Oxbow is an American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band from San Francisco, California. Founded in 1988, the band has released seven studio albums.

History

Oxbow began as a recording project. In 1988 bandmates Eugene Robinson (vocals, lyrics) and Niko Wenner (guitar, bass, keyboards, music) wrote songs with an approach decidedly different from their band at the time

Whipping Boy A whipping boy was a boy educated alongside a prince (or boy monarch) in early modern Europe, who supposedly received corporal punishment for the prince's transgressions in his presence. The prince was not punished himself because his royal sta ...

. Wenner concocted an underlying musical architecture for his abrasive-then-plangent music, through use of arch form and musical

palindrome A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as the words ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date and time ''11/11/11 11:11,'' and the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Panam ...

s unusual in the noise music genre the band was often placed. This organizing structure later grew to encompass the second Oxbow recording as well, and drew relationships between the two. For his part Robinson changed his vocal approach to include in-the-studio improvisations and extensive vocal multi-tracking. This first record, titled ''Fuckfest'' has drumming split evenly between Greg Davis and Tom Dobrov. Dan Adams (bass in Oxbow, drums in Whipping Boy) joined immediately on completion of the first recording. All but Davis and Dobrov were at various times members of Whipping Boy, Wenner and Dobrov had been bandmates in the hardcore band Grim RealityAnkeny, Jason
Oxbow Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved July 17, 2012Pehling, Dave (2002)
Uneasy Listening: Oxbow drags experimental rock into the heart of darkness
, ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards ...

'', September 11, 2002, retrieved July 17, 2012 Dobrov departed amicably after the band's 1995 European tour, but performed as guest second-drummer, with Davis, for the studio recording of "Shine (Glimmer)" on the 2002 album ''An Evil Heat.''Wenner, Niko (1995)
Tour Diary: 1995 (Niko)
", retrieved September 15, 2012Oxbow (2012)

, ''http://www.facebook.com/OXBOW'', August 1, 2012, retrieved September 15, 2012 The first album from Oxbow, Fuckfest (album), ''Fuckfest'', was released in 1989. It was described as "one of the most unique first statements in modern

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

" by ''

Rock-A-Rolla ''Rock-A-Rolla'' was a music magazine covering experimental, avant-garde, noise and metal artists pushing the boundaries of music. Launched in late 2005, it was published bi-monthly in the UK by V-Squared Publishing Limited and distributed worl ...

'' magazine, "staggeringly eclectic" by

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on music ...

, and "a fierce, rigorous album that challenges almost every preconception rock listeners might have" by

.Classic album: Oxbow ‘Fuckfest’
, ''

'', April 15, 2010, retrieved July 17, 2012Reynolds, Simon

, ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'', 1989, retrieved August 1, 2012Freeman, Phil
''Fuckfest'' Review
,

, retrieved July 17, 2012 ''Fuckfest'' was followed by ''King of the Jews'' (1991) and then by two

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

-recorded albums: ''Let Me Be a Woman'' (1995) and '' Serenade in Red'' (1996–97), the latter featuring guest vocals from

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

. ''An Evil Heat'' followed in 2002 on

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

Neurot Recordings Neurot Recordings is an American independent record label founded by members of avant-garde metal band Neurosis in 1999. Gradually expanding, it has showcased a variety of artists including a number of sludge metal, post-rock, and noise band ...

label.York, William
''An Evil Heat'' Review
,

, retrieved July 17, 2012 Oxbow's 2007 album ''The Narcotic Story'' was named the number one album in the "Best of 2007" by ''

'' magazine, and was listed with three other bands' albums in the nomination of

Joe Chiccarelli Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

as 'Producer of the Year' at the 50th Grammy Awards.Rock-A-Rolla

, retrieved September 9, 2012 In May 2017 Oxbow released '' Thin Black Duke'' their seventh full-length album, like ''The Narcotic Story'' produced by Joe Chiccarelli and Niko Wenner and again on

Hydra Head Records Hydra Head Records was an independent record label that specializes in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experiment ...

, to critical acclaim.

Musical style

Oxbow's material is musically varied and has been compared both to bands such as

and The Birthday Party, and modern classical composers such as

Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

and

John Luther Adams John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953) is an American composer whose music is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska, where he lived from 1978 to 2014. His orchestral work '' Become Ocean'' was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Priz ...

. Elements of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

, heavy metal,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, and

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

are consistently mentioned.Chainey, Ian

, ''Last Rites'', July 1, 2007, retrieved March 20, 2018MacGregor, Adam

, ''Dusted Magazine'', May 18, 2006, retrieved September 5, 2012 Allmusic writer Jason Ankeny identified elements of

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

and

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, ...

Members

Current line-up

*Dan Adams -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

*Greg Davis -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Eugene S. Robinson -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

*Niko Wenner -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

Dan Adams: Bass Guitar

Dan Adams, multi-instrumentalist, engineer who worked on animatronics in films such as Free Willie and Anaconda, and award-winning jazz drummer also used to drum for North Carolina's hardcore punk band the Ugly Americans.

Niko Wenner: Guitars, Keyboards

Oxbow composer, arranger, and producer Wenner "a master of sculpting noise and tone" has also toured and recorded as part of the bands

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

, Swell, Celan,discogs.com/artist/Niko+Wenner, (2012)

and Jellyfish (band), Jellyfish.

Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...

(2012).

