Mannequin Records: Desolation Colony – Self-titled
Desolation Colony materialized in the summer of 2019 in the brutal New Orleans heat.
While on tour in Europe with Azar Swan, Joshua Strachan became equally inspired by the writing of Jeff VanderMeer and the spaces and sound systems of the venues Azar Swan was playing.
After sketching several pieces of music, he invited fellow Wierd Records alum Justin Vial (Kindest Lines) to contribute additional elements, and enlisted longtime collaborator Kris Lapke (Alberich, Prurient) to mix.
The project name is taken from one of the most well-known passages in the novel “Annihilation,” a work which Strachan describes as “deeply impactful in terms of how it casts certain kinds of ecological philosophy in poetic terms.”
Glad to cite the apocalyptic environmental death disco of early Skinny Puppy as an influence, Strachan also points to various power electronics and black metal artists as inspirations.
“There’s this thread in ‘Annihilation’ about sort of letting go of the human as the human has been conceived thus far, and black metal is really the music that I think has most dwelled on that idea, so it seemed an appropriate ingredient to include. But it’s also supposed to sound massive in clubs.”