museum’s B Scene series. The series serves a sort of open house with live music and refreshments in the lobby to help get your artistic appreciation going. And we can’t think of anyone better to soundtrack the trip through the Blanton’s impressive collection than the blistering instrumental swirl of the Octopus Project. Nothing says Art Rock like xylophone and Theremin action!

The Octopus Project go on around 9:30, but the event will also include a performance from the Zachary Scott Theater at 8:00 and DJ Polaris spinning some high art of his own throughout the night. Tickets are $5 for members and only $10 dollars for non-members. You can read our review of the Octopus Project’s latest collaborative release with Black Moth Super Rainbow called House of Apples and Eyeballs here.

It’s always nice when two friends go to bed together, even if only for one night. Octopus Project and Black Moth Super Rainbow have been flirting with each other for some time now, and it’s not surprising that they’d give each other a come–hither look: both bands trade in uZiq-like, Sterolab-ish, Neu-descended, vocal-less synth/percussion/guitar soundscapes (danceable ones, at that) that start off slow and swirling and then smack into you like goddamn gold-plated, sugar-coated sledgehammers. The two bands played a few dates together in early ‘06, too, and reportedly tore the house down every time. So, it’s sort of natural that this pair of bouncy, fun-loving electro-popsters would have a few drinks, share a cab, and wind up under the covers together at some point.

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A bill doesn’t get much better than the Polyphonic Spree and the Octopus Project, but unfortunately they were playing at the same time on Emo’s two stages. But bouncing back and forth proved a worthwhile, if somewhat bewildering, experience. The Spree came out full force in their new regimented regalia,

with Tim DeLaughter still wearing his turquoise robe underneath the military jacket. And what ensued was one of the best Spree shows I’ve seen yet with two full sets!

The Spree built up to crescendo slowly, but as they launched into their second song, “Hanging Around the Day,” confetti cannons were blasting from either side of the stage and DeLaughter was perched atop the amps and swinging out from the rafters.

In fact, DeLaughter spent as much of the show hovering over the top of the crowd as he did on the actual stage.

They seemed to hit a lot of new songs from their upcoming album The Fragile Army, and the sound was certainly a lot more forceful than their usual jubilant choruses. Although still distinctly Spree-ish, it seemed a much more rocking show and the crowd was jumping up and down with fists pumping through most of it. At times, DeLaughter’s singing and the bands backing held the feel of a musical, the symphonic pop of their earlier shows seeming much tighter and more honed. In fact, I’ve never thought it a far stretch,

given the Spree’s rock-opera (and of course cultish) sensibilities, that DeLaughter often seems to personify a “Tommy” incarnate.

Among the highlights of the first set were “Everything Starts at the Seam” and “When the Fool Becomes the King” from Together We’re Heavy. With horns blaring, the chorus dancing and a drummer bounding around the stage, it’s amazing the band, or crowd for that matter, held up so well under the sweltering heat. And with approximately 24 members brought along for the show, the Spree had every nook and cranny of the outside stage packed, some even crammed in the back corners behind the speakers. And the group ended the first set with some amazing piano work by Evan Jacobs, lately of Tacks, the Boy Disaster.

Jumping inside between sets to catch some of the Octupus Project, the band set up the stage with their usual assortment of tricks, including a screen that displayed projections ranging from psychedelic cartoons to down-right eerie and gruesome images. They threw “Spiracle” into the mix, a track from their upcoming split release with Black Moth Super Rainbow, and proceeded to flail with their guitars around stage while Yvonne’s hair and smile remained amazingly static throughout the set.

The Spree, meanwhile, made their way back to the outside stage by marching through the crowd. We’re still not exactly sure how they got around the entire building without anyone really noticing. But they returned with their more familiar robes and proceeded to give the lovingly overwhelmed fans another dose. The peak was definitely the cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium” off of their latest EP Wait. At one point a member of the group jumped into the audience and crowd-surfed towards the back, grabbing on to the rafters and pulling down a light cord that sent sparks flying over the heads of the ecstatic fans. They polished it off

with “Light and Day/Reach for the Sun,” thrusting their instruments into the crowd – a trombone got mauled while folks pounded away the cymbals. Finally, to bring the energy back down, they played a soft instrumental number while everyone on stage, and in the crowd, took a seat. A magnificent end to a glorious evening.