PINES is the new project from Detroit-born artist Josh Hight, now based in Lewes, East Sussex. A professional photographer and director, Hight’s creative work lives at the intersection of image, sound, and emotion. He was a member of early 2000s post-punk outfit The Detachment Kit, and later released music under the solo moniker Irons, developing a voice that is raw, cinematic, and steeped in atmosphere.
His debut EP as PINES, In His Wake, is a four-song collection shaped by grief, memory, and myth. It’s intimate and expansive, fusing the weight of lived experience with a sense of mysticism and emotional pull.
The title track, “In His Wake,” is a reflection on being the only surviving child in a family touched by loss—haunted by absence but also frustrated by the dullness and complacency of adulthood. “Fifteen” explores a formative relationship marked by imbalance, looking back on it through the lens of maturity, with all its contradictions intact. “Uriel” is a ritual invocation—part hymn, part apocalyptic prayer—calling to the archangel in a time of digital saturation, collapse, and the possibility of transcendence.
Hight met producer Richard Norris at a Stone Club event in London, where they discovered they lived minutes from each other in Lewes. What began as a collaboration on film soundtracks soon evolved into a deeper creative partnership. The EP was recorded at Norris’ Metal Box Studios in Lewes.
Norris—whose first production was Jack the Tab with Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV—brings decades of sonic exploration to the project. His past work includes collaborations with Sun Ra, Joe Strummer, Robert Fripp, Dave Ball (as The Grid), and Erol Alkan (as Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve). On In His Wake, he draws from shoegaze, ambient, and slow-burn Americana to create a dense, immersive sound world.
The EP features contributions from Andy Bell (Ride, Oasis), Emmett Kelly (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, The Cairo Gang, The Hard Quartet)—a close friend of Hight’s—on guitar and bass, and Dottie Cochram of Deary on vocals.
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contact: josh@joshhight.com
