Ministry of Interior Spaces, the ambient electronic project of Brighton musician James Joshua Li, documents geographical spaces through sound. Their first full-length record, Dying Towns of the Midwest, encapsulated the bleak winter landscapes of West Michigan. In their sophomore effort this attention is turned Westward. Following a magic-realist road trip across the American West, each track on Life, Death and the Perpetual Wound is named after a particular location.
“Hoyt Arboretum comes from an ill-advised trip to Portland I took after going cold turkey on anti-depressants. My head was full of electric shocks and I didn’t know anybody there, and it just wouldn’t stop raining. On the last morning I took the wrong bus and found myself lost in this beautiful ancient forest. When the clouds finally opened up I felt something close to a religious experience, and the withdrawal symptoms stopped soon after that.” – James Joshua Li
Hoyt Arboretum OR’s music video, by Indiana filmmaker Andrew Oda, utilizes a special lens-less filming technique. Inspired by close-eyed visuals and the track’s swirling hypnotic layers, the video paints a picture of liminal ambiguity.
Life, Death and the Perpetual Wound, the second album by Ministry of Interior Spaces, is out May 9. You can preorder it HERE.
