OCTAVIAN WINTERS – THE LINE OR CURVE
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE ALBUM PREMIERE
After producing a dark buzz across the internet over the past four or five months, San Francisco post-punk outfit Octavian Winters are finally read to unleash their debut album The Line Or Curve and it is our pleasure to offer our readers a sneak preview ahead of its release.
Formed in San Francisco in 2022, the band is made up of Stephan Salit (guitar), Randy Gzebb (drums), Jay Denton (bass) and Ria Aursjoen (vocals, keyboards). Ever since, Octavian Winters has been improvising and capturing progressive sounds and thoughts, weaving them together in a dark and lush tapestry of near-classic post-punk, oscillating between shadow and shimmer. Reflecting the troubled times that we live in, sublime dark sonic delight.
Recalling the sounds of Alien Sex Fiend, Clan Of Xymox, Danielle Dax, Joy Division, Drab Majesty and Sisters Of Mercy, this is an album about coming to terms with isolation and loss in various forms, the band has touched 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, whether we acknowledge this or not. The music and the lyrics are a natural extension of all of these emotions and thoughts, which had been bubbling under the surface (and still may be for many folks).
“This record is very special to me as this was a totally different experience – putting a group of well-respected musicians together and starting the writing process in the middle of a pandemic, when the world was in isolation and in a state of shock. I think the whole feeling with everyone working ideas out together produced a special vibe when we got together and started writing the songs. I would start off with a drum groove and everyone started adding their ideas. After working out the ideas out with little back and forth, we started recording demos, which sounded like finished tracks without the polish you get when tracks a have been through the mixing phase,” says Randy Gzebb.
“This record is a powerful mix of ethereal, shoegaze and darkwave genres, which came naturally when we started writing the record. Each song has a slightly different feel from start to finish. The opening track ‘Ondine’ opens the record to both prepare and excite the listener, summing the emotions and leaving some of what’s coming to the imagination. There are many shades of music here. Everything is so richly textured and weaves through this ethereal powerful element.”
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. 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.
“The name of the record – The Line Or Curve – references the idea of symbols and sigils, which are intricate collections of lines and curves. They are expressions, arrangements or gateways of energy and if correctly drawn they may invoke and transform. But the configuration of lines and curves is vital; if not right, a sigil is useless and has no power. So at each point you are choosing whether to draw a line, or a curve,” says Ria Aursjoen.
“But it is also metaphor for the choice we have of our world view. It references geometries. In one geometric system the shortest path is a line. But in a curved space the shortest path is a curve. We can describe the world through either geometry. So, which way of looking at the world do we choose? This brings us back to the theme of separation and disconnection; the past few years have unearthed such deep divides over different world views that there is often no desire to attempt reconnection. My hope is that we will come to appreciate the common shapes expressed in our different geometries, our different world views.”
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.
Ria (Amenti) Aursjoen, who has synesthesia and has nurtured generational musical seeds planted by her opera diva grandmother, has recorded and performed in the UK and US in genres ranging from Celtic folk to progressive metal and darkwave. She left her graduate work in theoretical physics to pursue music, touring as a Celtic harpist and vocalist for several years before making her home in San Francisco.
Drummer Randy Gzebb became active in the LA and San Francisco music scenes, including ‘80s gothic rock band Love Club, who released music on MCA Records, produced by Bill Buchanan (Fields Of The Nephilim, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Leather Nun).
Stephan Salit, who considers performing live his sacred space, has recorded and performed with a wide variety of groups including Specimen. Approaching each song as a canvas that calls for colour and depth, he views his playing as painting with sound.
Bay Area native Jay Denton, who spent some time on the road with Jack Kerouac, has had a diverse career performing classical and contemporary composers, and with various jazz and rock bands, playing extensively with the house band at San Francisco’s famous Condor strip club. Jay has toured in London, Japan and across the USA..
The Line Or Curve EP can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp. On October 31, Octavian Winters plays Bottom of The Hill in San Francisco (with Dead Souls and The Reptile House), followed by a November 8 show at Sacramento’s Cafe Colonial (with Ashes Fallen).
CREDITS
Music written by Octavian Winters. Lyrics by Ria Aursjoen
Ria Aursjoen – Vocals / Keyboards
Stephan Salit – Guitars
Randy Gzebb – Drums
Jay Denton – Bass
Recorded at OW studios San Francisco, CA
Vocals recorded by Mark Pistel, Room 5 Recording, San Francisco, CA
Mixed and mastered by William Faith at 13 Studio, Chicago, IL
Produced by Octavian Winters and William Faith
Artist photos by Dina Marie Robinson
Jay Adams – Video director, cinematographer, editor producer
Eric Olson – Design
Steve Devaney – Design at Uroboros Choke
Concept, storyboard, set and costume design by Ria Aursjoen
Also enjoy the band’s latest audio-visual offerings:
Octavian Winters
The Line Or Curve
(Stratis Capta Records)
Release Date: October 13, 2023
Artist Links
Background Photo Credit: Dina Robinson
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