Ox Hunt recorded our first LP “JOY” on the road across America, Joshua Tree, Los Angeles, and NY, inspired by the Zen Ox Herding poem and the journey through spiritual maturity.
Ox Hunt began in the subways of NYC. Navzad Dabu, (lead singer and guitarist) recorded a Radiohead cover set that went viral on Youtube, with currently over 740K views. With this traction, Nav and I began to record original music.
It started organically at a nude hot spring in Colorado. We began discussing the potential of moving to Joshua Tree to record the album, upending our lives for a time to dedicate everything to this project.
Then in Utah, we began writing “BOUND” around the campfire, seamlessly collaborating and enhancing the riffs. Our roadtrip culminated with us in a jam room in Los Angeles, working out the songs in jam rooms with me on drums or bass and Nav holding it down with guitar and vocals. We met again in the Sequoias at an off-grid campground, where we wrote “SURRENDER.”
Feeling optimistic about these tracks, we committed to the Joshua Tree plan and moved there with fellow artist, Nick Amadeo, who’s paintings are featured as our album artwork. Over the months in Joshua Tree, we recorded and edited tracks tirelessly, in between meditations in grave yards, garages, and of course the star-lit desert of Joshua Tree. Inspired by the outer and inner natures we were exploring, from my love of punk and hardcore music, and Nav’s sultry, wide-ranging voice, the album emerged.
But we weren’t fully satisfied. Using bedroom recording methods had its limits, especially around drums and recording quality. So Navzad moved back to Syracuse and began gigging in the scene, searching for a producer and drummer. With time, he built a team that would take time in a remote cabin to re-record vocal parts and lay down live drums with new grooves for every track. Simultaneously, grammy nominated producer Scott Robinson perfected “GAPS” for us after a session in Los Angeles, a track that one radio host remarked: “This spacial and gorgeous track reminds many of artists like Radiohead, The Mars Volta and Circa Survive but with the hooks and writing of Young the Giant.”
The resulting album, “JOY” explores themes of shadow work, solitude, and the yearning for awakening.
