[@OctavianEssie] wants the ‘Hands’ to stop reaching

Octavian shows once again why he deserves every bit of attention he’s been getting with new drop Hands.

GUAP Music G-List 2018 one to watch Octavian does it again. He may have popped on to your radar due to a Drake co-sign, but here yet again he goes leaps and bounds beyond expectations. He has supported both A2 and Yxng Bane shows, and on 17/05/2018 at the Bussey Building in London, it’s his turn to headline. Keep a keen eye out for tickets in the future as his pre-sale tickets for the show have already sold out. The hype building around him is real and rightly so with releases like Hands.

As a relative newcomer, it would be difficult to pinpoint what exactly Octavian‘s sound is. But to me at least, that seems to be Octavian‘s niche. If we were to look at his current big three releases that have received a full push across multiple platforms – none sound the same or too similar. Of course, we get his unique approach to vocalling songs but production and feeling wise they could not be more different. Party Here was a statement that announced Octavian to the public, it blended gritty lyricism with some more hopeful statements all over production that just makes you want to get up and dance. Next was 100 Degrees featuring Sam Wise, this was a much more sombre track with an especially ominous production that did less singing and more traditional rapping.

Now we have Hands.

I have seen Hands likened to a Kanye track, the track which  springs to mind with this comparison Ultralight Beam. But that doesn’t do the track justice, it is an original one of one to be taken in on its own merits (no disrespect to Kanye). Hands starts out pretty bare with some of its most distinctive features being the piano blended with auto-tune. The track then teases its lead up with the addition of some percussive elements briefly before having them stripped away again until we reach the crescendo. Here we see Octavian and his production team are god-like in their placement of drops as evidenced on Party Here and again on Hands. When that bass drops through good speakers or headphones there’s no way you won’t get sucked into the track.

It is surprising looking at the track that it is not that diverse or complex lyrically. Instead, it is the intonation with which the lyrics are said against the varying landscape of the beat that make the track standout. Here Octavian proves that simplicity can do just as well, if not better, than complexity when it comes to what is being said. Structure wise, however, the reverse is true – the production is layered with complexity and allows the delivery of the lyrics to appear free form rather than a set ABAB verse-chorus structure.

Visuals wise we again get to see the artistic side to Octavian. Or at least we see an artistic side to @arminviews & @kill247_ who shot the video. It relies on multiple effects, shot changes as well as excellent use of locations but all shot extremely crisply. Here we get a blend of 100 Degrees and Party Here vibes as we get both the fun and serious sides to Octavian in this video. This seems like only the start of great things to come from him, and only time will tell just how successful both the track and Octavian will be.