One of the most profiled and internationally established Slovenian electronic musicians, operating somewhere in between club and avant-garde, exploring unique rhythmical atmospheres.
Idei Lahesna (versions & outtakes) is out today on Bandcamp and all major streaming services.
This is a selection of twelve of my favorite alternative versions and unreleased tracks from the Idei Lahesna studio sessions that didn't make it onto the album because of time limitations or not fitting the sequencing flow.
I rediscovered these tracks, some of which I completely forgot about when I was going through the original tapes to remaster Idei Lahesna for the 20th anniversary edition.
The way I recorded music back then was live playing the mixer, tweaking synths & FX recording straight to stereo DAT tape, with no way to edit anything afterward. That's why I always recorded multiple versions of every track, to have the flexibility to choose the most suitable one for the final record.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed rediscovering them.
"Jernej Marusic aka Octex is an interesting phenomenon on the Slovenian electronic music scene, an indisputable talent for whom naturally many predicted a world career. His first album "Idei Lahesna", released on Ljubljana's Tehnica in 2002, thrilled the region and was compared to the works of Basic Channel, due to its specific dub techno sound of strangely satisfying atmosphere. The album also includes "Emergon" - a cult single among many techno DJs even today. For those who missed this superb album in 2002, Octex has released a remastered version commemorating 20th anniversary of the release of the original."Mixmag Adria
Idei Lahesna (20th anniversary edition) is now available on Bandcamp in pristine 24-bit digital quality, or on CD. It's also available on all mayor streaming services.
You can even get a beautiful Idei Lahesna T-shirt.
2022 marked the 20th anniversary of my debut album Idei Lahesna and to commemorate this occasion I was planning a simple remastered rerelease of the album but ended up with so much more...
Click here to read more. »
20102022
Collaboration with Werner Puntigam
Thrilled to announce my collaboration with Austrian multidisciplinary artist Werner Puntigam in which we will be exploring the improvised interplay between his trombone & conch shell and my modular-centered electronics.
The premiere performance will take place on 22th of October at Pavelhaus in Bad Radkersburg in Austria.
Werner Puntigam (A) trombone & conch shell
Jernej Marusic aka Octex (SLO) electronics
(images by Zhao Cong & Monika Horvat, edited by Werner Puntigam)
Excited to be performing my Mindrifft A/V at Videography XVII / Spacetextures XVI which is part of Baltā Nakts (White Night) in Riga on 3th of September. I'll be sharing the stage with Byetone, Grischa Lichtenberger, Rolands Kronlaks, Kaspar Rolšteins and SKD + DEE.
"Overall, Mindrifft is a package of music that is clearly not influenced by sensory and genre constraints. A similar thing is happening within the auditory apparatus of the individual, who feels invited to co-create and reflect on this process due to the accessible experimental nature of the music. The dream is the life, the subject is the object and the genre is just a word, and the boundaries between all of these are not really important. Mindrifft speaks for itself, so any categorical label is just an unnecessary addition. Just listen." Veronika Černe, Radio Študent
"Drawing a line and looking through the prism of the genre, the album is above all a fine manifestation of the complex relationships between our brains, the concept of passing and the changes in sound over time, and at the same time a very fine contribution to the modern variations of the dub techno continuum. Mindrifft should satisfy both long-time fans of the genre and young ears excited by contemporary electronic production at the intersection of IDM, ambient and experimental music." Jaša Bužinel, Sigic
Lusttrain slowly takes you to the final destination of Mindrifft, with a gentle heartbeat propelling you forward like a train crossing the plateaux of a gradually mutating landscape illuminated by the ever-fading moonlight.
Neeagon takes you deeper into the misty aquatic dub-techno landscape, underpinned by the constantly shifting syncopated percussions, that evade your senses, like refractured beacons of a lighthouse that's guiding you through murky foggy waters.
The final part entitled Lusttrain will be available on the 11th of March.
With Mindrifft sailing past the halftime mark, Droppal drifts into the more familiar dub-techno waters. Steady beat of falling droplets and hypnotically shifting bassline propelling your mind deeply into the caverns of diffusing subconsciousness.
The third part of the Mindrifft album is a hypnotic dubbed out drumming ritual that spins your mind into a wild cyclone, that you will never forget, before gently releasing it to drift calmly in the stream of clouds.
Sounding like a wild descendant of Plastikman and Porter Ricks, influenced by Steve Reich's phasing techniques and hypnotic African drumming.
You can also get a Mindrifft T-shirt that includes a free download of the album (you download a new part of the album each month as it progresses).
Pt.IV entitled Droppal will be available on the 11th of January.
Picking up speed from the slow drifts of Drifftal, the second part of Mindrifft bubbles at the threshold of your subconsciousness, bursting with sudden mindriffts. The sounds echo the memories of Basic Channel / Chain Reaction processed through Autechres algorithms morphing into a futuristic digital dancehall.
I'm happy to announce that the first release from the Mindrifft album, entitled Drifftly is now available. You can get it on Bandcamp in hi-res 24-bit quality, or find it shortly on your favorite digital store or streaming service.
I'm excited to announce my new album "Mindrifft". It will be released in 6 parts as a series of releases in the span of 6 months on my newly started label Polynya music, with the first release scheduled for 11th of October. It will be premiered in its entirety on 29th of September at the Sonica festival in Ljubljana in the form of a live AV performance, with accompanying hypnotic visuals.
Mindrifft explores the phenomena that occur when we listen to repetitive music, which makes us hear tonal and rhythmical shifts that are not there. I discovered that introducing this kind of shifts into the music creates a feedback loop between the music and the listener's brain, blurring the boundaries between what is real and what is imagined, causing a special hypnotical effect.
The music was created using vintage analog synthesizers controlled, processed, and augmented by a modern modular system, spiced up by hands-on mixing desk manipulation, and rounded off with some clever digital processing.
It's been a while since I've released something into the wild, but I'm resurfacing with a new track on a brand new compilation of Slovenian ambient music Senzorama vol 1. on Zarš records. Originally a very rhythm-driven composition reimagined as it would sound like if performed amidst a blizzard. Check it out, and stay tuned for resurfal to continue later this year.
My entry to the Westworld Scoring Competition. I was always fascinated by movie soundtracks, especially ones gravitating towards electronic music, from the Tangerine Dream, Eduard Artemyev, Vangelis, Philip Glass to Clint Mansell ... Even my album Dead Centre of Nowhere is a fictional soundtrack to an imaginary movie.
I'm returning to the rx:tx label, with a new beats and hiphop driven side-project Pavemental. Streeteepy reflects the funky flow of skateboard tricks, overlaid by the spacious chords of the city, spiced up by his studio trickery.
Out on 16th of March, 2015. Pre-listen and order here.
Take a night ride through the city, where street lights reflect the ever shifting music sequences.
New Octex music video for the track Gait, that is available on the 10th edition of Chilli Space compilation, released on 2x12" vinyl, distributed worldwide by Tripple Vision.
It's been a while since my last recorded mix, so here's a massive 56 track one to make up for it, recorded for Club K4 Podcast. It's more on the dancefloor friendly bass heavy side.
Originally recorded 10 years ago as a sequel to Idei Lahesna, but due to numerous unforeseeable circumstances so far never released, it is now finally getting a proper release on the nice french label Entropy Records. CD-Audio Golden Digipak edition available now, with digital release coming out end of the month.
