Black Octopus
10pm to midnight
Fourth Saturday of the month
Hidden under the guise of an underground Brighton party-starting DJ duo, Black Octopus are actually two grumpy middle-aged men, Nick Baxter and Andy Clarke.
The last few years have seen them present a number of club nights around the city, hosting global headline acts whilst supporting loads of local DJ talent too. Black Octopus’ aim is simple: provide a unique back-to-basics party spirit that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The concept was born and the deal sealed after an epic six-hour b2b set at the Arch. Andy with a craving to set up Black Octopus and run a night with Nick (the much more affable, funny, intelligent and better looking of the pair – and who wrote the Bio).
Formed in 2018, their drive for global domination and stardom didn’t just happen overnight. Their individual musical journeys started well over two decades earlier, before the wrinkles, hair loss and rot set in…
On leaving school in the 1990s, a much hairier Nick found himself working in various recording studios around London, eventually becoming an engineer to dance music titans, Leftfield. After working with scores of clients, he went into the business end of music when he moved to Brighton c.2000ish – becoming an A&R manager for a local music publisher, signing acts like Underworld and Felix The Housecat.
After setting-up his own publishing co. (Moodymann, Kerri Chandler etc…) he now oversees a music dept. of the BBC – publishing a global community of film and TV composers, placing them in various forms of the corporation’s content and output.
Hailing from the North West (basically Wales) and from a family of mystical Druids, Andy Clarke began clubbing regularly and worked at the legendary Global Grooves Record shop in Chester. He started running his own Naked Lunch nights in Manchester, also somehow becoming an integral part of the forest-rave scene in North Wales (told ya). He then became a regular fixture at 303, and then Disco Glitter Love! nights in Liverpool (DJs inc. Andy Weatherall and Dave Clarke (no relation!)) Since moving to Brighton in 2010 he has become a regular DJ fixture at parties around town including Pride & Block.
Big shout-out to Black Octopus who are now contenders for the longest biog on the 1BTN website!