"The sound is multi-layered, extremely deep, precise, and sensitively produced. As a whole, it places us in a space of reverence and comprehension." "I would never have thought that a musical work of this quality would come out of a film environment, let alone a Slovenian one. Octex has confidently taken the concept of film music into his own hands and mind and adapted it to his mode of musical expression which works sophisticated and mature, both technically and emotionally." Urban Mihevc, Tolpa bumov, Radijo Študent
We are happy to announce that after a long delay caused by technical and logistic complications, the Rob je tam | Matej Bor (original soundtrack) is is finally available.
It's already available for our Bandcamp supporters and is coming to Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and other streaming services on the 18th of June.
Original soundtrack for a documentary movie Rob je tam | Matej Bor about renowned Slovenian poet and writer Matej Bor, directed by Amir Muratović for Slovenian National Television.
Jernej Marušič - Octex not only happens to be a grandson of Matej Bor and an artist in his own right but also shares his grandfather's love for nature. That's why he was the obvious and most appropriate choice to write an original score for the movie. For this special occasion, he expanded his distinctive rhythmical atmospheres with an even bigger focus on field-recorded sounds of nature, which he transformed and mangled into unique-sounding instruments. Part of this creation process is even documented in the movie itself, offering an exclusive view into his intimate musical world.
For the climax of the movie, a reenactment of a scene from a haunting theater play about a student suicide club Šola noči, Jernej teamed up with vocalist Monika Horvat to eery effect.
This and three other parts of the soundtrack were extended into full-length compositions that open up this release.
The soundtrack will be available on all major streaming services on the 17th of November. You can already preview and preorder it on our Bandcamp page.
Foto by Amir Muratović.
Idei Lahesna (versions & outtakes) is out today on Bandcamp and all major streaming services.
This is a selection of twelve of our 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.
They were rediscovered, when we were going through the original tapes to remaster Idei Lahesna for the 20th anniversary edition.
The way Octex 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 he 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 we enjoyed rediscovering them.
The second part of the Idei Lahesna 20th anniversary is ready for preorder just in time for Bandcamp Friday.
As the name suggests this album contains alternative versions and tracks hailing from the Idei Lahesna studio sessions, that didn't make it onto the original album.
It will be released on the 15th of February on Bandcamp and all major streaming services.
"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 our 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 Octex's debut album Idei Lahesna and to commemorate this occasion we were planning a simple remastered rerelease of the album but ended up with so much more. Read more on Octex.si.
"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.
Get the entire album on Bandcamp in pristine 24-bit quality, or check it out on your favorite digital music store or streaming service.
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 Lusstrain 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.
We are excited to announce our first release Mindrifft by Octex. It will be released in 6 parts as a series of releases in the span of 6 months, with the first release scheduled for 11th of October. Album 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.
On Mindrifft Octex explores the phenomena that occur when we listen to repetitive music, which makes us hear tonal and rhythmical shifts that are not there. He 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.
Mindrifft marks the return of Jernej Marusic aka Octex, a pioneer of Slovenian dub-techno, pushing the definition of this genre to its furthest limits and beyond, creating unique rhythmical atmospheres that lay somewhere in between club and avant-garde electronic music.
After 2015 he has retreated into musical self-isolation only resurfacing for a couple of live performances to test out new music, but this year he is resurfacing in full force.
9th of September 2021
Wellcome to Polynya
Polynya music is a new label started by Jernej Marusic aka Octex to bring you fresh new music from the depths. It's primarily focused as a platform to release his music and collaborations, but might also release high-quality music from like-minded musicians in the future.