Since their founding in 1999, Austin TX's The Octopus Project has been in pursuit of sounds and sights that explode the senses and stretch the imagination. Beginning as an experiment in gathering all their varied interests (electronic sounds, unfamiliar instruments and live, face-melting rock'n'roll to name a few) into one endeavor, the band has developed into a formidable live force and produced five increasingly intense and inventive studio albums -- this, in addition to a long list of remixes, collaborations, and unclassifiable creative output (Stuffed animals! Viewmaster reels!). In the process, they've become internationally known both for their performances - a delirious mashup of dance beats, noise guitar, and graceful theremin melodies - and for a visual aesthetic that has seen stages from Lollapalooza to Coachella to All Tomorrow's Parties littered with eye-popping color, illuminated ghosts and perhaps a synchronized balloon launch or high school marching band, depending on the show.

In the spring of 2010, the band undertook their most ambitious project to date - a surround-sound, surround-visual performance in which the audio/video setup circled the audience, who in turn circled the band, all of which occurred under a giant circus tent. Following two way-beyond-capacity debut shows at SXSW 2010, the band headed to the studio to document the music from the performance. The result was the critically acclaimed Hexadecagon, a stereo interpretation of the original eight-channel sound and a deeply immersive experience in its own right.

Ever interested in complimentary opposites, the band decide to tighten their focus following Hexadecagon's wide-screen cosmic voyage. 2013's Fever Forms is more representative of the Octopus Project live experience - dense and ecstatic, a concentrated dose of frenetic beats and exuberant melody set in a detailed, brilliantly-colored sound world. The band has released two singles and videos from the album thus far -- the infectious "Whitby" and the soaring, guitorchestra/Theremin driven "Sharpteeth." Both videos were directed by the band and are featured on this very web page.

In addition to their rock-n-roll day job, the group has also been increasingly involved in scoring work - both for video games (the upcoming Thunderbeam) and film; their soundtrack for Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter took home the Special Jury Award for Musical Score at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. 2014's highlights so far also include winning an Austin Music Award (their latest of several) for Best Experimental Band and a summer tour season that leads from an Austin Psych Fest appearance straight into a month-long European excursion.

"If there's a such thing as a happiness seizure, be prepared to have one." -- Paste Magazine

"Ultimate guilt-free party band." -- Pitchfork

"Insanely catchy." -- Spin

"Like Stereolab with happy feet." -- Rolling Stone

"The greatest band ever." -- Boston Globe

DISCOGRAPHY

Albums
• Identification Parade LP/CD (Peek-A-Boo Records, 2002)
• One Ten Hundred Thousand Million LP/CD (Peek-A-Boo Records, 2005)
• The House of Apples & Eyeballs LP/CD with Black Moth Super Rainbow (Graveface Records, 2006)
• Hello, Avalanche LP/CD (Peek-A-Boo Records, 2007)
• Hexadecagon LP/CD (Peek-A-Boo Records, 2010)
• Fever Forms LP/CD (Peek-A-Boo Records, 2013)

Singles & EPs
• Christmas on Mars CD EP (Soda Pop Productions, 1999)
• Black Octopus Lipstick Project Foam Party CD EP (Peek-A-Boo Records, 2004)
• "Wet Gold" / "Moon Boil" 7" (Too Pure Recordings, 2008)
• Golden Beds CD EP (Peek-A-Boo Records, 2009)
• Whitby EP (Peek-a-Boo Records, 2012)
• Sharpteeth 7" (Peek-a-Boo Records, 2013)

Soundtracks
• KID-THING (directed by Zellner Bros. 2012)
• THUNDERBEAM (Karakasa Games 2012)
• KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER (directed by Zellner Bros. 2014)