RA Sessions: Octave One - A Better Tomorrow / The Forgotten

Published on Jul 15, 2015 Resident Advisor

Spot the synths.

"One of techno's best live acts bring the heat.

This might not seem significant on the face of it, but Octave One are the only act we've had on Sessions who wanted us to use their first take. (In fact, we had to gently persuade them to record a second.) You see, Lenny and Lawrence Burden believe that live performance is about singular moments. They've spent the last 15 years establishing a reputation as one of techno's preeminent live acts, and in the club you don't get second chances. This attitude is reflected in their setup: the Burdens are lifelong devotees of hardware. They develop their technique on synths, controllers and effects as a musician would with an instrument. They perform using a nest of gear that wouldn't look out of place at NASA, and insist on travelling with it all no matter which continent they're booked on.

The Octave One shows also have the advantage of being able to draw from 25 years of timeless techno. The Burdens were part of Detroit's "second wave," and have been releasing music on labels like Tresor, Transmat and their own 430 West since 1990. They're best know for "Black Water," a poignant classic that eventually sold over a million copies following its release in 2000. There have also been four Octave One albums, the latest of which, Burn It Down, was released last month through 430 West. With all of this in mind, we were honoured to welcome Lenny and Lawrence to our London HQ, where they performed slamming versions of two tracks from their new record, "A Better Tomorrow" and "The Forgotten."

Production credits:
Director & Editor - Patrick Nation
Camera - Sim Higginson, Stephen Dunn, Guy Clarke, Debbie Butts, Patrick Nation
Sound Engineers - Rich Cufley (Sound Services), Guy Clarke
Colourist - Adam Clarke (Absolute Post)"