Maya Bouldry-Morrison, better known by her stage name Octo Octa, is an American

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

producer and DJ based in Brooklyn, New York. In 2016, Bouldry-Morrison came out as

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

, after having already gained prominence as an artist.

Career

Octo Octa describes her influences as including classic

Warp records Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, A ...

, IDM,

drum 'n' bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

, San Francisco based label

Tigerbeat6 Tigerbeat6 is a San Francisco and Berlin based independent and (mostly) electronic record label run by Kid606 (Miguel De Pedro). The label is run as a DIY operation and releases a variety of electronic music styles, including noisecore, intellige ...

, and has been inspired by trans artist DJ Sprinkles (a.k.a.

Terre Thaemlitz Terre Thaemlitz is a musician, public speaker, and owner of the record label Comatonse Recordings. Thaemlitz's work critically combines themes of identity politics – including gender, sexuality, class, linguistics, ethnicity and race – with an ...

). While studying at the University of New Hampshire, she formed the dance band Horny Vampyre with her friend Jeremy, while also using the Octo Octa moniker for her solo experimental music. Her initial solo productions worked within IDM and

breakcore Breakcore is a style and microgenre of electronic dance music that emerged from jungle, hardcore, and drum and bass in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is characterized by very complex and intricate breakbeats and a wide palette of sampling sources ...

genres; it was only at the end of her college career that she began to produce the style of house music for which she is more widely known. Her first EP release, ''Let Me See You'' (2011), came out through 100% Silk, the house sub-label of noise music label Not Not Fun Records. She has since had several releases, including the 12" EP ''Where Did You Go / Through the Haze'' (2014) on Argot, ''More Times'' ''EP'' (2015) on German label Running Back and ''Further Trips ''(2015) through Deepblak. Her first three albums have been released through 100% Silk, with the most recent being ''Resonant Body'' in 2019. In January 2021, Bouldry-Morrison announced her new EP ''She’s Calling'', set for a February 5 release date.

Personal life

Bouldry-Morrison came out as transgender in 2016. She recounts that this process began in 2012, when she read a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' article about

Against Me Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineu ...

frontwoman

Laura Jane Grace Laura Jane Grace (born Thomas James Gabel; November 8, 1980) is an American musician best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!. In addition to Against Me!, Grace fronts the band Laura ...

Discography

Albums

* ''Resonant Body'' T4T LUV NRG, 2019, T4T002 * ''

Where Are We Going? ''Where Are We Going?'' is the fourth studio album of American house producer Maya Bouldry-Morrison, known by her stage name as Octo Octa. It was released in March 2017 by HNYTRX, a sub-imprint of queer label Honey Soundsystem. It is her first albu ...

'' HNYTRX, 2017, HNY-015 * ''Between Two Selves'' 100% Silk, 2013, SILK046 * ''LA Vampires'' 100% Silk, 2012, SILK031 * ''Rough, Rugged, And Raw'' 100% Silk, 2011, SILK025

12"s and EPs

* ''For Lovers Technicolour'', 2019, TCLR030 * ''Devotion EP Naive (3)'', 2018, NAIVE004 * ''Adrift Honey Soundsystem Records'', 2017, HNY-016 * ''Aimless Skylax'', 2017, LAX144 * ''New Paths Argot'', 2017, ARGOT019 * ''Frndzne 01 Frendzone!'', 2017, frndzne 01 * ''My Feelings Toward You Love Notes'', 2017, LVNO-09 * ''Where Are We Going? HNYTRX'', 2017, HNY-015 * ''Further Trips Deepblak'', 2015, DBR-V026 * ''Requiem for the Body Stays Underground It Pays'', 2015, SUIT 8 * ''More Times Running Back'', 2015, RB052 * ''Where Did You Go/ Through the Haze Argot'', 2014, ARGOT 009 * ''Cause I Love You 100% Silk'', 2014, SILK061 * ''Oh Love 100% Silk'', 2012, SILK023 * ''Let Me See You 100% Silk'', 2011, SILK011 * ''She's Calling'', 2021

Remixes

* ''Don't Fear It EP'' Don't Fear It (Remix), Shewey Trax, 2017, shew-19

References

{{Authority control Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people American electronic musicians American LGBT musicians Transgender women musicians LGBT DJs American women in electronic music Transgender musicians