Forgetting is Violent, Patrick Shiroishi’s latest solo album, confronts racism, both historical and ongoing, with the urgency it demands.
For the first time, Shiroishi is joined by a formidable supporting cast that reads like a reads like a roll call of heavy music luminaries. Aaron Turner (SUMAC, ISIS), Gemma Thompson (Savages), Faith Coloccia (Mamiffer), otay::onii (Elizabeth Colour Wheel), and Mat Ball (BIG|BRAVE), all contribute to the new album.
Shiroishi’s discography is vast and eclectic, featuring collaborations with Chelsea Wolfe, Algiers, Xiu Xiu, Dirty Projectors, Che Chen, claire rousay, and many others, so the artist is no stranger to weaving his creativity into a collective.
On the record, Turner’s massive guitar drives the opening three tracks, while Thompson joins on Mountains That Take Wing. Their contributions coil around Shiroishi’s saxophone in a way that’s at once dissonant and magnetic, creating an experimental soundscape that feels raucous and unsettling.
ZR