Partying Here With Octavian
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PARTYING HEREWITH OCTAVIAN
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MusicWords By: Luc HinsonPhotography: Louis Olivier
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" text_orientation="center" text_font="neuzeit|on|||" text_font_size="11" text_text_color="#bababa" text_line_height="1em" custom_margin="||0px|" custom_padding="||0px|" inline_fonts="Bree Serif" /][et_pb_divider admin_label="Divider" height="30" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="Section" transparent_background="on" custom_padding="0px||0px|0px"][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="15px|0px|15px|0px"][et_pb_column type="1_2"][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" max_width="3000px" text_font_size="15px" text_line_height="2em"]
Tuesday evening, SE London, and there’s a smell in the air. Outside the Brunel Museum, I ask the staff if they do this a lot – they tell me it’s a rarity they get to use this space unless it’s for a special occasion. A crowd of near to 100 young Londoners clamber into the queue. It’s hard to tell whether the tickets aren’t getting scanned quick enough or if it’s become a makeshift smoking area. Entering the venue, what looks like a disused bunker is ready for London’s newest slice of grease, Octavian.
As his producer J.Rock stumbles up to the decks holding his own mini pioneer mixer, the crowd remain silent as he lures them in with a cocktail of OVO and UK infused bangers. It’s no surprise that Blocboy and Drake’s ‘Look Alive’ makes an appearance – it’s the first recommended on YouTube after Party Here. J.Rock, Octaivian’s right hand man and his necessary counterpart, seems joyful and at ease while the rest of the Essie Gang crowd around him. Others step up to the mic and have their moment to shine before the main event takes the stage. The headline show is as much theirs as it is Octavian’s, and it certainly seems like a family affair.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="Section" transparent_background="on" custom_padding="0px||0px|"][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="15px|0px|0px|0px"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="http://between-borders.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/28500761_889820431189442_745104958_o.jpg" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="25px|0px|25px|0px"][et_pb_column type="1_2"][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="http://between-borders.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/28500770_889820421189443_1277067644_o.jpg" force_fullwidth="on" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="0px|0px|50px|0px"][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="http://between-borders.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/28554633_889820387856113_1143479030_o.jpg" /][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="http://between-borders.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/28503744_889820424522776_55477834_o.jpg" /][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" max_width="3000px" text_font_size="15px" text_line_height="2em"]Before Octavian (real name Oliver Godji) steps up, wearing BBC all over in his loud but refreshing style, he takes a moment to thank the crowd and make it clear that this is his first ever headline performance. While Octavian's been grinding for a while, it’s been no easy ride for him and his friends. Going through homelessness and abuse at a young age, shipped between extended family in France and London, music is Octavian’s most valuable weapon in his revenge-fuelled arsenal. While the content is typically light-hearted, there’s a lack of arrogance to the lyrics that makes his flow so ferociously charming. Tracks like Sunday Sket Fun ring out with the same youthful excitement one can imagine were there at the first-mix in the bedroom studio. The set goes for a good 25 minutes before kicking into the grand finale of 100 Degrees with Sam Wise and the ever famous, Party Here. Giving intro to his grand finale, encouraging the crowd to follow suit after his friends and let loose, Octavian jests, “you already know what these are”.As the singsongs ensue, with the crowd unsure whether to mosh or dance, there’s a feel-good electricity in the venue that only solidifies how much Octavian has earnt this pedestal, drake co-signs aside. Amidst the stench of industry heads and rallying cries of Oliver Godji's hometown friends, it’s clear that what we’re seeing is not half baked Afrobeat pin up straight from Black Butter’s oven, but the unapologetic grit of a modern-day crooner. The race has been run, the track’s gotten bigger, and it looks like Octavian and the Essie gang have finally got the chance they deserve.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="Section" background_color="#f7f7f7" custom_padding="0px||0px|" global_module="30533"][et_pb_row admin_label="row" global_parent="30533" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="10px|0px|0px|0px" parallax_method_1="off"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" global_parent="30533" header_text_color="#ffffff" header_letter_spacing="19px" text_letter_spacing="1px" custom_margin="15px|||"]
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