"Matrix Moves" by Swedish 2 man band Oxen moves in post punk power pop ways

Matrix Moves by the Swedish two man indie outfit Oxen moves in power pop ways propelled by a deep groove, active post punk-ish guitar strains and the band's cool passionate vocal performance. Childhood friends Erik and Stefan were obviously destined to create artful sounds.

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Robb Donker




THE FACTS AS WE KNOW IT:

Press Notes:

The two friends grew up in the middle of Sweden and experienced everything that comes with an upbringing in a small town. Meeting their first loves, sharing their first beer and starting playing instruments, that eventually would steer them away from home. Inevitably, the band and the city grew apart. Erik and Stefan decided to try their luck in Stockholm. Sharing a small one-bedroom flat, together with Erik’s girlfriend, the two friends began writing what would become Oxen's first singles 'Only Forever and 'Luck'. 

Their first two songs were released in 2016 and got placement on official Spotify playlists and a lot of love from music blogs and fans around the world. They started playing club shows around Sweden, London as well as Sweden’s Peace & Love-festival. Oxen released their first EP appropriately named ‘Oxen’ and then went silent for a while. The band felt that they somewhere lost their direction and decided to really take their time before continuing. After changing a few band members and mapping out what Oxen really should be about, they ventured into Svenska Grammofonstudion in Gothenburg to start the recording of the songs that would eventually become Oxen’s debut album ‘Postpone and Forget’.

‘Postpone and Forget’ was released in November 2018 on the indie label harmoni, and showcases a wide and imaginative spectrum of songwriting. The tracks on the album were written over a long period of time and mainly drives inspiration from music Erik and Stefan listened to while growing up as well as experiences shared. Upbeat and bright tracks like ‘Postpone’, ‘Limbo’ and ‘I Am Beach King’ are mixed with heavier rock-based songs like ‘Årstaberg’ and ‘Where are you now?’, throw some ballads like ‘Soulmate’ and ‘You Said It Yourself’ in the mix and you have yourself a solid debut album. The album got nice reviews across the board and ‘Rolling Stone’ called the duo ‘a talented indie-rock outfit’. Radio stations in Germany, and other parts of Europe, picked up some of the songs and the band also toured those parts of the world after releasing ‘Postpone and Forget’.

Today Erik and Stefan lives in separate apartments and are currently working on their second album, once again, in Svenska Grammofonstudion. Whilst ‘Postpone and Forget’ was a nostalgic trip through memories, inspirations and experiences the new album is a display of where the band is today - both musically and lifewise. To kickstart a long period of new music being released ‘Oxen’ will put out a stand-alone single called ‘Matrix Moves’ together with a music video, showcasing some non-musical skills of the band. Through 2019 and 2020 new songs will be released, new shows will be played and the journey for the perfect song will continue.