“It’s just like brothers do, we tangle a lot. Leonard might start something and I might say, ‘Hey, man, let me put something to that, let me add some percussion.’ Then Lynell might say, ‘Let me throw some hats and effects and the rest of the drums in there.’ So it’s a collage.
Here and there, we’ll do individual pieces, but generally it’s somebody might be in the studio, he might be striking a few chords that are really touching somebody else and we’ll kind of be: ‘Hey put that down, that sounds good. Let me add something.’ For the most part, I’ll do the mixes, that’s the only thing that’s pretty much constant, but every once in a while Lynell and Leonard will both do mixes. I like doing the mixes because I like doing really punchy, crazy stuff.” … Lawrence Burden - Octave One by Andrew Duke

Priča o detroit techno grupama Octave One i Random Noise Generation je zapravo je priča o braći Burden koji su rođeni i žive u Detroitu. Jezgra grupe Octave One su Lenny i Lawrence Burden, a brat Lyonell povremeno svojim radom također doprinosi u produkciji. Lenny (Leonard) i Lawrence su ujedno dva najstarija brata, te su osnivači i članovi projekta Random Noise Generation. Obitelj Burden ima petoro braće, tri gore spomenuta (Lawrence, Lenny i Lynell) te Lancea i najmlađeg među njima Lornea.

Lance je grafički dizajner i on radi sve što je vezano uz 430 West, Direct Beat i Submerge web site, te još neke stvari vezane uz label pod nickom Mook-Fu. Najmlađi Lorne je također ušao u obiteljski biznis i krije se iza projekta Kaotic Spatial Rhythm pod kojim je snimio nekoliko ploča. Također producira za Direct Beat label i na dobrom je putu da postane jako uspješan uzme li se u obzir kako je producirao već sa svojih 12. godina.

Odrastanje uz razne instrumente i poduke iz sviranja na njih su imale veliki utjecaj, na ono u što će se oblikovati i kojim putem će krenuti. Recimo, najstariji od njih, Lawrence, je u dobi od šest godina na “poticaj” majke (“we didn’t have a choice”) išao na satove klavira, a kasnije su i ostali krenuli istim putem te su se s godinama zajedno upoznavali i s drugim vrstama instrumenata. Upravo je Lawrence bio prvi zaražen novim urbanim zvukom koji je puštan po gradskim klubovima i na radiju (Wizard, Jeff Mills, WDRQ-FM - 93.1) te je ubrzo nakon toga došlo do kupovine njihovog prvog dijela opreme.

“We had like a Kawai R50 and a Korg DDD1,” … “and once they bought those pieces, they were pretty much hooked.” … Lawrence Burden - Octave One by Andrew Duke

Burdeni su 1988. godine postavljali rasvjetu u slavnom klubu Music Institute što je također ostavilo veliki utjecaj na njih.

“In the early days we did the lights there because we had this lighting rig from our road work. The guys at the Institute didn’t have any lights so we brought our lighting rig in. It was just deep. A lot of experimental stuff. A lot of the times Derrick would grab some reel-to-reel projects.
So you would be jacking all night and all of a sudden here’s this track you’ve never heard before. That gave you the opportunity to really experiment with peoples’ vibes and their minds and it would carry them to a new experience and see if they were into it. It was a good place for solid vibes and experimentation.“… Lawrence Burden - By John Osselaer (originally published by Overload Media, 01-09-2000)

———————-

Octave One (430 West Records, Detroit)
Kad govorimo o Octave One može se reći da je Lawrence osovina grupe, Lenny je tech momak zadužen za tehničke aspekte produciranja, a Lynell je pomalo od svega toga pomažući u produkciji i idejama.
Od njihovog prvog izdanja pa sve do danas elementi tribala su sastavni dio njihove glazbe, ritmovi i zvukovi udaraljki su elementi koji ih obilježavaju, a zvuk bi im se mogao još okarakterizirati kao dark i funky.

