Octave One left their mark in the Palma night last Friday at the R33 Club in Es Jonquet, bringing their energetic live set to a packed house for ninety minutes of non-stop hardware wizardry, in a master-class on how to make a dance floor pump and sweat.
Since 2017, the R33 Club has been playing host every Friday to a wide variety of top techno and house DJs and producers, including DJ Hell, Nic Fanciulli, Josh Wink and John Digweed, among many others, becoming one of the essential nights in Palma de Mallorca to catch the best underground music artists from around the world. Located at the Es Jonquet neighbourhood’s Plaza del Vapor, in the trendy Santa Catalina District, the club enjoys a privileged location as it overlooks the Palma Bay and the city´s Paseo Maritimo, providing a fantastic backdrop for the great music as the lights from the boats in the harbour, and their reflection in the water, play along with the ones from inside the room.
On Friday June 15 it was Octave One‘s turn to visit Palma, in the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, arriving from Barcelona, where they played the previous night on the Detroit Love OFF Sonar event. They´re currently on tour supporting Endustry, their latest LP under the Random Noise Generation moniker, released by 430 West Records. The album is a techno lover´s dream come true, a collection of 8 tracks that are pure Detroit, combining the industrial side of the sound with an irresistible groove that gives the music a pure, timeless appeal. Octave One transfer this perfectly to their live show, as they so kindly demonstrated last Friday to a packed dance floor.
Warm-up duties were performed by locals The Dub Attack, with a dub-techno sound that gradually eased you into the music, with crisp highs and gut-busting lows coming from a very well-balanced sound system. An impressive array of mysterious equipment covered by a large sheet sat to their left, a setup that one could only speculate about until the time came for it to be revealed, a situation that really made the expectation grow and grow as the night wore on.
Then, a little before 3 a.m., it was time for Octave One to take the stage and, as the veil lifted from the equipment, an overwhelming amount of hardware became visible, which could only mean that the audience present at the club was going to be treated to something very special, as it certainly did.
It’s difficult to put into words the experience of watching the Burden brothers just pulverizing a dance floor, the raw energy and infectious rhythm that came out of that massive setup, the sight of two Detroit legends giving it their all and transmitting all that know-how and enthusiasm while making the people lose themselves dancing in a non-stop techno master-class. Lenny took over the different drum machines, keyboards, samplers, and sequencers while Lawrence commanded a huge mixing board, from where he controlled and launched all the sound being produced by his brother at the very grateful audience. It was truly an awesome sight to behold, and a priceless thing to hear as well.
New material from their album was joined by older songs, which made for a very entertaining and satisfying session. Pounding beats and industrial grooves were met by human soul and feeling, the capability of Octave One to capture and mesmerize a crowd is unquestionable, there was never a dull moment in the 1 ½ hours their set lasted, and this is a very rare achievement, one that separates the true masters from everybody else.
The track sequence in their set was flawless, and, when the unmistakable melodies of their massive hit Blackwater started blasting, it was like witnessing the history of electronic music come alive before your ears, while, a little later, the bass line of Soul XChange brought everything back to the present. By the time they were done, a very enthusiastic audience was left wanting more, and I, for one, am very grateful that I was able to witness an unforgettable live techno set from two such creative persons, so important to the dance music scene.
Check out Endustry to hear the latest from Octave One/Random Noise Generation for yourself. You can also take a look at their tour schedule and see if you can catch them in any one of these dates, I absolutely recommend you to see them play live, the energy they give off with their presence, as well as with their music, is a very rare, wonderful thing to experience. And, if you want to learn more about the Burden brothers and their views on producing music, touring, etc, don´t miss the interview they were so kind to give Electronic Groove here.
Finally, I´d like to thank Ziggy, Octave One’s tour manager, for his excellent hospitality at the club, as well as Lenny and Lawrence for the great music and for being such nice people to talk to. Also, I want to wish them a very happy and successful tour for all their remaining dates, as well as to ask them to come back to Mallorca whenever they get the chance!
