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Manchester raised, Oxford based Octavia Freud frontman Martin Andrews makes solo lo-fi space pop music with a personal and political edge.
His latest 2020 album release, 'Mood dancing' sees Martin return to his natural voice with a more upbeat selection of tracks following his lockdown collaboration with fellow electronic artist Chris Allinson from Volcanic Shores. The 10 tracks explore the desire for intimacy and abandon during a time of isolation and restrictions.
In contrast, the first two Octavia Freud albums, 'Romance & heartache' (2017) and 'Smoke & mirrors' (2019) involved the use of a Roland VT-3 for Martin to create a vocal alter ego which was merged with cut up beats, stabs of sub bass and guitar riffs to form a dark futuristic world of fluid gender identities.
Martin has previously performed in numerous other live electronic acts on bass, guitar and vocal duties with shows at London's ICA, Flèche Dor in Paris and Isle of Wight's Bestival festival. He has previously performed live on XFM and recorded vocals for electronic producer IDC, with the track 'Modern Touch' earning single of the month in Mixmag magazine.
Martin's tracks have also been previously selected by the late Andrew Weatherall for his DJ sessions, appeared alongside Goldfrapp on the influential 'Robopop' electro compilations and been remixed at Death in Vegas' Contino Rooms.
Martin has also championed emerging live electronic music, having spent several years promoting London's Heavenly Social's 'Neural Ohmlette' live club nights and set up the monthly Basement and Yard sessions at Modern Art Oxford contemporary art space.
When asked to describe his current recording process, Martin explains;
"Octavia Freud is my alter ego for when I want to make strange lo-fi electronic music. For the previous two albums I have used a voice FX to pitch shift my voice and portray an alternative identity. For this latest album, 'Mood dancing' it was recorded in collaboration with electronic artist Volcanic Shores so I decided to focus on my natural voice and explore more of an upbeat sound. Ironically the songs are heavily influenced by the current lockdown so we've hidden them behind catchy melodies and electronic beats so it doesn't get too doom-laden. In a way, recording the latest album has given me a chance to explore a world without Covid 19 and to enjoy making music as an escape and release in these troubled times. For 'Mind dancing' we wanted to make the songs reach out to both the mind and the body".
His latest 2020 album release, 'Mood dancing' sees Martin return to his natural voice with a more upbeat selection of tracks following his lockdown collaboration with fellow electronic artist Chris Allinson from Volcanic Shores. The 10 tracks explore the desire for intimacy and abandon during a time of isolation and restrictions.
In contrast, the first two Octavia Freud albums, 'Romance & heartache' (2017) and 'Smoke & mirrors' (2019) involved the use of a Roland VT-3 for Martin to create a vocal alter ego which was merged with cut up beats, stabs of sub bass and guitar riffs to form a dark futuristic world of fluid gender identities.
Martin has previously performed in numerous other live electronic acts on bass, guitar and vocal duties with shows at London's ICA, Flèche Dor in Paris and Isle of Wight's Bestival festival. He has previously performed live on XFM and recorded vocals for electronic producer IDC, with the track 'Modern Touch' earning single of the month in Mixmag magazine.
Martin's tracks have also been previously selected by the late Andrew Weatherall for his DJ sessions, appeared alongside Goldfrapp on the influential 'Robopop' electro compilations and been remixed at Death in Vegas' Contino Rooms.
Martin has also championed emerging live electronic music, having spent several years promoting London's Heavenly Social's 'Neural Ohmlette' live club nights and set up the monthly Basement and Yard sessions at Modern Art Oxford contemporary art space.
When asked to describe his current recording process, Martin explains;
"Octavia Freud is my alter ego for when I want to make strange lo-fi electronic music. For the previous two albums I have used a voice FX to pitch shift my voice and portray an alternative identity. For this latest album, 'Mood dancing' it was recorded in collaboration with electronic artist Volcanic Shores so I decided to focus on my natural voice and explore more of an upbeat sound. Ironically the songs are heavily influenced by the current lockdown so we've hidden them behind catchy melodies and electronic beats so it doesn't get too doom-laden. In a way, recording the latest album has given me a chance to explore a world without Covid 19 and to enjoy making music as an escape and release in these troubled times. For 'Mind dancing' we wanted to make the songs reach out to both the mind and the body".
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