Octopus - The Lost Tapes CD
SKU
21-SIR 2242
“Early unreleased recordings of prog legends OCTOPUS released for the first time!
In mid-1972 Peter Hensel, Claus D. Kniemeyer, Dieter-Paul Becke and Jennifer Hensel founded the band Octopus. At this time, all members are studying or living in student residences at the University of Frankfurt am Main. Werner Littau responded to an advertisement on the bulletin board at the University of Frankfurt in autumn 1972 and became Octopus' keyboardist. "Time in my Hand" is determined by many rhythms and changes of theme, also a special feature of the band, which never deals with a theme for very long. Dieter-Paul Becke leaves Octopus in the summer of 1975 and is replaced by Frank Eule on drums.
From the summer of 1975, the Octopus line-up consisted of Jennifer Hensel, Peter Hensel, Werner Littau, Claus D. Kniemeyer and Frank Eule on drums. In this line-up they go into the studio in 1977 and record the first album "Boat of Thoughts" for Sky Records. Some professional bands, also from England, quickly try to poach her as a singer and frontwoman. However, she showed solidarity and remained loyal to the band until 1980.
Another standout standout element is that Octopus also performs live with a mellotron. In addition to Octopus, this rare instrument is also used in Germany by Grobschnitt and Klaus Doldinger. The mellotron, also known from tracks like "Nights in white Satin" by the Moody Blues or "In the court of the crimson King" by King Crimson, brings a new richness to the music of Octopus.
So, in the summer of 1974, they decide to go to the studio to record a music demo on what was then a modern 8-track recorder. With this, Octopus can significantly expand their degree of effectiveness and quickly gain a permanent place in the prog rock scene of the time. In 1976, this cassette ended up in the hands of Günther Körber and Sky-Records, who offered Octopus a record deal directly.”
- LabelSireena
- UPC4260182982426