In 2023, Bauhaus' Daniel Ash told us about his supergroup Ashes And Diamonds with Bruce Smith (Public Image Ltd., the Pop Group) and Paul Spencer Denman (Sade, Sweetback), and today it's finally here. The band is announcing their debut album Ashes And Diamonds Are Forever, and their debut single "On A Rocka" is out now.
“We wanted to start with something hard and fast for major impact regarding the first single,” Ash says of the tune. Smith adds, “It’s a killer piece of music. Super fresh, it doesn’t sound like anyone else. What else can you say?”
As for the origin story of the band, Ash explains:
When I met Bruce for the first time (I had known Paul since way back), we were all renting a very humble rehearsal space in Los Angeles at the same time. Paul and I had been already discussing working together, but it was Paul’s wife Kim who suggested Bruce for drum duties. It all started with the standard, "Hi, I’m Bruce / Hi, I’m Daniel." About an hour later, the three of us were making a noise putting something together.
This all happened pre-COVID, which delayed the process quite a bit. “It took seven years instead of seven months to finish,” Ash says of the record. The record is self-produced with additional production from James Salter and Joe Dexter. Watch the Jake Scott-directed music video for "On A Rocka" below.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Xr1bqp6ewmU=
TRACKLIST:
01 "Hollywood"
02 "Teenage Robots"
03 "On A Rocka"
04 "ON"
05 "Boy Or Girl"
06 "The A Listers"
07 "Plastic Fantastic"
08 "Ice Queen"
09 "Setting Yourself Up For Love"
10 "Alien Love"
11 "Champagne Charlie"
12 "2020"
Ashes And Diamonds Are Forever is out 10/31 via Cleopatra.