“We like it smooth,” Burden says, “cos we come from the era where techno and house used to always be spun in the same set. I’m still living back in that time zone. For some reason I can’t come out of that, and we kind of make music to fit that era when you would spin a KMS record with something like a Farley “Jackmaster”. Now there are techno DJs and there are house DJs.

Techno went so far away from house that seldom can you put them into the same set. I think that’s where we really come into play, generally we’re the music that DJs use to go from house to techno. We’re in between the two worlds somewhere. I’m not a devout techno head because some of the techno now gets a little noisy for me, but at the same time I’m not a devout house house head, you know, but I do like elements from both worlds.

There are pieces from house that I like, there are pieces from techno that I like. Again, it’s just that natural progression for us because of the two elements which we like when we like to dance. We like hearing both of those.” … Lawrence Burden - Octave One by Andrew Duke

Braća su krajem osamdesetih (1988.) počela pomalo eksperimentirati s produkcijom i često su boravili u Juanovom (Atkins) studiju. Već nakon kratkog vremena debitiraju sa svojom stvari “I Believe” na monumentalnoj kompilaciju “Techno 2: The Next Generation” izdanoj na 10 Records, zajedno s uratcima drugih artista kao što su Carl Craig, Marc Kinchen i Jay Denham. Zanimljivo je da je Neil Rushton radeći tu kompilaciju u zadnji tren izbacio s liste jednu drugu stvar, a umjesto nje ubacio Octave One “I Believe”.

Priča ide ovako nekako: stvar “I Believe” su Lenny, Lawrence i Lynell Burden snimili u Atkinsovom studiju, na mixu stvari je radio Anthony “Shake” Shakir, a vokal je dala Lisa Newbury. Kada je stvar napravljena Juan ju je htio na Metroplexu, a Kevin ju je htio za svoj KMS, ali pošto su braća bila jako bliska s Anthony Shakirom, a on s Derrick Mayem, koji je u to vrijeme bio blizak s Neil Rushtonom, stvar su poslali u Veliku Britaniju i ona je izašla na toj kultnoj kompilaciji, te kao singl na Derrickovom Transmatu.

“Shake is the man, period. He brought us into dance music. On “I Believe”, he went beyond just being the engineer, which is what he was only meant to be on the record, he co-wrote it and co-produced it. He was really the first to see our potential as producers and we are forever grateful to him.” … Interview with Octave One (July 2007, tresor.com)

Na kraju je stvar postigla velik uspjeh, i na kompilaciji i kao singl te se jako dobro prodavala. Unatoč dobroj prodaji oni nisu vidjeli novac od prodaje jer je sva zarada od prava na stvar išla Transmatu, a ne njima. Revoltirani time, odlučili su pokrenuti svoj vlastiti label pod kojim oni, a i drugi umjetnici koji budu izdavali za njih neće imati takvih problema.

“It was hunger, man, it was a real hunger. Things were selling, but money wasn’t hitting our bank accounts, and that’s kind of what stemmed us to go start on our own. We were like, ‘Hey, man, we can be broke by ourselves, producing records that aren’t selling and not making money.’ We learned from that point about contracts and we decided to set up a label that other producers would enjoy.

We tried to make a producers’ record label. Instead of like so much for the label’s benefit, it would be kind of like the corral where producers would hang out and make tracks and we would give you an astronomical percentages just to be a part of the whole organization.” … Lawrence Burden - Octave One by Andrew Duke

Tako je krajem 1991. godine došlo do pokretanja njihovog 430 West Recordsa u želji da na njemu promoviraju sebe i druge techno artiste iz Detroita i njihova izdanja. Osoba koja najviše stoji iza labela je Lawrence Burden. Ime labela je uzeto po lokaciji na kojoj se nalaze, 430 West 8 Mile Road in Detroit.
Na njemu su do sada radili mnogi producenti kao što su Jay Denham (Vice), Terrence Parker, Eddie “Flashin” Fowlkes, Carl Craig, Mike Huckaby i mnogi drugi. Derrick May je kasnije pokušao reizdati ploču “I Belive”, ali su to braća spriječila te su je oni kasnije reizdali na 430 West labelu.

