Alex Cameron has always been a great storyteller, finding his ways into the depths of the places where not many others are looking, and Oxy Music continues on that trajectory. It’s filled with stories of people who fall outside the system and exist in the grey areas of life. In its design - its music, lyrics and tracklist - lies the journey a person can take, if the circumstances present themselves - down the road of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. Initially inspired by Nico Walker’s Cherry, Cameron was spurred into yet another commentary on American Life, this time about the opioid crisis that has taken over the country. He says about Oxy Music: “The album is a story, a work of fiction, mostly from the perspective of a man. Starved of meaningful purpose, confused about the state of the world, and in dire need of a reason to live - a person can, and according to the latest statistics, increasingly will, turn to opioids. This is one of those people.”
While Oxy Music could be dark, it’s instead brighter and more buoyant than much of Cameron’s previous work, a shift in mood first seen across 2019’s Miami Memory. It’s told from a place of optimism and through the lens of Cameron, in the way that only he can tell it.
An intercontinental effort, Oxy Music was produced by Cameron with additional help from Justin Nijssen and Lilah Larson, and mixed by Mount Kimbie’s Kai Campos (with Daniel Trachtenberg also mixing “Best Life”). Throughout, he is joined by longtime collaborator and business partner, Roy Molloy (saxophone), Henri Lindström (drums, percussion), Justin Nijssen (bass, guitar, vocals), Lilah Larson (guitar, vocals), Jess Parsons (piano, keyboards, vocals), Chris Pitsiokos (saxophone), Lloyd Vines (vocals), Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson (vocals), and Jackie McLean (vocals).
