"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" ~ The Spill Magazine
"Feels like it was recorded in a studio deep beneath the earth, drawing power from subterranean caves and bubbling magma... tectonic thunder... Such power, strong and true, a voice that scales the wall of sound beneath her with ease" ~ Joyzine
"A dark musical weave forged of post-punk and gothic strands. A sonic web of pulsing bass grooves and shaded ethereality, dark and delicious guitar slashes and haunting sound washes" ~ The Big Takeover
"Seriously compelling incitement, which Aursjoen’s tones and the electronically atmospheric mists around her only escalate" ~ Ringmaster Review
American electronic - EDM trailblazer Mark Pistel (Consolidated, Meat Beat Manifesto) recently joined San Francisco post-punk outfit Octavian Winters on their new release 'Nebula / Velveteen (Mark Pistel Remix)' (out now via Stratis Capta Records). Now they share the video for Pistel's remix of 'Velveteen', created by filmmaker David Kruschke,
A producer, engineer, programmer, remixer and songwriter active since the 80s, Mark Pistel founded the band Consolidated and has been with Meat Beat Manifesto since 1997. From his Room 5 studio, he has worked with The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Grace Jones, Therapy?, MC 900 Foot Jesus, Machines of Loving Grace, Hector Zazou, Mark Stewart, Lee Scratch Perry, Cabaret Voltaire's Stephen Mallinder and Fishbone's Angelo Moore.
Formed in 2022, 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.
Pistel explains, "Randy Gzebb called me about remixing one of the tracks off 'The Line or the Curve' EP. I was excited to do so, as we'd recorded some of these vocals at my Room 5 Studio in San Francisco. I chose to do 'Velveteen' as I already loved the track with its fantastic vocal melody and Stephan's unstoppable guitar hook! I took on the track with pulsing analog synths and a slamming dance floor beat for the clubs."
The A-side to this 2-track release, called 'Nebula', underscores the inevitable impermanence of all that is seen and unseen, known and unknown.
"Nebula began as an experiment... I kept envisioning a sort of “last day at the end of the world” — what would the sky look like? Would we know and understand what was happening? There is this broadly Gnostic idea of the universe as unfolding and unfolding through what are called Aeons, essentially levels of manifestation, until we get this world we live in here. I imagined this world reaching the fullness of its life, that whole cycle ending — and then everything reversing, refolding back to the start to make way for the next universe," says Ria Aursjoen.
This is not the first time Octavian Winters has worked with Pistel. Their debut EP 'The Line or Curve' (released in late 2023) was mostly recorded at his Room 5 Recording before being mixed and mastered it at 13 Studio in Chicago, and co-produced by the band and William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate, Faith & the Muse, Christian Death).
But Octavian Winters' members have a rich history of collaborating and touring with notable artists, 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 'Nebula / Velveteen (Mark Pistel Remix)' single is available everywhere, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. The band's next headlining concert is on Friday, July 26 at San Francisco's DNA Lounge with support from Halou and Sword Tongue.
CREDITS
Ria Aursjoen - Vocals / Keyboards
Stephan Salit - Guitars
Randy Gzebb - Drums
Jay Denton - Bass
'Velveteen' remix by Mark Pistel
'Nebula' written by Ria Aursjoen
'Velveteen' written by Octavian Winters
Recorded at OW studios San Francisco
Vocals recorded by Mark Pistel, Room 5 Recording, San Francisco
'Nebula' mixed & mastered by William Faith at 13 Studio, Chicago
'Nebula' produced by Octavian Winters and William Faith
Cover art Ria Aursjoen
Design by Eric Olson
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
Video by David Kruschke
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