OXYGEN THIEF

Oxygen Thief is the alias of Bristol’s Barry Dolan; touring and recording as a solo acoustic act with all the passion, intensity, and volume of a full band, he has shared stages with Frank Turner, Jonah Matranga, Mongol Horde, and Ben Marwood as well as performing at T In the Park, 2000 Trees, and ArcTanGent festivals. Content with playing acoustic guitar “with such ferocity that it takes the top of your head off” (as Tom Robinson from BBC 6Music put it), he had no plans to turn Oxygen Thief into a band but Neil and Ben from of Xtra Mile’s own The Retrospective Soundtrack Players had other ideas; re-recording some of his songs with distortion pedals firmly engaged and firing the demos at his inbox.

So, Barry dusted off his electric guitar and started rehearsing and recording with this new line-up and played their first shows; opening for Left Side Brain in Bristol, and at London’s legendary charity knees-up Lexapalooza in March 2013. Solo, acoustic, loud / 3 piece, electric, louder: Oxygen Thief will tour the UK in both incarnations to celebrate the release of the ‘Accidents Do Not Happen, They Are Caused’ mini album – firstly solo supporting Jonah Matranga (far, onelindrawing) and then full band headline shows as well as a support slot for Jamie Lenman.

Oxygen Thief has been unofficially part of the Xtra Mile family for a while now – Charlie Caplowe, Managing Director of Xtra Mile explains: “We’re delighted to have Oxygen Thief join the XM clan. To be honest he’d somehow managed to get himself onto so many Xtra Mile Recordings bills and stages over this last summer that we were almost convinced he was already signed!”

Dolan says: “Having released a split EP with Ben Marwood & Jim Lockey (2009’s ‘Exclamation At Asterisk Hash’) I’ve watched them go from strength to strength since signing to Xtra Mile, and we’ve often chatted about whether I might end up joining them on the label someday. The opening song (There Can Be Only One) from the band mini album appeared on that split in acoustic form, so I’m glad to have it kick off the new release as a link back to the fun we had touring together. I’m excited to be joining a roster with so many other acts that I’ve been both a huge fan of, and great friends with, over the years, especially as the label celebrates its 10th anniversary.”