2006: Icon Mink Stole is fronting Viir Exeter's Electro Jazz project, Biomechanic, fusing Electro, Jazz and Dark Cabaret. The debut album, Exogenesis, is currently in production.
2004/5:Viir Exeter, of Oxygen Law, has composed the original score for The Boles Murders, a major motion picture about an entire family that was brutally murdered in their exclusive California resort home in 1965. Private Investigator, Steve Hodel, New York Times best-selling author of, The Black Dahlia Avenger, is among the many who give expert insights into the notorious murders. The case remains unsolved to this day.
Oxygen LawLe Vestibule EPreviewed by Matthew Heilman of Starvox, PhiladelphiaHailing from California, Oxygen Law's most recent EP was an interesting offering to say the very least. I was pleasantly won over by the nostalgic shades of vintage 4AD elements that could be found in the grayed synths and modest electronics of the first half of this EP. The title tracks are pretty cool, the LP version of the song being a bit more punchy than the extended version, but both feature a delightful mix of slow old school drum machines and swirling orchestration. "Perihelion" is perhaps a better and more solid example of what Oxygen Law is capable of. A plodding, tense track that centers around a steady rhythmic pulse, a smooth bass line, and moody male vocals. This track in particular vaguely recalls early Clan Of Xymox, and it is kind of cool that a band is more conscious of atmosphere than BPM's, the way early dark electronic bands were.
And indeed, Oxygen Law is conscious of atmosphere. Citing not only 4AD artists as creative influences, they also site the Brontë sisters and Edgar Allan Poe as musical muses, and indeed the misty moors and stark psychology of those authors cast a favourable shadow over the band. Somewhat in the more 'electronic' friendly tracks but this influence is clearer on the EP's two epic instrumental tracks.
There is an authentic classical darkness that pervades these last two works, the two unlikely candidates I suppose to receive the fond critical attention. Truthfully, these last two tracks were the ones that struck me the most and I feel earns the band some serious investigation. "Intermezzo" is a piece comprised entirely of stark, reverberated piano, with shadows of Chopin and Rachmaninoff, but primarily Franz Liszt. The song shares a similar desolate spirit with the Hungarian pianist's "Totentanz" and "Transcendental Etudes."The grand symphonic track "Lamentations In A Churchyard " serves as a perfectly suitable finale. Despite being composed and performed with a synthesizer, there is an overwhelmingly authentic air in the effect of this music; it is very dark, very dreary and not so much resembling a cinematic film score as an honest orchestral classical piece. Of course, there are bits of electronics that sneak in to the mix, some ambient storm effects, and a brief section of reverberated vocals, but it is still quite symphonic at heart.
I very much enjoyed what Oxygen Law has to offer, and though I liked their 'gothic dance' offerings, I was moved more significantly by their 'classical gothic' offerings at the end of this disc. I sincerely hope that the band continues to explore both sides of their talent, and perhaps find a way to better bring them together. If it becomes impossible to integrate them, I would suggest these guys start commissioning to do film scores or work with an actual orchestra if it were possible. While the compositions on this CD are admittedly still amateurish when compared to professional concert music performers (i.e. modern day classical composers), Oxygen Law is miles ahead of where other bands claiming to be 'neo-classical' currently linger.
There is some significant potential here, which I think can develop into something that could transcend the trappings of the Gothic genre. Contact these guys and keep an eye out for the upcoming full-length release "Aperture."Track
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