RIVERSIDE MUSIC FESTIVAL APPEARANCE Octavia Freud & The Weird Sisters will be performing on the main stage at Charlbury's Riverside Festival on Sunday 21 July 21. They will be performing songs from the recently released album 'Mancbeth', a take on Shakespeare's Scottish play that is set in the early 90's rave clubs of Manchester. Joining Martin on stage will be the vocal talents of Cate Debu, Emma Huner, Mila Todd, Pet Twin and Maria from The Bobo. Electronic producer TIger Mendoza will be on hand to help with live loops and Dan Clear will be on guitar. https://charlburyriverside.org
NIGHTSHIFT MAGAZINE REVIEW OF MANCBETH ALBUM RELEASE "Martin Andrews is certainly a musician possessed of grand ambition. Last year he released his ‘Gary’ album, an elaborate allegory for Brexit, featuring a lost weekend and a chip-obsessed seagull. Back under his Octavia Freud moniker and joined by The Weird Sisters – local luminaries Emma Hunter, Mila Todd, The Subtheory’s Cate Debu, The Bobo, Pet Twin and newcomer to the scene Kate Hicks – he presents ‘Mancbeth’, a retelling of the great Shakespeare tragedy transposed in to the Manchester acid house scene of the early 90s and based on the concept by writer and actor David Lemberg; he’s already presented the album as a stage play at Modern Art Oxford. Anyone familiar with the play will know The Weird Sisters are the witches of the story and their opening line “Fair is foul and foul is fair” gives this album’s opening track its title as it musically sets the mood for the whole piece with its suitably ominous synth lines, acid house squelches, stark post-punk guitar and Debu’s ghostly incantation. From here we leap into the more jarring ‘My Future’ with its Underworld vibes, and the swooning electro drenched dreampop of ‘Invincible’. And then onto the menacing bubbles, hisses and squeaks of ‘Scorpions’ and the bolshy bleep-punk of ‘Long Live The King’ With King Duncan replaced in this story by a Mancunian druglord and Lady Macbeth by a club DJ, everything quickly gets messy as murder and madness take over and the album races through the different acts with appropriate mood switches – from the celebratory ‘The King Is Dead’, through the uneasy, questioning SUSPIRE ‘A Safe Place’ (Self released) Being an indie-girl at heart, it’s been lovely to hear bands like The Kockroachez break through recently, as well as Secret Rivals make a resurgence from the school of quality indie-pop borne out of our beloved scene. It’s therefore just as welcoming to be given Suspire’s debut EP to wrap my ears around and see if this release is as good as ‘Pleasure SELF HELP ‘Enrage Engage’ (Self released) Dread, broken dreams, the anxiety of adulthood, the terror of social media interaction. Not the sort of stuff you’d imagine to make for an album of musical positivity, but with their debut full album Self Help find a way to bring a sense of enjoyability, even fun occasionally, to all that terror of the modern world. The album title is a reference to the algorithms that fuel that social media addiction; throughout the album Self Help take a subject that’s been turned over by myriad ‘Sleep No More’ to the brooding, pensive ‘Double Trouble’ and onto the soulful, sultry ‘Sleepwalking’. The different voices across the album keep things fresh; Andrews has certainly picked some of the absolute bests from the local scene while Hicks’ performances suggest she is a serious talent in the making. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s shorter tragedies but even so, wrapping it up in under an hour of music is some feat, just one of the many impressive things about ‘Mancbeth’. While ‘Gary’ was a fun journey, its eclectic nature occasionally came off as scattergun, but with ‘Mancbeth’ Martin Andrews has created a wholly coherent piece of work that succeeds in all of its aims, from remaking the original story in a completely different form, to creating an often glorious kaleidoscope of electronic music that stretches in style from early synth pioneers like Fad Gadget, through New Order and John Carpenter, to hip hop and 90s and 00s techno, even managing to stop of at The Fall and Yard Act along the way. Macbeth might be a tragedy, but ‘Mancbeth’ is a triumph". Nightshift magazine, June 2024 https://nightshiftmag.co.uk OCTAVIA FREUD & THE WEIRD SISTERS DEBUT SINGLE RELEASE Octavia Freud has teamed up with an array of vocal talent for his upcoming Mancbeth album and single releases. Octavia Freud & The Weird Sisters' debut release will be a double AA single. 'Fair is Foul' which features Cate DeBu on vocals and 'Invincible' which features Maria from The Bobo on vocals. The joint single is released on all major download platforms and the Mancbeth Bandcamp site on Friday 1st March 2024. https://mancbeth.bandcamp.com/
BBC INTRODUCING RADIO AIRPLAY AND NIGHTSHIFT MAGAZINE REVIEW BBC Introducing and BBC Sounds have already given Octavia Freud & The Weird Sisters debut single 'Invincible' their seal of approval with early airplay on the Dave Gilyeat show. Nightshift magazine are fans too with a review in their latest issue.
