Photo courtesy of label
The desert has two faces. For some, it represents freedom from the shackles of society; a Burning Man-esque utopia where one can stage a naked opera, or spend what would otherwise be a work day riding shotgun on a Skrillex-soundtracked art car. But these barren, sand-swathed landscapes can also be a setting for despair and isolation.For his new album, London producer Broken English Club, aka Oliver Ho, took his creative cues from the latter. Due out June 15 on Ron Morelli's L.I.E.S. imprint, The English Beach was inspired by the English coastal town of Dungeness, known also as "Britain's only desert." A mere 12 square miles in size, the area's covered in shingle beaches, with a nuclear power station overlooking its largely abandoned buildings.According to a press release, Ho made the record while staying in a converted fog signal building on the shore. As a result, the LP's dozen tracks emit arid, decaying sounds left to bake under the unforgiving sun. Album opener "Stray Dog" welcomes listeners to The English Beach's desolate world: its unsettling drone, thick and looming like a sandstorm, falls in and out of focus beneath a man's forewarning monologue, and the sound of dogs barking.Listen to it below and pre-order The English Beach here.