The One-Man Eight-Tentacled Band Octopoulpe Squirms Back to Beijing This Weekend
When I first caught French-raised, Seoul-based act Octopoulpe at Hot Cat Club in late 2016, the evening was already in disarray. Temple had abruptly (temporarily, of course) closed earlier in the evening, forcing a smorgasbord of visiting bands from South Korea to descend upon Fangjia Hutong. The first act didn’t even kick off till midnight so by the time a shirtless man donning an octopus mask got behind the drum kit, things were already pretty loose and the sense of the unknown was strong. By the end of that first set, however, we quickly recognized that we had lived through something wild; a band's-worth of math rock and hardcore-infused sound delivered all by one man. Screaming into a microphone and playing alongside numerous digital doppelgangers as well as a cast of side characters on a nearby projector screen, Octopoulpe is the project borne out of a mad Frenchmen’s head – a "pedagogic experience about cats, penises, bald people, and fashion punks." And it is glorious.
Since "forming" in 2014, Octopoulpe (Kim Jean Poulpe) and his myriad of electronic gadgets have toured countless times around Asia, including stints in China. He returns this weekend for two shows at Temple and School Bar. I shot the tentacled beast a few questions before his latest China tour.
Welcome back! You’ve become known as one of the most riotous acts to visit Beijing over the past few years. How do you feel each time you come through Beijing? Any fond memories?
Coming back to Beijing is always a pleasure! Since the first time I came in 2016, the shows there were always crazy good, and I can say I have some good friends in Beijing now. My last two shows in Beijing are definitely in my top five Octopoulpe favorite shows!
What’s the idea behind Octopoulpe? What’s his origin story? Would you consider him an anti-hero?
I started this project in 2014. The first version was quite different than this one. I was basically playing as a duo band (guitar and drums) with myself video-projected on a screen. A duo band means four arms + four legs which can also mean eight tentacles. At that time, playing on stage alone was way too scary for me, so I decided to wear a mask. It actually really helps. That's how Octopoulpe was born.
I think Octopoulpe could be a good friend of Kickass. It has no superpower. Just a cool costume ...
You seem to have a firm grasp on what it takes to be a one-man band – what would you say are the advantages and disadvantages of being the sole member of a band?
As a one-man band, the obvious best thing – especially in my situation because I work in freelance – is that I can go on tour pretty much at any time. I don't have to wait for any bandmate to take holidays. Also about writing songs, I'm pretty free to do whatever I want and I don't have to deal with the opinion of people.
In my other bands, of course, I love sharing and mixing ideas with my bandmates but sometimes it's also great to do everything by yourself. On the other hand, it's definitely better to go on tour and share experiences with your friends. When you tour alone, you can really feel lonely sometimes. But it's not really a big deal for me.
You’ve traveled all around Asia – I even recall randomly stumbling upon one of your gigs while I was traveling in Japan. What lessons have you taken away from the various countries and cities you’ve performed in and the people you’ve encountered?
Basically, the main thing I learned is that I love touring, not only for the music but also for the people I meet on the road. Sometimes some of them become good friends and it's awesome.
If touring was only performing shows then going back to the hotel to sleep, I think I would have stopped touring years ago. After-parties are the most important!
Your sets are meticulously planned out – combining elaborately staged music videos that are timed perfectly with your righteous drumming and vocals. How long does it take to put together one song – from writing to filming, to getting it primed and ready for the stage?
It's pretty hard to say, but it definitely takes a lot of time. The writing part can take a few days because finding the concept of a song is not that easy. Filming and editing is also a long process, but then I have to program the audio and the video with my software, which also takes a lot of time. It depends from song to song, but I would say I spend about 100 hours on making one.
Speaking of which – how does your gear hold up over time? I imagine you’ve hit plenty of bumps along the way. Any horror stories you can recall?
Traveling is definitely not good for my gear, especially when I have to take some flights. I recently had to buy another laptop, a video projector, an audio interface, some triggers, plus other stuff. I encountered more and more problems during my last few shows so there was no other option, my equipment was dying. Playing music and touring is not cheap at all for me!
However, the main horror story happened to me in 2016 after a show in Daegu, Korea when a taxi driver escaped with all my equipment in his trunk. It was not a pleasant period, but a lot of good friends helped me financially to buy all my gear again. I made a song for them called "Save the Octopus", for which most of them appeared in the video.
What’s in store for Octopoulpe in the next year? This surely isn’t the last time you’ll grace our presence in Beijing, right?
I already have a lot of plans for the next months. I will go on tour in North America for five weeks in September, then come back to Beijing for a Halloween show. I will play four gigs in Taiwan in November then do a China tour in December, performing also with my other band Digou. If everything goes well, I should also record my second album at the end of this year.
In 2019, I plan on doing another small China tour with the band Ni-hao! from Tokyo in February, then I look to tour for four months in Europe from April to August.
Ultimately, I think the message is clear enough – I love playing shows in China!
Octopoulpe will play for free at Temple on Aug 10 alongside Toss and Labor Glory. Alternatively, catch the one-man octo-show at School for RMB 80 on Aug 11 alongside headliners Struggle Session as well as Machines and Zhuang Nanqiang.
Photos courtesy of the organizers