"A pair of moody, driving-through-the-city-at night tracks here from electronic artist Martin Andrews, aka Octavia Freud, and vocal guests on this pair of singles, combining the darker end of 80s synth-pop with modern production sensibilities. ‘Fair is Foul’ (featuring Cate Debu) has melodic subtlety akin to The Human League, and a sense of negative space that creates a certain weight. Electronic arpeggios skitter around the long swathes of keyboard sounds that form the song’s base; carefully chosen guitar lines lead us from one place to the next. ‘Invincible’ (featuring The Bobo) ups the disco banger levels. It’s no hands-in-the air vacuous celebration though, and as with ‘Fair Is Foul’ suggests Octavia Freud has listened to a lot of Soft Cell and OMD. As a set, these two tracks work very well: a light/dark duo sharing a strong shared approach to electronic music. There’s nothing wrong with a pinch of pop at the right time." Nightshift magazine March 2024 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0h9zp27 https://nightshiftmag.co.uk/
MANCBETH CONCEPT ALBUM RELEASE AND THEATRE PRODUCTION Octavia Freud has been commissioned to write a Shakespearian electronic concept album to compliment the future release of an independent film, theatre production and graphic novel called 'Mancbeth'. The album is based on a script by David Lemberg. His adaptation sets the Macbeth story in club and gangland Manchester during the heady days of acid house, ecstasy and Madchester. The album release will be summer 2024 and will include guest vocal appearances from Emma Hunter, The Bobo, Mila Todd, Pet Twin, Cate DeBu and Kate Hicks. A theatre and live music production of Mancbeth will be performed at Modern Art Oxford on April 20th 2024. https://mancbeth.bandcamp.com/
RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL GUEST APPEARANCE Octavia Freud will be a guest vocalist for Tiger Mendoza's main stage show at Riverside Festival on Saturday 29th July 2023. Martin will be performing their banger, 'Skate Free'. https://www.riversidefestival.charlbury.com/main-stage-line-up/
GARY ALBUM & SINGLE RELEASE Martin has been interviewed by the Oxford Times and Mail following the release of the debut album by his absurdist electronic side project GARY. The album, 'Gary, I Love You' was co-written by Martin and absurdist comedian Phil Jarvis and tells the story of an everyman struggling to come to terms with post Brexit UK. The single, 'Rate my Takeaway' has gained airplay on Stuart Maconie's BBC 6 MUSIC Freakzone show and BBC Introducing show. The album was launched with an hour long theatrical, visual and live musical performance at Modern Art Oxford alongside comedy sets by Andrew O'Neill and Catriona Dowden. Check out the links to the interview and debut album and single. https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23535700.oxford-electro-pioneer-octavia-freud-plugs-modern-art-oxford/ https://gary1.bandcamp.com/album/gary-i-love-you-lp
LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM TOUR SLOT Octavia Freud have been asked to play the Oxford leg of the national LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM tour at Tap Social on Friday 31st March. Martin will be playing alongside other Oxford based acts such as Mila Todd and Birmingham based reggae roots act, Kioko. https://www.wegottickets.com/event/575218/
WINDRUSH RADIO INTERVIEW AND LIVE SONGS Martin will be appearing on Witney's Windrush radio for Andy Hill's ELECTROPOD show on Sunday 26th February 2023 from 6-8pm. It will feature an interview by the host and Martin will be performing tracks from his latest Octavia Freud album and new Mancbeth project. https://www.windrushradio.co.uk/
BBC INTRODUCING INTERVIEW Martin was interviewed by Dave Gilyeat for his BBC Introducing in Oxfordshire radio show on Saturday 21st January 2023. Martin got to share his musical plans for this year, which includes album launches of his collaboration concept project GARY and Mancbeth project. Dave also chose to play Octavia Freud's live favourite, 'Hot Nights'. Link below to the BBC show. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0dy0xsw
SHED SESSIONS PODCAST Octavia Freud has recorded an hour long live session for Oxford's Shed sessions. The session includes live performances of tracks taken off Martin's latest album, 'Land Ahoy' and a brand new track from his upcoming Mancbeth project. The podcast features an interview by host Warren about Martin's year making music in 2022. Photos by Alex and sound by Ian. https://anchor.fm/warren-r366del
