Between Two Selves

Octo Octa’s core moods of displaced identity and rapturous intimacy give way to an adrift, uneasy feeling on Between Two Selves. The album's four sides are spacious and sensual – the reclining nude of Octo’s Blue Period – with room to breathe and swoon. There’s fewer elements in the mix but more space to explore them, amorous samples pitched down and out across abstracted, extended compositions: “I don’t want you to go,” “All his kisses taste sweet,” etc. A deep accomplishment of regal soul and melancholy.

Between Two Selves is Michael Bouldry-Morrison’s debut LP, and represents the next step in a steady refinement of the Octo Octa formula he has perfected on releases for 100% Silk. Warehouse-ready techno and dreamlike deep house are among the genres he employs to explore themes of personal fulfillment and identity.

When Michael Bouldry-Morrison debuted as Octo Octa in 2011, he immediately seemed like the 100% Silk artist who had the most comfortable relationship with classic and contemporary house.