A S H E N S P I R E

For the reading pleasure of English-speaking co-conspirators. 

“We’ve barely even scratched the surface…”

Friends, comrades, listeners of all origins and none,

Today marks one year and one day since the release of our debut album, Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary. It has been a thrilling year, with a few performances and exciting opportunities to work with new musicians, but most profoundly exhilarating because of the opportunity we have had to engage in discussions with listeners over the subject matter of the album. As we reflect over these conversations, I thought it appropriate to share some of these thoughts we have had on each of the different pieces contained within, perhaps some background thoughts into the imagery, and even a bit of self-indulgent storytelling. Some elements are blatant; others remain deliberately abstract or obtuse, hopefully provoking questions, or perhaps just alienating. At any rate, it is my wish that now, having put the album and its lyrics directly in the firing line of Mr Joseph Public himself, to explore these themes over the course of a number of small essays, to be published here and elsewhere. I will do my best to publish these as frequently as possible; of course, one’s life has a horrible habit of getting in the way, but still there remains a certain gratification in returning to Speak Not… and perhaps provoking even further, increasingly insightful words from your good selves. For this reason, it seems a more than worthy task.

To start though? Well, where better to start than at the beginning? Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary is an album whose various oddnesses are immediately framed, for better or for worse, in the context of questions, the first of course being “what is it that I’m not supposed to speak about?” It is an album that is accessed only through reflection on a number of different such questions; if one does not wish to ask the questions, the album is merely one more piece of perhaps a little unusual black metal, odd vocals, nice violin, don’t know what he’s on about but it sounds like he’d be great at scrabble, etc. etc. For this reason, we subtitle the album with our statement of intent:

“A series of observations on the less antiquarian, and perhaps incriminating aspects of Scottish, and indeed British Imperial history, in order to evoke certain understandings as to why it is that we sit here atop a mountain of bone while others drown in their own filth in gutters that we dredged.”

Cover text of Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary, Ashenspire

The albums purpose is to evoke understandings. It is ambitious, but it is not outwith the scope of music to change somebody’s view on the world – I’m certain we can all think of an album that had a lasting impact on us, in a grand or perhaps a minor way. If this album has made an impact on any one person, to perhaps help them to see a new perspective, or get them reading, developing their existing point of view, then it has done its job.

But what is the damn album about? Well, it’s seven different looks at British imperialism, and how it has affected the world at home and abroad. Both its lyrical and aural imagery wanders predominantly between morose and caustic, and deliberately so; it is not a pleasant topic, not particularly welcome at the lunch table, perhaps best… forgotten?

This is a point on which I disagree.

Much of our view of the world in Britain is framed in the context of our colonial, imperial history. The way we think of people from other countries, the way we think of far-off cultures, our sense of entitlement to exemption from laws and rules, our jingoistic desire to rid ourselves of the “shackles” of Europe, while quite happy to demand money from it and exploit its cheap labour. I don’t think it is unfair to say that for such a small island, we have an incredible superiority complex. “Britannia rules the waves”, claims an old anthem, seas thousands of miles from our island that we ruled through fear and oppression and death. “Britons never ever shall be slaves”, it chimes, an anthem so dreadfully appropriate for a nation that eagerly built its wealth on slave labour and the exploitation of natural resources with not a moment’s heed for the people whose land we were bleeding. We are rich because they are poor.

Barely any of this is considered important to educate us upon. It is… embarrassing. Many of us will have never encountered the empire in school, and beyond references in Pirates of the Caribbean, and Carry On Up the Khyber there is little reason beyond casual interest to encounter it in our later lives. It’s sometimes like it never happened, to us. We just happen to be somehow much better off than vast swathes of the world. We send out pithy apologies for the slave trade, we watch our manners around foreigners, we cry at films of poor children starving in Africa, and say “what a shame”. We are, occasionally, encouraged by celebrities to give some of our wealth to a charity out of pity. What we are rarely, if ever, forced to confront is that an awful lot of the hardship and suffering that continues in the world today is our fault.