Nedugo nakon što su pustili u pogon 430 West Records Burdeni početkom 1992. pokreću Direct Beat label želeći nešto napraviti vezano za electro zvuk i svjetu pružiti priliku da čuje tu stranu Detroita. Prvo izdanje na njemu je bilo “Rock So Hard” Rich MacMillana.

Braća s Octave One 1997. godine izdaju debi album “The Living Key” (To Images from Above). Album je balans laganih melodija, jazzy i dance-flooru okrenutih stvari koje nakon svakog ponovnog slušanja sve bolje i bolje zvuče.

Izdanje “The Collective” je Octave One retrospektiva koja uključuje njihove najbolje radove objavljene na 430 West labelu od početka njihove karijere. Za svaku stvar s te retrospektive možemo reći da je klasik. Stvari “I Believe”, “Empower”, “DayStar Rising”, “The Symbiont” najbolji su primjer prvorazrednog, inventivnog techno funka iz Detroita. Na ploči “Octave One - Somedays” (430 West) pojavljuje im se Anne Saunderson (Kevinova žena) kao vokal.

2000. godine izdaju najuspješniju ploču koju su do tada ikad izdali - “Blackwater”. Stvar “Blackwater” je objavljena na preko 30 kompilacijskih albuma diljem svijeta, također biva jednom od najomiljenijih stvari na deckovima mnogih svjetskih DJ-a kao što su Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin, Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, Jonathan Peters, Laurent Garnier, Danny Teneglia i mnogih drugih.

Usporavajući s radom na labelu, 2002. godine, braća se još više posvećuju radu u studiju. Rezultat toga je bio album “The Theory of Everything” na kojem su ponovo surađivali s vokalom Ann Saunderson (glas u Blackwater remixu). Album je izdan na Concept Music labelu 2004. godine.
Krajem 2006. godine su za Tresor izdali CD i DVD “Off The Grid”, album na kojem su obradili svoje stare stvari, ali tu su i neki do tada neobjavljeni materijali. Na njemu surađuju i s ostalom braćom, a na DVD-u su snimke s njihovih live nastupa te neki video dodaci.

Prvi studio album nakon nekoliko godina uslijedio je u listopadu 2007. godine (”Summers on Jupiter”, 430 West). Album odiše prepoznatljivim Octave One detroit techno zvukom. Na stvari “I Need Release” ponovo surađuju s Ann Saunderson, te su tu stvar izdali i kao singl (05-2008, 430 West Records).

“Whatever makes the crowd move, we play in our live set and our new album is our live set. All the tracks were recorded live; nothing was recorded in the studio. Artistically, we were just trying to make people dance to our sound. We think it is one of our best projects.
There’s just a little too much theory and science in music these days. With “Off The Grid” we were just trying to be funky and true to our music. Living the life of an underground electronic band, off the grid.“ … Interview with Octave One (July 2007, tresor.com)

Produkcijski, kada govorimo o Octave One onda govorimo o trojici braće, dok su na live nastupima samo njih dvojica, Lawrence Burden i Lenny Burden. Kao grupa s live nastupom se prvi put pojavljuju 1999. godine na Electric Entourage turneji. Sada održavaju svoje live na raznim mjestima i zemljama širom svijeta (Njemačka, Španjolska, Nizozemska, Grčka, Belgija, Austrija, Velika Britanija, Irska, Malezija, Japan, Amerika, Rusija…).

