OCTA | MUSIC PREVIEW
Having launched last year and sold out its ticdket allocation into the bargain, OCTA returns for 2015, showcasing some of the best and most innovative music coming from south Wales. There will be six live acts featuring this evening, such as Cotton Wolf, an electronica duo featuring Llion Robertson and soundtrack composer Seb Goldfinch.
Arguably the best known act on OCTA’s bill, Gwenno Saunders is variously a music producer, DJ, radio presenter and singer. Based in Cardiff, she has just released her debut solo album Y Dydd Olaf; her CV includes an unlikely stint touring with Elton John and – closer to home – a recent UK-wide support slot for Gruff Rhys. Y Pencadlys, who like Gwenno sings in his native language, is a vessel for the artistic output of W H Hughes. His live sets find him pacing and bounding around the stage with only keyboards and vocals to accompany him
Rhodri Brooks & Eugene Capper are a folk-rock duo who have various individual releases on Bandcamp and on CD, and have collaborated live a few times previously. Cardiffian two-piece Totem Terrors have one well-received LP of postpunk-meets-indiepop goodness, with a second on the way in forthcoming months; get a taste here. the music of Albatross Archive – yet another Cardiff duo – is based around keys and drums, writing songs “in the style that interests them at the time,” or so it is claimed.
With further multimedia fun from Jon Ruddick and his “magnificent camera tracking ping-pong table,” plus Casey Raymond and Nic Finch “doing horrible and terrible things to your eyes,” OCTA is looking like a hit evening for the second year running. “The loose Octa ethos,” states main organiser Tom Raybould, “is to create an interesting, fun environment to spend your evening introducing your ears to new music and realising how much you love ping-pong.”
For all the highlights follow @ShermanCymru for all the updated gossip and use the hashtag #OCTA during the event and tag your favourite artists.
words RACHEL NURSE
WORDS FROM THE MEN BEHIND OCTA
Tom Raybould: “I started Octa when The Sherman asked my overly loud band to play one of their ‘foyer sessions’ gigs a few years ago. Instead of sullying their lovely foyer space I made a counter-offer that if they gave me unbridled access to their building I would organise a night of live music that utilised their interesting theatre spaces. I’d recently scored a theatre production that performed in their second theatre space, and thought its layout was ideal for an amphitheatre-style music performance – where the audience are raised above the acts on tiered platforms.
Mark Foley: “A chance to program an event in Sherman was too good an opportunity to miss. Along with the lovely Ceriann from the Sherman, we have a blank canvas with which to fill with music and visual art. The ‘Studio Theatre’ in Sherman is octagonal, hence the name.”
Tom: “Plus I liked the idea of having eight acts on during the night. And I have eight toes on my left foot.”
OCTA, Sherman Theatre, Sat 4 Apr. Tickets: £10-£12. Info: 029 2064 6900 / www.shermancymru.co.uk