So speak not. Be comfortable. Find ways to dull the possibility that our consumption is what keeps these barriers in place. Question nothing. Lament for the days of Britain’s Greatness. Blame the poor. Blame the disabled. Blame gay people, transgender people, the sick, the homeless, women, Muslims, Jews, the Polish, America, China, Europe, blame anyone you please for suffering so long as you never have to think it might be something to do with you and your own “Great” country.

Speak Not, Child. There’s an art to it.

This is not to say that I think this album is a solution (that would be truly absurd), nor even that any of us are exempt from the prejudices of the environment that made us. We are just as guilty of benefiting from colonial attitudes as anybody else. But in this album, there is a question worth reflecting on – what am I going to do about it? We make a point of looking back on our country’s history, dusting off the haze of nationalistic romanticism and think: what do we do now?

It is also worth asking the question – why make an album about this? Why bother writing music instead of donating that money? In short, the answer is because making music is really damn fun. We are musicians, and we were always going to make an album, regardless of what it was about. And I believe that if you are going to create something, a part of you is going to be added to it; so why not make that an important part? Why not say something worth saying? To put one’s time, money and talents towards something worthwhile is something I greatly respect, and try my utmost to emulate. Furthermore, nobody in a right wing black metal band is ever asked why they make music rather than spending their time and resources on working towards the white ethnostate they clearly crave so dearly. There is a dearth of explicitly left-wing, progressive extreme metal, compared to the right-wing contingent, which I would see rectified. Let’s see more Napalm Deaths, more Bleed the Pigs’s, more art that looks out rather than in, more people creating art that recognises the inequalities in the world and seeks to address them. Here I must put props to our friends in Dawn Ray’d for their hard anti-fascist stance, and commend them for their success in recent months. It is a message that resonates with people, which is a true cause for encouragement.

So there we have it. Some thoughts on the album as a whole, and its message. I’m sure it is flawed, but so am I. I hope you have enjoyed reading; if so, please keep an eye out for some thoughts on Restless Giants, as we make our way through the album, song by song. Many thanks, and as ever, our most humble appreciation for your time.

Beloved listeners of every species,

We are delighted to announce that we will be returning to the stage to play a soiree of the most astounding quality; we can be found supporting the bizarre talents of our friends in Vulture Industries, Code, and talanas this bleak November. Details are to be found above.

Get involved for opium-fueled oddness and sartorial excellence.

Beloved co-conspirators,

Please find linked a complete broadcast of Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary. It is available to purchase at this very time.

It is our greatest pleasure and privilege to disclose the album in its full and unabridged form. Contained within are seven critical observations on our own imperial history, presented in stark contrast to our tendency to sanitise our history to justify our present. Each draws crucial parallels with modernity, and implores the listener to consider their own position of privilege in an unjust world. With the rise of right-wing populism, scapegoating and bigotry across the globe, Speak Not… comes at a time when it has never been so relevant.

"We've barely even scratched the surface..."

Lyrics for Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary are as follows:The vanity of the opportunist, and narcissism on an imperial scale, breeding spite and despotic aches, finding form in entitlement. To steep in bloody euphoria the despicable canvas, bleached whiter than death. 

Solitary molecules wander from receptor to receptor, Come, spiteful opiate! Invoking bliss as brittle as rapture; like the harlequin balanced between his stilts and the noose. 

The sovereign tongue contorts and molests; its dance as meretricious as the poppy! A foul lecher drooling bile on these windows! On this pristine filth. 

We've made our bed, and lord knows, we won't be telling the truth in it. A cobblestone chorus; with all the tenacity of oxygen bent double on phosphorus. The tearing of the robe, as the curtains in the temple. The stretching of the rope, as a sordid fundamental. 

“I let the flesh persist  such that, in transient  and passing stupor, I exist.” Speak not, child. Speak not. There’s an art to it.