, ''Omnivore Recordings'' (official website), retrieved July 29, 2012 Wenner has engineered recordings for Oxbow and others, composed and performed music for contemporary dance,Aquarius Records (2012)

" 2012, retrieved July 29, 2012 and appeared performing in an Academy Award nominee for best short film.

Eugene S. Robinson: Vocals

On ''Fuckfest'' "Robinson howls in a high-pitched, anguished voice somewhere between Robert Plant and Birthday Party-era Nick Cave", although his lyrics sound incomprehensible. Robinson has provided guest vocals for several bands, including Soothsayer,

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

, Black Sun,

Old Man Gloom Old Man Gloom is an extreme metal band originally formed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but now based in Massachusetts. The group, formed by Aaron Turner of Isis and Santos Montano, expanded to become a sort of supergroup in the Boston hardcore and ...

DJ /Rupture Jace Clayton, better known as DJ /rupture, is a New York-based American DJ, writer and interdisciplinary artist. In addition to his music, Clayton has established a blog identity with musical and non-musical posts on his website, "mudd up!". His ...

, Ultraphallus,

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

, and his notable side project ''Bunuel'', among others.Drever, Ryan (2010)
Black Sun – Twilight Of The Gods
, '' The Skinny'', August 30, 2010, retrieved July 17, 2012Old Man Gloom ''Christmas''
, ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'', August 30, 2004, retrieved July 17, 2012Drever, Ryan (2011)
Ultraphallus ''Sowberry Hagan''
",

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

, January 20, 2011, retrieved July 17, 2012Beta, Andy (2005)
1 + 1 = 3: Turkish composer and Harvard grad pump up the volume
, ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'', January 18, 2005, retrieved July 17, 2012Fight Math
''Fight Math''"

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

, January 13, 2015, retrieved January 15, 2015" Vocalist Robinson, also an amateur fighter and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, has on several occasions dealt with misbehaving audience members with physical force. He is also known for shedding his clothes on stage.Dare, Christopher (2002)
Oxbow ''An Evil Heat''
,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

, December 31, 2001, retrieved July 17, 2012Howe, Brian (2007)
Oxbow ''The Narcotic Story''
,

, June 21, 2007, retrieved July 17, 2012Spicuzza, Mary (2008)
Oxbow's Eugene Robinson chokes rowdy concertgoers
, ''

'', January 9, 2008, retrieved July 17, 2012Eugene Robinson
, ''

Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...

'', Issue No. 39, January 2008, retrieved July 17, 2012Newton, Edmund (2008)
Heartwarming Story
, ''

Broward Palm Beach New Times ''New Times Broward-Palm Beach'' is a news website that until 2016 also published a weekly print newspaper; it is part of the Voice Media Group chain. The original paper split off from the ''Miami New Times'' in 1997, under the auspices of th ...

'', July 31, 2008, retrieved July 17, 2012 Robinson is the author of the books "''Paternostra''", "''Les sons inimitables de l'amour: un plan à trois en quatre actes''", ''A Long Slow Screw'' and ''Fight: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You'd Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking'', and worked as an Editor-at-Large at OZY OZY.com, in addition to being a video host of the now-defunct Knuckle Up and his own The Eugene S. Robinson Show Stomper, as well as The Care/Don't Care Preview on

Bloody Elbow ''Bloody Elbow'' is a news website that covers the sports of mixed martial arts (MMA), boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and other traditional martial arts and combat sports. Founded in 2007, the site is notable for it ...

and a regular contributor to ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'' magazine all while publishing ''Look What You Made Me Do'', his personal substack. He has also had his written work appear in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', GQ, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', the LA Weekly, Ad Age, The Quietus, PC Gamer, Hustler, Code, Revolver, Decibel and The Wire, among others. His infrequent film and television work has also seen him appearing in Leonard Part 6 with

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

, NBC's Midnight Caller, ABC's King of Love, MTV's Liquid Television's Las Apassionadas, and commercials most notably one directed by Gus Van Sant for Miller Genuine Draft, along with winning an Online Journalism Award for Online Commentary, Small Newsroom.Reade, Frances (2007)
SFist Interviews Eugene Robinson
", sfist.com, November 8, 2007, retrieved July 17, 2012Ranta, Alan (2008)
Eugene S. Robinson: Fight
,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

, February 29, 2008, retrieved July 17, 2012

Discography

Albums

EPs

Compilations

Live albums

Splits

Music videos

DVDs

DVD included in the CD/DVD compilation Love That's Last: A Wholly Hypnographic and Disturbing Work Regarding Oxbow. There are six selections included on the DVD: #Music For Adults (documentary film) #Music For Adults (outtakes) #Oxbow live in Diksmuide, Belgium, Muziekclub 4AD May 19, 2002 #Oxbow live in San Francisco, USA,

Great American Music Hall The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconies ...

November 14, 2004 #''SbarX'' (video + 5.1 audio mix) #''The Snake &...'' ( 5.1 audio mix) DVD based on Oxbow's 2009 European tour. Contains three selections: #"The Luxury of Empire" by Mariexxme (documentary film) #"Still Before" by Manuel Liebeskind (documentary film) #Oxbow live in Paris, France, La Maroquinerie November 8, 2009 16mm film, multi-camera, three selections are performed live, one selection is performed to the studio recording. There are 4 selections included on the DVD: #''The Snake...'' #''She's a Find'' #''Ecce Homo'' #''Bomb''

References

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxbow (Band) Noisecore musical groups Musical groups from San Francisco Musical groups established in 1989 American experimental musical groups American experimental rock groups American noise rock music groups