Ministry of Interior Spaces, the ambient electronic project of Brighton musician James Joshua Li, documents geographical spaces through sound. Their first full-length record, Dying Towns of the Midwest, encapsulated the bleak winter landscapes of West Michigan. In their sophomore effort this attention is turned Westward. Following a magic-realist road trip across the American West, each track on Life, Death and the Perpetual Wound is named after a particular location.

“Hoyt Arboretum comes from an ill-advised trip to Portland I took after going cold turkey on anti-depressants. My head was full of electric shocks and I didn’t know anybody there, and it just wouldn’t stop raining. On the last morning I took the wrong bus and found myself lost in this beautiful ancient forest. When the clouds finally opened up I felt something close to a religious experience, and the withdrawal symptoms stopped soon after that.” – James Joshua Li

Hoyt Arboretum OR’s music video, by Indiana filmmaker Andrew Oda, utilizes a special lens-less filming technique. Inspired by close-eyed visuals and the track’s swirling hypnotic layers, the video paints a picture of liminal ambiguity.

Life, Death and the Perpetual Wound, the second album by Ministry of Interior Spaces, is out May 9. You can preorder it HERE.

Follow Ministry of Interior Space on Facebook and Spotify.