A prickling of every pore, each follicle an antenna, crackling static over cold skin, vasoconstriction on every frequently flung out frequency, individuals  all lined up in sequence, elated and unabated, pulse and pulse again! Ah! To plaster the walls with the bone dust, and to smear over the concrete with bloody viscosity…  

All born in the gutter to gutter-borne orphans. All limbs and no legacy; All in this together? Hah! I’ll believe it, I’ll let it grow like plaque - when my head zips up at the back. Down from the ballpoint comes a great new divide. Sintering these crystallites, we’re less catalyst and more cattle-eyes; Two-faced phases falling, failing, flailing against the undertow, in the pretence that they’re not just atoms in the cycle of reactant flow. 

And, as many are the flaxen locks rudely torn from the heads of children, many are the pawns thrown without ceremony from this mortal board. The Queen moves unperturbed, but there’s a wanton amoral grip about her throat; abhorrent and abundant, resplendent on the velvet. 

Beloved co-conspirators,

Please be made aware that the first song (and, ironically, the 7th and final song) from our new album is available for your listening pleasure, courtesy of, and including some very kind words from the lovely people at Transcending Obscurity.

The titular track, Veil VII, "Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary", is a summation of what the album is about, but crucially looks at the arrogance and moral vacuity of the British empire in pursuit of expansion and economic domination. Particularly highlighted, and referenced in the title, are the first and second Opium wars that were waged against China.

We hope it brings you both ecstasy and reflection.

Beloved co-conspirators,

We are delighted to reveal the release dates, tracklisting, and cover artwork (hand-painted by the incredibly talented Glaswegian artist Ryan Mutter - a link to his other work can be found below) of our debut album, Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary. It was recorded and mixed my Mr Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studios, and mastered by Mr Brad Boatright at AUDIOSIEGE. It features the immense Piano, Organ and Synth talents of our close friend and collaborator Mr Scott MacLean of Falloch, and comes in at just over 59 minutes. Tracklisting is as follows:

I. Restless Giants II. The Wretched Mills III. Mariners at Perdition's Lighthouse IV. Grievous Bodily Harmonies V. A Beggar's Belief VI. Fever Sheds VII. Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary

The album will be released by Code666/Aural Music in Europe on the 20th of January, Asia on the 10th of February and North America on the 10th of March, 2017.

For those of you interested, the text on the cover reads as follows:

"A series of observations on the less antiquarian, and perhaps incriminating aspects of Scottish, and indeed British Imperial history, in order to evoke certain understandings as to why it is that we sit here in comfort atop a mountain of bone while others drown in their own filth in gutters that we dredged."

We look forward to sharing further insight (and even some music) with you in the very near future.

The Esteemed Gentlemen of the Ashenspire Phonograph Orchestra, purveyors of sordid sounds and burdensome broadcasts, 2016.

L-R: Mr Alasdair Dunn, Mr Fraser Gordon, Mr James Johnson, Mr Petri Simonen.

Your Humble Musicians, Messrs. Dunn, Gordon, Johnson, Simonen, 2016

Dearest co-conspirators,

It dawns on us that it was one year ago to the day that we unveiled our first broadcast. In that time we have performed twice (both memorable and exhilarating experiences) and recorded and completed an album that has been many years in the making. We thought it appropriate to warn you that details thereof are finally forthcoming.

We are ecstatic to announce that we will be releasing it in March, the year of our lord Two Thousand and Seventeen. Code666 and Aural Music have been kind enough to facilitate the irksome noise and will be presenting it in full phonographic glory.

Oh, and one more thing. The title of our album is SPEAK NOT OF THE LAUDANUM QUANDARY, a phrase a few eagle-eyed individuals will have spotted on lampposts, water closets and the walls of dingy basements through out the UK.

What does it mean? All shall be revealed, dear friends, in time...

We are privileged to be able to unveil the new ambigrammatic Ashenspire logo, brought into being by the remarkably talented hands of our friend and cohort, Mr Raoul Mazzero, at View From The Coffin. His skill is unmatched, and we strongly recommend that you take the time to investigate his other works.

Further developments are imminent. Watch this space.

Ashenspire - Glasgow, 16/10/15