Octavian Winters - Velveteen
San Francisco post-punk outfit Octavian Winters presents their new video for 'Velveteen', created by David Kruschke. Lifted from their debut album 'The Line or Curve', recently released via Stratis Capta Records, this feels like a getaway song from an imaginary sonic spy novel with its driving rhythm and 80’s vibe.
Born into the ghostly isolation of San Francisco in 2022 and drawing from darkwave and post-punk traditions, Octavian Winters dives into the ethereal, their layered music counterpointing edged grooves alongside lush synth textures and soaring vocal harmonies. In the lead up to the album, the band released the singles 'Undertow'. 'Ondine' and 'Surreal'.
Recorded in San Francisco by Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Consolidated) at OW Studio and Room 5 Recording, this EP was produced by Octavian Winters and William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate, Faith and the Muse, Christian Death, The March Violets), whose credits include Jarboe, Clan of Xymox, Bootblacks and Autumn, Faith also mixed and mastered the album at 13 Studio in Chicago.
Octavian Winters is guitarist Stephan Salit (Thrill of The Pull), drummer Randy Gzebb (Thrill of The Pull, Love Club,), bassist Jay Denton and Ria (Amenti) Aursjoen on vocals and keyboards. Together, they weave their visceral and ethereal sound into a texture all its own – of stories once told but half-remembered, under a dusk of shadows and stars, in an abandoned city under the winter moon.
Randy Gzebbexplains the tone of this song: "Racing down a gloomy freeway on a grey evening, you walk up an alleyway and duck into a smokey casino, filled with like-minded people, an intense air of anticipation building as everyone gets ready to turn themselves loose, their insecurities, anxieties filled with emotions with driving drums and bass with serrated guitars, desperate vocals playing in the background,
"We had just started working up the music for what would become Velveteen in the summer of 2022 and I was out in Vegas for a few days. I had driven out into the desert, musing on inspiration for lyrics, and was on my way back into the city when the signs for the casinos, shows and strip clubs started popping up. The idea for the lyrics coalesced then -- there was an air of desperation in all the lights and billboards, a false lure to feel... good. To indulge in fantasy. The lyrics are about people trying to claim their dreams through escape, by avenues that lead down a rabbit hole of despair," says Ria (Amenti) Aursjoen.
This album is about coming to terms with isolation and loss in various forms, touching on themes that the whole world has dealt with face to face for the past few years – feelings and repercussions that have left a deep imprint on all of us. The music and lyrics are a natural extension of these emotions and thoughts, bubbling under the surface.
Each member of Octavian Winters brings their own rich musical tapestry to the collective and have shared the stage with many iconic acts over the years, including Nine Inch Nails, Killing Joke, Lords of the New Church, Savage Republic, Christian Death, The Frozen Autumn, Everything Goes Cold and Black Tape for a Blue Girl.
'The Line or Curve' EP is out now and available digitally from fine music platforms, including via Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.