“We very much enjoy playing live, taking our music directly to the people. It is a very unique experience, even more so than DJ’ing (which we all have done at one time or another).
We very much want to progress as a band and find even greater ways of connecting with our audience. It would be a great achievement to have a lasting career like Depeche Mode.
Playing to massive audiences, being true to your music, without compromise.“ … Interview with Octave One (July 2007, tresor.com)

U svojoj glazbenoj karijeri surađivali su sa mnogim umjetnicima kao što su Derrick May, Underground Resistance, Eddie Fowlkes, Juan Atkins, Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir, Members of the House, Terrence Parker i The Martian (Red Planet). Remixirali su stvari za Massive Attack, Akabu (Joey Negro), DJ Rolando, Steve Bug, John Thomas, The Trampps, Rhythm is Rhythm i Inner City.

Uspješno vode i svoj detroitski record label, 430 West Records, i izdaju na njemu. Od 1990. godine do sad braća Burden su izdala preko stotinu izdanja. Ako vam se kojom prilikom pruži šansa poslušati ovaj dvojac nemojte je propustiti, nećete požaliti. Također izdaju i pod drugim imenima; Never on Sunday, Random Noise Generation (RNG) i Metro D.

———————-

Random Noise Generation (430 West Records, Detroit)
“Random Noise is just our ‘I’ll try it, and I don’t really care if it works’ type of mood.”… Lawrence Burden - Octave One by Andrew Duke

Nastavljajući putovanje koje su 1990. godine započeli s Octave One, dva najstarija brata Burden klana, Lenny i Lawrence, osnivaju Random Noise Generation. Prva stvar koju su napravili pod tim imenom bila je “Falling in Dub” s vokalima u prvom planu. To je bilu ujedno i drugo izdanje na njihovom 430 West Recordsu 1991. godine i još je simultano objavljena u tri različite zemlje, u Velikoj Britaniji na Outer Rhythm Recordsu, na Buzzu u Belgiji i u Njemačkoj na Low Spiritu gdje su je remixirali Claude Young, Terrence Parker i Westbam.

Random Noise Generation je bio njihov novi zvuk i novi način pristupa stvaranju glazbe. Zvuk RNG, za razliku od Octave One, je bio više apstraktniji, minimalniji ali atmosferičniji. Pod tim pseudonimom (RNG) su izbacili mnoge klasike koji su svojevremeno naišli na dobru reakciju publike širom svijeta, kao što su recimo “Instrument Of Change”, “Systemize” i “Echelon”.
2000. godine je izdan “The Links In The Chain” LP (430 West) na kojem se između ostalog nalaze “Instrument Of Change” i “Echelon”.

Godine 2004. Jeff Mills poziva ih da budu dio njegovog novog DVD projekta, “The Exhibitionist”, što su naravno prihvatili te su na tom DVDu izveli svoj specijalni live nastup sa svoje tri nove stvari.

“It really was a career-changing moment for us. Jeff has a great work ethic and focus. Watching how hard he worked and how detailed the man is gave us inspiration and direction. Also, more people recognize us from the DVD than another thing we’ve ever done.
Jeff opened us up to his fan base. It gave birth to the idea of doing our own DVD project.” … Interview with Octave One (July 2007) – tresor.com

Rad s Millsom ih inspirira da napokon završe tri godine ranije započet full length album “Reign”. Materijale s tog nedovršenog albuma su već ranije koristili u svojim nastupima, a sada su tim materijalima dodali nove, “PMP - Power, Money, and Pain” (s “The Exhibitionist” DVD-a), “Rock My Soul” i “The Playground” već objavljenoj na Planet E kompilaciji “All Access (to Detroit’s Music Festivals)”.

“No matter what’s going down,” Lenny says, “It’s gonna make you move.” … Lawrence Burden - Octave One by Andrew Duke

Web stranice:
www.octaveone.com
www.myspace.com/octaveone

Izvori:
Octave One by Andrew Duke
Lawrence Burden by John Osselaer 2000.
Octave One Tresor Interview
Octave One for Clash magazine, January 2007

Boris K. za www.er45.com (c) 2008

Povezani članci:

1. Anthony “Shake” Shakir
2. Quince
3. Priča o kultnom klubu Tresor