Shane Aspegren // Emblems of Transmuting Heat
Digital LP + Artist Book
Composed, played, recorded and mixed by Shane Aspegren Mastered by Antony Ryan
Release Date: January 31, 2025 Label: ONDO
Catalog Number: ONDO001 UPC: 859795882236
Track Listing
1. Two of Wands
2. One Can Never Enter the Same Body Twice 3. Unshaping
4. Deep Delta
5. Loose Points (feat. Nicolas Laureau)
6. Serious Thermal Waters
7. New Moon in Po Wah Yuen
Book Details:
8.5” x 5.5” (21.59 cm x 13.97cm)
44 pages + soft cover (perfect bound on uncoated paper) Order info: https://shaneaspegren.bandcamp.com
Though he has an extensive history playing (drums/synths/machines/vx) with electronic, indie, & experimental music projects, in the past decade Shane Aspegren has directed his focus more towards interdisciplinary projects within the contemporary art, experimental theatre, film, and movement scenes. In that time, Aspegren has also taken a deep plunge into working with the physical and healing aspects of sound, and these latter influences take center-stage in this new album, Emblems of Transmuting Heat. Certain tracks on Emblems are reshaped iterations from Aspegren’s installations or artworks, while others integrate edits of longer-form meditative experiments and take their shape through a much more free-tempo, ambient-leaning journey. His recent EP Describing The Thing hinted at these same elements of trance-like induction through steady BPMs and repetition, feeling like a closer connection to his former project The Berg Sans Nipple (the bizarrely-named/critically-acclaimed duo from 2001 to 2012 with Lori Sean Berg, a current member of Zombie Zombie.) On the other hand, Emblems of Transmuting Heat is a hypnagogic journey through subtle synthesis, drone, and texture — a delicate juxtaposition of improvisation, composition, and collage within an intentionally-crafted album structure.
Emblems of Transmuting Heat is co-released on January 31, 2025, along with a 44 page artist book of the same name. Analogous to the overall composition of the album, the book takes its form through newly selected images, as well as reiterated edits / juxtapositions of photos, video stills, and various images from a handful of Aspegren’s artworks. The outcome is a visual companion that stands on its own, while also adding a new layer and depth to the the seven pieces of music found on the album. Also similar to the album, the book unintentionally started taking shape in his previous home of Hong Kong, and was finally brought to fruition in Los Angeles, where he currently lives.
The book includes a digital download code for the album and can be ordered via https://shaneaspegren.bandcamp.com