NIGHTSHIFT MAGAZINE TRACKS OF THE YEAR 2022 Octavia Freud has been included in Nightshift's magazine's annual top 30 tracks of the year, coming in at number 6. "Featuring a guest vocal from Mila Todd, ‘Straight To The Top’ was unabashed pop joy amid the political polemic, dark disco and ruminations on middle age from Martin Andrews. Reminiscent of kitchen sink club popsters Younger Younger 28s, life’s disappointments and pain can’t puncture the unbridled optimism inherent in the tune. The world is shit, let’s dance!" http://nightshiftmag.co.uk/2022/dec.pdf
A DJ's RESPONSE TO 'GATES & PORTALS' AT MODERN ART OXFORD AND MIXCLOUD Modern Art Oxford have asked Octavia Freud to be the DJ for Marina Abramovic's opening private view party on Friday 23rd September 2022. The 3 hour DJ set will be a musical response to the internationally famous performance artist's latest exhibition. Martin has completed 3 days of training in the Marina Abramovic method which includes learning techniques in extended durational practice within performance art. The DJ set will reflect the specific exhibition themes of extended time, disorientation of the senses and higher states of consciousness and will include recorded Kosmische, ambient and drone pieces from the last 50 years. In addition, Martin has created a DJ mix for Modern Art Oxford's website as a musical response to her work. The 2 hour mix is available now on MIXCLOUD and Spotify. https://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/mao-studio/blog/abramovic-dj-response https://www.mixcloud.com/martin-andrews5/a-djs-response-to-gates-and-portals/
REMIXES Octavia Freud has been busy recording remixes for 3 different artists. These include remixes of SELF HELP's 'Bamboo' track, SILENT WEAPON's 'Eggshells' track and THE ORIGINAL RABBIT SPASM BAND's 'Wardrobe Time Machine' track. The remixes are already picking up radio play and Silent Weapon's Remix E.P has been reviewed in Nightshift Magazine's October 2022 issue. Listen to the tracks now on the remixes page. http://nightshiftmag.co.uk/2022/oct.pdf
MELTING POT RADIO STATION DJ MIX Check out a new DJ mix by Octavia Freud for Oxford's Melting Pot radio show which is now up on MIXCLOUD. The eclectic mix includes, dub, electronica, Krautrock and cosmic jazz. https://www.mixcloud.com/martin-andrews5/melting-pot-radio-show-mix/
RIVERSIDE MUSIC FESTIVAL Octavia Freud has been chosen to perform on the dance stage at Riverside Festival on Saturday 30th July 2022. The headline act will be 90's electronic legend Adamski.
'LAND AHOY' LP MAGAZINE REVIEWS 'Land ahoy' has picked up some great reviews in the July issues of OMS and Nightshift magazines. Head over to the album review page to read them in full.
ALBUM LAUNCH AT MODERN ART OXFORD 1ST JULY 2022 Octavia Freud will be supporting Julie-Sophie at MAO on the 1st July as a launch for the new album, 'Land ahoy'. See the live page for more details and get your tickets below. https://www.wegottickets.com/event/540555
NEW ALBUM 'LAND AHOY' RELEASED 27TH JUNE 2022 Octavia Freud's fourth studio album, 'Land ahoy' will be released on 27.06.22 via DITTO digital distribution and a limited edition gatefold CD. The 10 track album will feature the upcoming single, 'Straight to the top' which is a sardonic up beat electro-pop smash with additional vocals by Mila Todd. https://octaviafreud.bandcamp.com/album/land-ahoy-lp
OCTAVIA FREUD ON THE FRONT OF NIGHTSHIFT MAGAZINE AND INTERVIEW IN JUNE 2022 ISSUE Check out the June 2022 issue of Nightshift magazine for an exclusive interview that covers Martin's musical upbringing in Manchester, his DJ'ing and gigging days in London and his current musical projects. http://nightshiftmag.co.uk/
SPLIT SINGLE - 'WHEN I WAS A KID' & 'FIFTY' NIGHTSHIFT MAG REVIEW Octavia Freud's latest release is a two track split single and taster for a forthcoming album, out in summer 2022. The release has been reviewed in Nightshift magazine's March 2022 issue:
"A brace of new singles from prolific local electro artist, and recent Nightshift Track of the Month winner Octavia Freud, the musical incarnation of Martin Andrews. Both songs share a similar coming-to-terms-with-the-world theme in quite different but overlapping ways: ‘When I Was a Kid’ a reflection on the simplicities, mundanities and freedoms of life as a child; ‘Fifty’ dwelling on being 50, playing gigs to no more than 50 people in the back of a pub and getting £50 for your troubles if you’re lucky. The conclusion to ‘Kid’ finds Martin reflecting on being a grownup and having a kid of his own in a way that pretty much leads into ‘50’. Musically and lyrically the songs share common ground: Martin’s laconic, matter-of-fact, northern accented narration adds a dryly understated humour to them (“When I was a kid I had lots of things / Like sisters”), churning, propulsive guitars mixed up with synth squiggles and simple marching electronic beats, drawing a line from post-punk to acid house via krautrock, or maybe The Fall, A