SXSW 2010: Best Of, Part 2: Octopus Project

Austin natives Octopus Project are well known for the inventive musical endeavors. Their lone show at SXSW, a project called Hexadecagon, took their own standards up a notch. The piece, written for an eight-channel sound and eight-channel video system, was presented twice in back to back sets under a tent in the parking lot of Whole Foods. The line was crazy long as people waited to see what exactly a this experiment would look and sound like. After two hours we got our wristband for the second set and managed to get a nice spot close to the stage with great views of all of the various instruments – electronic and elsewise- that OP use in their electro-pop arrangements.

The stage was set in the round so all eight-channels surrounded the entire audience and the video was projected on the tent’s ceiling. Watching as they got themselves organized it was easy to get the sense of how complicated this show was. Once the whole thing began though the complications were entirely masked by the precisely executed combination of audio and visuals. The group created every aspect of the show themselves (with the help from a few friends) from the videos that played overhead to programming the systems needed to fully maximize the surround sound effects. Before each track played all the machinations were triggered and without missing a beat the band would launch into the good old fashioned electronic orchestrations.

Octopus Project’s music alone is enough to leave you breathless but wrapped up and presented in this magnificent manner made it most unforgettable. They use traditional instruments -drums, guitars and bass – as well as electronic – synths, samplers and a theremin- to create a meticulously choreographed sonic dance. The physicality of their combined playing styles only served to further the visual element of Hexadecagon.

Toto’s bouncing attack on the drums has a manic grace about it that countered Yvonne’s precise manipulation of the theremin. Amidst the busy-ness of the other instruments and the flashing of the movie above she was the embodiment of calm, adding visual continuation of the slow dips and rises created by the instrument. The music was written to maximize the presence of the surrounding speakers and as a result contributed a very distinct energy to the piece. Each surround sound effect was timed to correspond to the abstract images in the projections, where you stood in the room defined your experience. Hexadecagon was the most comprehensively conceived live show I have ever seen on such an intimate scale. I doubt it would be replicable but I sure hope Octopus Project continues to attempt such feats in the future.

Wet Gold