Octave One

Octave One is a Detroit, United States techno group made up of the Burden brothers. The core line-up centres on Lenny and Lawrence Burden, with Lance, Lorne and Lynell Burden appearing as rotating members. The group is associated with Detroit techno, house and techno, and releases music on its own Detroit label, 430 West Records.

Early releases and compilation appearances

The group first appears with “I Believe”, which features on the 1990 compilation Techno 2: The Next Generation alongside Carl Craig, Marc Kinchen and Jay Denham. That release establishes Octave One as part of the early Detroit techno generation.

Recording career

Octave One records a series of original tracks and albums that become key points in its catalogue, including “Empower”, “Nicolette”, “The X-files”, “Meridian”, “Love and Hate”, “The Greater Good” and “Siege”. Other albums include The Living Key (To Images From Above) in 1997, The Collective in 1998, The Theory Of Everything in 2004 and Summers on Jupiter in 2009.

The group’s best-known release is “Blackwater”, which appears in 2000 and goes on to feature on more than 30 compilation albums worldwide, with combined sales exceeding one million. It is also released in the US, UK, Spain, Germany and Australia.

Remixes, side projects and collaborations

Octave One remixes material by artists including Massive Attack, Akabu (Joey Negro), DJ Rolando, Steve Bug, John Thomas, Aril Brikha, Vince Watson, The Trampps, Rhythm Is Rhythm and Inner City. Related projects and aliases include Burden Brothers, The, Metro D, Never On Sunday and Random Noise Generation, the last of which is also used for “Falling in Dub”. The family connection extends to DJ Rolando’s “Jaguar”, which is released on 430 West, and Aux 88’s “My A.U.X. Mind”, which appears on the 430 West sister label Direct Beat.

Live work and later releases

Octave One tours internationally and performs high-energy live sets in countries including Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the USA. In 2006 the group issues Off The Grid, a full-length DVD/CD project made with Random Noise Generation and released in cooperation with Tresor Records in Germany. In 2011 it releases the retrospective compilation Revisited: Here, There, and Beyond, which reworks Octave One classics by Luke Slater, Sandwell District, Ken Ishii, Alexander Kowalski, Vince Watson, Alter Ego, Los Hermanos and Cari Lekenbusch.