Hey Hifi Family - I wanted to take a second to introduce myself and share some of the exciting things developing at Octave. My name is Callum, and I’m helping run Octave and serving as the primary producer and engineer for the future of the label.
I’m a multi-instrumentalist in Denver, and I first met Paul as a session musician for Otis Taylor. As I started to work more closely with the label, I am fortunate enough to now to say I’m part of the team at PS Audio! Over the last few months, we’ve been working on updating the studio, expanding artist outreach, and working on developing a new path for Octave that only increases the quality of the records we put out.
I will make a separate post, but something I’m extremely excited about is a release we have coming up - Jude Kofie. He is a 15-year old virtuosic piano player with a beautiful heart that gets communicated through the music he makes. This will be Jude’s debut album, for anyone who hasn’t heard of him, I’d encourage you to give him a google! Watching the joy he has while he plays is truly infectious.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you’d like with the label moving forward and how we can improve. Additionally, I’m learning as I go, especially in terms of out reach, marketing, and engaging with this community, so if you’d like messages on the forums over releases, or have any other ideas, let me know!
Thanks, Callum and to his point, Jude is one of those amazing people that come by so rarely—a Mozart’like—musical genius that we were so fortunate to have in our lives and record him at Octave.
Stunning recording by Callum, and can’t wait for you to hear what this amazing person can do.
Welcome, Callum. Really exciting to hear where Octave is headed. It’s encouraging to see the focus on both recording quality and artist development, especially coming from someone with your background.
The upcoming Jude Kofie release sounds very promising. Young artists with that kind of talent and heart are rare, and I’m looking forward to hearing it.
For many of us here, the sweet spot is great sound quality paired with music that feels authentic and emotionally engaging. Keep that balance, and Octave will continue to stand out.
Over the last several years, I’ve purchased a number of Octave’s productions. They are exceptional recordings, tangibly capturing Paul’s philosophy, passion, and expertise in a way that moves me emotionally rather than merely allowing me to hear the music. Thank you to Paul and the crew.
That said, I am consistently left somewhat dissatisfied with the genre selection. Although Acoustic and Americana are among the genres I do enjoy, I rarely listen to Jazz, Chamber, or Classical music.
Looking ahead, might Octave further expand into the world of Progressive and Conceptual Rock (and Metal)? “Prog Rock/Metal” is typified by exceptional musicianship, an emphasis on coherent conceptual narratives, tragic and existential themes, and artists who often deeply value the quality of sound production and reproduction. Capturing these qualities through Octave’s production philosophy could reveal the genre in an entirely new light — not merely as “heavier” music, but as immersive, emotionally layered art that rewards careful listening in much the same way as great classical or jazz recordings do.
Moreover, many listeners within these genres are unusually attentive to sonic fidelity, dynamics, spatial presentation, and recording craftsmanship. An audience naturally aligned with Octave’s underlying mission and values. Expanding into this territory could therefore both broaden Octave’s artistic reach as well as resonate strongly with a community already predisposed to appreciate meticulous, reference-quality productions.
Thank you for this. I love everything under the sun and am a huge metal fan. Everything from Van Halen / hair metal to thrash to prog. One thing to note is a lot of modern prog metal definitely leans into heavy production, drum triggers, and a huge ‘produced’ sound over something I’d say is more natural. I actually love that for what it is too. The large amounts of compression are definitely part of the sound and are a necessity for the heavy transients involved in that music. So we’d just need to be specific about how we went about selecting and producing a project.
Since Dark Side of the Moon is classic album in the Audiophile world, at some point I wanted to find a project that got into that territory. I’m wondering if a project that had some of that flair to it, with maybe some early or classic prog (King Crimson or early Tool) with even a touch of artists like Radiohead would be of interest. Especially if we can get more into the world building that exists in those genres. Let me know!
To complement the Classic- with the contemporary-Prog, especially given the latter emphasis on exceptional production quality, here are several artists who capture both values, the creative and production:
Steven Wilson (solo work, band-based such as Porcupine Tree, multiple remixing/remastering as sound engineer for artists such as Pink Floyd). Good entry-points to tap into his masterful sound quality captured in stereo, ATMOS, and Binaural: The Raven That Refused to Sing, Hand.Cannot.Erase, In Abstentia, Closure/Continuation.
Leprous, as well as the solo work by their lead singer, Einar Solberg