Guy Called Gerald and Yard Act forming a twisted tribute to Depeche Mode at The Haçienda. Both songs avoid mawkish nostalgia and bitterness, preferring a stoic ‘that’s how it was/is’ approach, even as Martin gets right to the heart of childish hope and ambition (“I just wanted to grow up so I could buy cola and drink it all day”) and the middle-aged frustration of mediocrity (“I’m worth more than fifty quid”). Both are as endearing as they are enjoyable and Octavia Freud continues to carve out a reputation for himself as a creative force who might only get fifty quid for a gig if he’s lucky, but is, in fact, priceless." Dale Kattack Nightshift Magazine March 2022 http://nightshiftmag.co.uk/2022/mar.pdf https://octaviafreud.bandcamp.com/track/when-i-was-a-kid https://octaviafreud.bandcamp.com/track/fifty
'BORIS CAN DANCE' - SINGLE WINS AWARD, REVIEWS & BRAND NEW VIDEO OUT NOW Octavia Freud's track, 'Boris can dance' has been awarded track of the month in Oxford's NIGHTSHIFT magazine, earning the prize of some lovely free studio time at Oxford's Yingandyang audio. It has also earned the high praise of Oxfordshire Music Scene magazine with a generous review. The track is a caustic expose of the political elite who prefer to dance with the truth rather than be honest about their mistakes in order to retain their grip on power. Written during the summer of 2021 the track has inadvertently pre-empted the UK's current political scandal known as 'party-gate'. It is available now in single and video formats. Released on 26 November 2021. Reviews and links to the track and music video below:
"Let’s be honest, if you need an inquiry to find out whether you had a party at your own house and if you attended it, it must have been a fucking brilliant party. Octavia Freud’s ode to the malversationist prick, succinctly titled ‘Boris Can Dance’, was never not going to end up as Top Track this month. Not that it doesn’t deserve it on purely musical merits anyway – a slice of Cylon techno partway between Underworld and The Chemical Brothers that throbs and glowers ominously in the corner while Mr Freud himself intones a litany of Johnson’s crimes against human decency. It makes the most of its intentional monotony for a succinct four minutes of sullenly pissed off EDM that would probably be a right mood killer at a jolly cheese and wine party. Maybe it could be the soundtrack to the revolution instead." NIGHTSHIFT JAN 2022
"My first impressions of Octavia Freud is impeccable timing. Bojo drops one and a record follows - a rare, party-time power of the internet. The opening beats kick in and then Octavia Freud throws in a reference to Eton Mess, with an emphasis on the word “mess,” which, no matter what generation you were born in, we can all agree is the state of this country. The outfit, fronted by Mancunian Martin Andrews, plunge into English social history. The word “liars” appears. The listener is no longer in some random field that was once forever England, but on the frontline, awaiting instructions - on this occasion from Martin. ‘Boris Can Dance’, even in its title, turns CCTV on the rich. And there is powerful imagery in this idea, spanning the entire single, because each and every one of us have one power - even in a surveillance state, we dance better than Boris. What Octavia Freud achieve with this release is raising folk music to a level with Kraftwerk, and that’s an achievement. A rebel song you can dance to - or not dance to, as that would involve being in a field with Bojo." (BM) OXFORDSHIRE MUSIC SCENE JAN 2022 https://youtu.be/u4IRZYJN4uU https://octaviafreud.bandcamp.com/track/boris-can-dance
BBC RADIO 4 INTERVIEW Martin has been interviewed for BBC Radio 4 'Afterlives' documentary program. Martin talks honestly about his experience of being brought up by his dad following the separation of his parents and how this has affected his approach to life and making music. It will be aired on Radio 4 on Tuesday 30th November 2021 at 11am. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00120vw
ADVENTURES IN NOISE COLLABORATION Octavia Freud has collaborated with dance producer Adventures in Noise on his next single, entitled 'Tappin'. Previous AIN releases have including guest vocals by artists such as Noel Gallagher. 'Tappin' sees Martin record a spoken word style delivery that covers his recent experiences of using EMDR therapy set to AiN's wonky banging beats. Release date is 26th November 2021. http://www.adventures-in-noise.co.uk/
BBC OXFORD INTRODUCING RADIO PLAY The track, 'Video Call' taken from Octavia Freud's 3rd album, 'Mood dancing' has gained airplay on BBC Oxford Introducing programme on Saturday 2 January 2021. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p091dnwr
