July 18, 2022 will see the release of Ashenspire‘s forthcoming album “Hostile Architecture.” For a preview, give a listen to the official lyric video for the track “The Law Of Asbestos” available for stream through the YouTube player below:
“Hostile Architecture” is a sonic exploration of the ways that subjects under late capitalism are constrained and set in motion via the various structures that uphold stratification and oppression in urban contexts. It is inspired by brutalist, postmodern and utilitarian architectural structures that are found throughout post-industrial cities, hauntological in nature, being designed to provide for the populace through affordable housing but ultimately cost-cutting exercises and unfit for purpose. The term hostile architecture refers to design elements in social spaces that deter the public from using the object for means unintended by the designer, e.g. anti-homeless spikes, which the album presents as emblematic of a foundational contempt for the poor and working class, an exemplification of a status quo fortified in concrete. The album invites the listener to explore the dissonance of these contradictions in their own circumstances and perhaps consider possibilities for a world beyond what Mark Fisher called “Capitalist Realism.”’
Pre-order the album on Bandcamp: https://ashenspire.bandcamp.com/album/hostile-architecture
Tracklist:
1. The Law of Asbestos 08:31
2. Béton Brut
3. Plattenbau Persephone Praxis
4. How the Mighty Have Vision
5. Tragic Heroin 03:15
6. Apathy as Arsenic Lethargy as Lead
7. Palimpsest
8. Cable Street Again
Performers:
Alasdair Dunn (Voice, Drums)
Fraser Gordon (Guitars, Voice)
Ben Brown (FALLOCH/BARSHASKETH, Bass)
James Johnson (Violin, Voice)
Matthew Johnson (Saxophone, Voice)
Scott McLean (FALLOCH, Rhodes, Prepared Piano)
Rylan Gleave (ALL MEN UNTO ME, T/B Voice)
Amaya López-Carromero (MAUD THE MOTH, S/A Voice)
Otrebor (BOTANIST, Hammered Dulcimer)