Interview 002: Brahctopus

Brahctopus is a Pittsburgh-based band that refuses to be pinned down. Equal parts disco groove, psychedelic sprawl, and whatever else feels right in the moment, they've been quietly building something special since their early rehearsal days at CCAC Allegheny. Our intern Haley caught up with the band to talk origins, studio life, what's coming next, and why the best music rarely fits in a box.

Photos by Paul Crooks and Haiden Farrell

HBV: How did you come up with Brahctopus? Were you inspired by anyone?

Brahctopus started when I was attending some classes at CCAC Allegheny circa 2015. There were a few guys that had a rehearsal space and invited me to jam after class which turned into a weekly thing. After writing some tunes we started to gig regularly around Pittsburgh and it all kept growing from there. Inspiration came from many different outlets as we were all into different styles of music and art. Since then, the other original three members moved onto various projects and milestones in their personal lives. Though, I think it’s safe to say we all cherish those days back in the “Aquarium” as we called it.

HBV: Could you tell us a little about The Animal EP?

The Animal EP is a collection of 4 songs that we were really excited about when we wrote them. I feel like it was a turning point for us in writing and recording. The first three songs (“Where We Left Off”, “Look Towards the Sky” and “Delirious Dreamer”) were left short, sweet, poppy disco tunes. Then of course we had to add a deep psychedelic jam in there which is “Dragons”.

HBV: As a band, how did you find your sound? 

That’s a loaded question because we have so many sounds and it’s constantly evolving. People consider us a jam band but we don’t really consider ourselves that way. Recently we’ve been into disco and dance grooves. It’s just fun. But we like to play around with writing our jam sections so sometimes you might hear us transition into something heavy, for instance. You could almost consider us a prog band I guess? But not really. I don’t know but regardless it’s a lot of fun to explore the music!

HBV: How has your current tour been going?

We’re currently in-between spring and summer tour. Spring was awesome; we got to visit some of our favorite rooms and tap into a couple new markets for us. Now we’re gearing up for a really killer summer run. We’ll be at a handful of festivals which are always my personal favorite.

HBV: Could you tell us about some of the artwork on your album and/or EP covers? Such as how it was created or where the inspiration came from.

Majority of our album artwork was created by our very good friend Jason Price. He’s incredible at his craft and just an all around great human. My favorite work of his is from the “Proto-Terrestrial Freedom Movement” (PTFM) album. We have a graphic novel that goes along with it; each chapter being a song on the album. The artwork he made captures the story so well. It took us years to complete the project and get it released but it was well worth it in the end.

HBV: Do you have a favorite project or one that you are particularly proud of?  If so, what makes it special? 

As of now, the Animal EP is my favorite. It’s a fun collection of songs and we had a great time in the studio recording it. You can find some behind the scenes footage from the studio sessions that our guitarist Dylan captured and uploaded to our YouTube. But, we finished recording the next album a couple months ago and it is an absolute heater! Our drummer, Travis, is working on the editing and the sneak peeks we’ve heard are exciting. Can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

HBV: Is there anyone you look up to musically?

There are a lot of people we look up to musically and we each would answer this question differently. I most frequently listen to older stuff. Supertramp, Steely Dan, Huey Lewis are some of my all time favorites. I can also listen to Michael Jackson for hours. As far as live shows, Phish is definitely my favorite to see perform.

HBV: Anything else you wanna share? Any shows coming up we should be on the lookout for?

We have so many awesome gigs coming up this summer and the full announcement will be dropping soon. August 1st we’re playing a free show at Grandview Park in Mount Washington so that will be a fun local one. Summerdance hosted by Lotus at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park will be an awesome weekend if you’re into music festivals. And we don’t have a release date quite yet but definitely be on the lookout for the new album. We hope to see everyone out there somewhere along the way!