The Cover Mix: Octo Octa

“House music for me is a genre that I can easily set intention with: cast spells that I need to perform. I have messages I want to convey, not only to others but also to myself. Every day is a mixture of love, success, confrontation, sadness, and hope; hope for what I need, and what I think others need. This vinyl mix starts with doubles of the intro to Todd Terry presents The Raid’s ‘Jump Up In The Air’. It’s a quick conversation that sounds like one woman yelling over to her friend who’s in the other room getting ready to go out. ‘House music?’ ‘Yeah! You know house!’ So what’s your house sound like? Where did the sounds come from? And how do they move you?”

Octo Octa talks you through her exclusive cover mix below.

1. Todd Terry presents The Raid ‘Jump Up In The Air’

“I wanna tell you a little story about house…”

2. Thompson & Lenoir ‘Can’t Stop The House’ (House Of Trix mix)

“I love the acknowledgement of the engagement in house. It’s a wonderful statement to just be like, ‘I’m here for this, let’s go!’”

3. Old Skool ‘Cauz I Learn’

“Every day I have to employ tools to survive, make choices to stay safe, and not lose my mind along the way. I tease in the line “You took my heart” to signal to my lovers: with them I can do this”

4. American Express ‘I Can’t Believe It’

“My lovers help me move through this world successfully. ‘I can’t believe it’ is right – they give me the strength to keep going”

5. Bitch ‘You Are My Children’ (Dark Black mix)

“The lyric, ‘Everybody if we love each other, everybody love your brother, love each other’ is another full-on statement. We have to do this together. House is a vessel to bring us together”

6. X-Press 2 ‘Say What!’ (London Underground mix)

Such a powerhouse tune and again, a statement. I use the “Say what!” vocal constantly as punctuation for other statements on records, like the Bitch track I played before it”

7. Warren Clarke ‘Stick Together’

“Again continuing the theme of unity, both as humanity but also as lovers. We’re in this, let’s stick together”

8. Gypsymen ‘Daylite’

“Another Todd Terry tune. Todd has a way with production that cuts right to my core. It feels like a universal language. This track in particular was something I was looking for with Eris after hearing it on multiple B96 street mixes, and when I found it I was like, ‘Of course it’s Todd Terry”

9. The LBM Experience ‘Wanna Touch Me’

“For the seriousness of the statements made in the mix, this is also fun. A bit cheeky, but also a true interaction”

10. The Wildchild Experience ‘Let Me Tell You’

“Have you been listening? It’s a story about house music and life. It’s a broadcast. This is a song that Eris first played at a party and it blew me away. As my witchy co-conspirator and partner spellcaster I immediately knew what she was doing”

11. Ralphi Rosario’s Energy Factor ‘Music, Music’ (Thee I Hump mix)/Sound Design ‘Bounce To The Beat’

“A beautiful song, and the sample from Blunted Dummies just makes everything sweeter. I also work ‘Bounce To The Beat’ over it as another nod to Todd Terry. Rule of three…”

12. Spiritual Experience ‘In The Presence Of Angels’ (Tribal Love mix)

“Shift your energy, and tap in. We’re moving into instrumental statements, indirect feelings, introspection”

13. Stealth Sonic Soul ‘Stealth Sonic Soul’ (Apollo 440 mix)

“I’m here for this. This is deep in me. This is how I can share beauty in the world. Many dancefloors I’ve played this on just seem to ignite with that piano break. Again, so sweet”

14. D.A.C Traxx ‘Surf’

Is it ‘Just A Melody’ or ‘Just Another Day’? This track has a mondegreen that I find fascinating. I always hear the vocal bit as “Just another day”, but maybe it isn’t. It feels like the right thing to say, it’s something I say to myself when moving through the public and dealing yet again with the same grim moments that are always around”

15. Soul Odyssey ‘Rapture’

“I wanna tell you a little story about house...”

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