Ox en Mayo alto
"Los famosos días de la fiebre"
Today, I want to introduce a band to you that I am currently discovering. It's the post-rock/post-hardcore/mathcore project Ox en Mayo alto from Córdoba, Argentina.
Only recently I received the news about the release of their first sound material. It is a video-EP called "Los famosos días de la fiebre"
The band hasn't signed with a record label, yet. But I think if they're continuing what they're doing this will happen in no time. This will definitely find much attention, soon.
An exciting start for Ox en Mayo alto
If you are wondering who is behind this ingenious new act, you can only guess. The musicians would like to keep their identities secret. They hide their faces behind masks: a fox, a stag, and a fish.
Every band member plays a special role in a fictional world that they are also telling about in their lyrics and videos.
With their EP the artists want to tell us about the destruction and reconstruction of this fantasy world. For this, they are using analogies like the famous speech of Robert Oppenheimer after the atom bomb was dropped over Hiroshima and fragments of the movie "The VVitch" by Robert Eggers.
Analogies and myths
I want to warmly recommend to you not only to consume the music of Ox en Mayo alto but also to watch their videos. They are highly creative and quite exciting and entertaining.
On Youtube, you can watch all three parts of the EP "Los famosos días de la fiebre" (Spanish: "The famous days of the fever") in a row. The total playtime is six minutes.
It all starts with "Las Armas del Planeta Venus" (Spanish: "The weapons of planet Venus"). Masked people are whirling through a forest. It seems to be a mix of running and dancing. Are they on the run or are they following someone?
Post-Rock theatre
The music is carrying the play while the spoken lyrics are perfectly fitting between the dark and light elements of the drama. The genre-typical waves are driving the ocean of sound trouble-free against the shore. Dream sequences are flickering over the screen. A short rest in the woods. The creatures remain shyly bent over some roots. One of them seems to be reading.
The switchover to the playful starting song "Moi, Pierre Rivière, ayant érgorgé ma mére, ma sœr et mon frère" (French: "I, Pierre Rivière, have slaughtered my mother, my sister and my brother") is just perfect. The story on the screen goes on like the second part of a TV show. Someone is running through a summer forest, a dancing silhouette behind a curtain. A splattering creek. Masked feminines in white dresses. A soft caressing – visually and for the ears.
Spooky and playful
In total "Moi, Pierre Rivière, ayant érgorgé ma mére, ma sœr et mon frère" is not only an interlude for the last part. With an ingenious sound bath of distorted guitars and virtuoso drums, the piece is building an almost palpable tension. Insects are sitting by the water as the dawn is rising.
The third part of the EP is called "And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon". It begins mystically and scary. Whispered words – a prelude and what comes next? Perfectly elaborated post-rock with remarkable musically caprioles and the want for more. Fade out. Direction: Camila Kutscher.
Overall the music reminds me of some favourites on my record shelf. Mars Volta is coming to my mind at first. But you can also hear influences in the 1990s shoegaze and post-rock from the early 2000s. But still: Ox en Mayo alto is doing their very own thing. Talking about "Post-Rock from Argentina" I also remember Hagia Dos Veranos. Some of the playfulness also lays in the music of Ox en Mayo Alto. Supplemented by a pinch of darkness and a good shot of experimenting and letting things go like we are used to from bands like Fly Pan Am. Do you know what I mean?
I want more
What stays is the thought: I need to get to know this band. The terrific teaser "Los famoses das de la fiebre" has left me more than curious.
Ox en Mayo alto is planning to release their second EP in one month. I am very curious about it and I will definitely keep you up to date.