'MOOD DANCING' LP RELEASED 20/10/2020 The 10 track album was written during lockdown in collaboration with Chris Allinson from electronic outfit Volcanic Shores. It features Martin on vocal duties in his natural voice rather than the FX laden alter ego sound of previous albums. The album can be streamed from Amazon, iTunes and Spotify. Digital copies and a limited edition gatefold CD which comes with a free download of the album can be purchased through Bandcamp. https://octaviafreud.bandcamp.com/
GATEFOLD CD AVAILABLE AT TRUCK RECORDS Music lovers can now pick up a limited edition gatefold CD version of Octavia Freud's 'Mood dancing' LP at the lovely independent Truck records store in Oxford. https://truckmusicstore.co.uk/
NIGHTSHIFT MAG END OF YEAR TOP TRACKS Octavia Freud's track, 'Photographs' has been selected for Nightshift magazine's end of year top tracks of 2020, alongside the likes of Young Knives, Glass Animals and Means of Production. Follow the link to their selection here. https://www.facebook.com/nightshiftmag/posts/2734529330121209
OCTAVIA FREUD & TIGER MENDOZA COLLABORATION Octavia Freud has recorded vocals for a song on Tiger Mendoza latest album release, TMSk8 tape mix. The track, 'Skate free' features Martin's natural vocal style and Tiger Mendoza's tight electronic production and sweeping synths. The release date is 06/11/2020. Check out the track and Tiger Mendoza's full album here. https://tigermendoza.bandcamp.com/
NEW MUSIC VIDEOS Octavia Freud have been busy making a series of music videos for tracks off the latest album, 'Mood dancing'. These include, 'French discotheque' with its witty take on the modern model shoot, 'Video call' an 80's inspired acid house take on the promise of a new technological age to solve all our Zoom nation needs during our current lockdown isolation, 'Ice breaker' which includes live footage of the band performing in the UK just before lockdown and 'Cotton wool' with its withering critique of modern politicians' attempts to spin the truth to avoid personal responsibility. Head over to this site's video page or Octavia Freud's youtube pages here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffpLEwDIcXI&t=46s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWJCIPXUg5E&t=135s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Eisqu__YcY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ8U3J4xz_k
BBC OXFORD INTRODUCING RADIO PLAY Thetrack, 'End love/Solo' taken from Octavia Freud's 2nd album, 'Smoke & Mirrors' has gained airplay on BBC Oxford Introducing programme on Saturday 14 March 2020. Ronan from Oxford's Nightshift magazine also recommended the album from this month's current crop of releases. Here is the link to the full show. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p084stv6
'SMOKE & MIRRORS' LP RELEASE Octavia Freud's second album, 'Smoke & mirrors' is out from March 2020 on all the usual digital platforms, including Spotify, iTunes and Amazon. The album features Martin on alter ego vocal FX style duty. You can follow the link to the Bandcamp page to download it now. There is also a gatefold CD version which includes the bonus cover track 'Waiting for the man' which is available at Oxford's local independent TRUCK record store. https://octaviafreud.bandcamp.com/album/smoke-mirrors-lp
OCTAVIA FREUD AT MODERN ART OXFORD Following lockdown in March 2020, Octavia Freud frontman Martin Andrews was interviewed by Modern Art Oxford to find out what he had been up to and his plans for the future. Read the full article here. https://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/martin-andrews-octavia-freud/
Friday 7th February 2020 saw the return of Octavia Freud on DJ duties. Martin played a 2 hour influences of 80's NYC disco loft rarities, downtown post-punk tracks and upfront electronic tunes. His DJ set at MAO was in support of a live set by female electro outfit Sink Ya Teeth for Oxford's local Young Women's Music Project. https://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/event/modern-art-oxford-young-womens-music-project-present-sink-ya-teeth-elouiza/
Martin has been invited by Modern Art Oxford to compile a playlist of some of his current favourite tunes and a write blog of his cultural year for their website. Check out his playlist and blog on their website. https://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/sound-and-vision-a-spotify-playlist-by-martin-andrews/
DEBUT LP 'ROMANCE & HEARTACHE' OUT NOW Octavia Freud's debut album 'Romance & heartache', released in 2018is available to buy on various digital platforms including Bandcamp, iTunes and Amazon and can be streamed via Spotify. A limited run of gatefold CD copies are also available to purchase at the wonderful independent TRUCK records store on the Cowley road, Oxford.
