aaamusic | On 30, Sep 2011

OCTAVIUS

New album ‘Laws’ released on Mannequin

“And as you all surely realize, sometimes art can wipe the floor with commerce.” – LA Weekly

“Octavius offers his own visionary soundtrack to dark days.  Keep an eye on this one, he might be dangerous.” – URB (Next 100)

“Pioneering, experimental.” – XLR8R

Glacial, barren and difficult, OCTAVIUS’ Laws arrives in stark contrast to synth pop-derived efforts of recent fashion.  Informed specifically by Bowie’s Low, New Order’s Movement and Tricky’s Pre-Millennium Tension, Laws is OCTAVIUS in a daringly raw, beats and noise and vocals only moment.

Laws features significant musical contributions from DJ/Producer Barbeau, who has worked with Doc Martin, Les Rhythmes Digitales, Donald Glaude and is the producer behind Hollywood sex act Dirty Sanchez’s sound.  The album also includes a number of other collaborators, including No’a Winter Lazerus (producer/engineer for Pink Floyd, Laurie Anderson, Michael Jackson and Tom Waits), Data Bomb (Skinny Puppy and Otto von Schirach collaborator) and Jay Sonic (HOTTUB, LeHeat Records).

BIOGRAPHY:

Initiated in 1998 for William Marshall’s efforts in music and visual art, OCTAVIUS has since developed into a platform for the work of many talented musicians.  Marshall’s input is a product of Mark Rothko’s immense floating rectangles, Squarepusher’s noise sculptures and David Lynch’s scores & cinema.  His writing is all San Francisco sneer, L.A. lust and Oakland grime delivered in a cadence that rivals Mark E. Smith for sheer audacity or Tricky for fractured, wasted brilliance.  Through modified samplers, traditional instruments and software editing, OCTAVIUS aims to create music of conceptual depth and technical skill that remains urgent, relevant and accessible.

Following Audio Noir, his universally acclaimed Mush Records debut, OCTAVIUS entered a 3-year performance hiatus to explore new models of recording and releasing work. During this time he became involved in the music technology arena with Avid Technology and the development of Pro Tools.

In 2009, Marshall became Creative Director of CNTRL Limited, a boutique record company that specializes in releasing the work of Black American avant-garde musicians.