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MH-222 Octavius - Audio Noir  Octavius has strived to perfect his stunning amalgam of hip-hop, electronic and avant-rock music in the San Francisco underground over the past four years. This dedication has culminated in his Mush full-length release Audio Noir. Serving as a slight departure from the beats and noise frenzy that ignited a buzz around his 2001 work with 4AM, the new release looks to establish Octavius as a purveyor of even more elaborate territories of sound. Experimental freak-outs collide with classic song structures, tension and attitude give way to raw vulnerability, and Octavius' vocal and production techniques are employed to unnerving effect. Audio Noir adds previously missing darkness and edge to the Mush catalog in a way that overwhelms, thrills, and astonishes in equal measure. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| An important record - LA Weekly / Literally unforgettable - Industrial Nation / Delicious left-field despondency - Outburn / Great invention and blasted beauty throughout - The Wire / A tense, aggressive and surprisingly beautiful album that dares you to define it as hip-hop - Signal to Noise / A new flavor of hop that's dangerous and mesmerizing - San Francisco Examiner |
| Reviews |
| A dark vision permeates Octavius' Mush Records debut, Audio Noir. Using augmented samples, processed live instruments and vocals, and software-based editing techniques, Octavius builds a disorienting and foreboding collection of sci-fi soundtrack music ("Monochrome"), avant rock, and electronic hip-hop (the Tricky-esque "Speed Limit"). His work can drift like ambient Brian Eno pieces (the beautiful "Surprisingly Concerned With One Another"), distort with abrasive freakouts ("Cellophane"), or pummel with Nine Inch Nails beats and aggression ("Vacant/Panic"). In some ways it's reminiscent of the mind-boggling cut-ups of Dj Shadow and Dj Q-Bert - but Octavius is a hip-hop producer and noise musician, not a scratch artist. Another useful reference point is RJD2, particularly when it comes to Octavius' similar use of atmospheric, movie score sounds ("Momentum/Parisian War Song"). But, RJD2 has a knack for pop and body-moving song structures that seem to hold no interest for Octavius. Fans looking for catchy hip-hop should search elsewhere, but for a sinister, elaborately experimental and cerebral take on hip-hop, Octavius has got it all tied up. - All Music Guide |
2XLP/Out Of Print