Written by @Kiddieriot / Photography by Teddy Williams for DMT
We often read the words “best kept secret” when browsing articles on the internet or in printed media. They usually talk about someone or something you should know but hasn’t gained a lot of popularity yet; those words tease you into learning more about the subject, to get to know a thing ignored by most people, thus making you cooler for making this discovery. Usually, this is just a trick to get you to buy into whatever they are selling. But just sometimes, the words “best kept secret” are not only accurate, but also tinged with a bit of injustice.
Oxomaxoma could be Mexico’s best kept secret, without any pretense of miscalculating the importance of this statement. The band has played a big part in the country’s experimental music scene, having almost 35 years of existence in the circuit, performing on again, off again in many stages, and in various incarnations. This is a band music fans often ignore due to their obscurity, which has nothing to do with their quality.
The band started in 1976 by José Álvarez and Arturo Romo in part due to the wave of experimental music sweeping the country. Bands like Via Lactea and Decibel began playing and recording by any means at their disposal, inspired by the so called Rock In Opposition (RIO) movement in Europe. An absurdist and politically-tinged take on progressive rock and the experiments in art of krautrock, RIO exponents such as Henry Cow, Magma and Univers Zero lead the way. Usually, RIO musicians would take the conventions of pop and the arrogance of musicianship to twist them in a surreal manner, with common practices like singing in made up languages and building one of a kind instruments being the norm. Oxomaxoma took these elements with an added interest in electronic music shared with other Mexican acts, and went from there to build their own sound.
It wasn’t until 1980 when they played their first concert at the UAM Azcapotzalco college. The next ten years were tumultuous, with various recording sessions and shows happening during the decade. Ten years after their onstage debut, En El Nombre Sea De Dios, their first album, was released; it is composed of several recordings made on their seminal years, which saw them explore found object noise collages, electronic soundscapes and prehispanic influences. At the time of its release, there was nothing as extreme in the Mexican underground, and fans in other countries took notice.
The Nineties saw them take many incarnations, expanding their lineup to add other members and insturments, collaborating with such figures as Decibel’s Walter Schmidt and free jazz icon Germán Bringas, to expand their sound. Some records saw them play more standardized blues-based rock, closer to many people’s concept of what a normal band should be, while others saw them devolve into a far more difficult noise outfit, aided in no small part by their invention, the trombatron. In 2002 they recorded Espíritus En Rojo y Negro, which was to be their last record before breaking up.
The following years were silent for Oxomaxoma, although their influence lived on the Mexican underground’s most extreme corners. In 2013, a box set titled Obras Completas (which compiled their discography) was released and generated enough interest in the band that José decided to reactivate the band, although without Romo. In his place, Prosumer has joined Álvarez (now known as Androide Mayor) in the live circuit and on their latest record, Con Ojos De Fuego.
They will be part of Austin Psych Fest Showcase on the Festival Nrmal, but after that, anything can happen for Oxomaxoma. One thing that is sure to happen is that they will take their place as the cult heroes they are and stop being such a well kept secret.