I got some questions answered by Josh Lambert of The Octopus Project.
Q: What is the message you try to deliver through music?
A: We don’t have a particular message that we’re trying to deliver, per se. I think we mostly just dive into sounds and ideas and see where they take us. We’re all really happy and excited about what we’re working on, though, so that probably affects where the music goes.
Being primarily instrumental, we like to leave the meaning behind the songs up to the listener. Hopefully folks think of crazy stories or images while they’re listening to our music!
Q: How did everyone meet?
A: Yvonne and Toto met in Sunday school when they were 12 years old. I met Toto in high school & Yvonne on my 18th birthday. The three of us met Ryan in Austin about 4 years ago. Best buddies!
Q: What is the biggest goal as a band?
A: I think we all just want to be able to continue trying out new things and be happy with the stuff that we make for as long as possible.
Q: What is the meaning behind the name?
A: The name is totally random. It came about from a phone conversation where a friend and I were trying to name another band. He would say one word, I would say another, and whatever the combination ended up being became a potential name. He wasn’t super into “The Octopus Project,” but we kept it in the back of our heads until we started this band.
Q: How would you describe your musical style and sound?
A: We generally shy away from getting too specific when describing our music to folks. I feel like we’re constantly changing and trying out new things, so it’s really hard for me to just put us into one category of music. We use guitars and drums, but we’re not a rock band – we use samples and drum machines, but we’re not an electronic band. We’re just excited to use whatever sounds we can get our hands on.
Q: What are some artists that have given you inspiration?
A: Our influences are all over the place, but lately we’ve been listening to a bunch of folks like RD Burman, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, weird, old music from all over the world. We also find inspiration from places other than music – math, science, movies, books, life. There’s a whole fantastic world of things to draw from out there!