A Dirty Dozen with JOSH HIGHT from PINES – September 2025

According to a recent press release: “In His Wake, the debut release from PINES, a new project from Detroit-born artist Josh Hight, is being released via Semaphore Records on 10” LP vinyl, digital download and streaming services. Hight is a former member of early 2000s post-punk outfit The Detachment Kit and solo artist under the name Irons. The EP was recorded in East Sussex produced by Richard Norris (The Grid). In His Wake was shaped by grief, disillusionment, and a search for something beyond the visible world. The songs here are intimate and expansive, fusing the weight of lived experience with a sense of mysticism and emotional pull. This is music made from memory, distance, and quiet intensity, possessing a rich sonic depth, blending shoegaze, slow-burn Americana, and dreamlike psychedelia. A professional photographer and director, Hight’s creative work lives at the intersection of image, sound, and emotion. His musical vision is is raw, cinematic, and steeped in atmosphere. Josh 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.” We get Josh to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The songs are very multi-layered. There are micro-melodies you might not catch right away, and a thread running through all four tracks with water, movement, the push and pull of escape and endurance.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I grew up surrounded by music in Detroit. Singing along with records at home was when I first felt it.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

As a teenager I saw The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Morrissey all in the same year. Being in those huge crowds, hearing that music live for the first time, it shaped everything.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Kevin Shields or Liz Fraser. They both embody a kind of sonic magic that’s impossible to replicate.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

Walking the Downs with my dog Bodhi. It clears my head and resets everything.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Cinematic, emotional, textured, caught between dream and memory. People love comparisons, but I try not to chase them.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

The band is really just me, so I do the cooking and the drinking. And no acoustic sing-alongs, I have a healthy fear of those.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Siouxsie from Siouxsie and the Banshees. I once tapped her on the shoulder backstage at a Yoko Ono concert, blurted out “I love you,” and then walked away. She was gracious, but I’ll never forget it.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part is suspending time, being in the flow, creating something that feels bigger than you. If not music or photography, I’d probably end up in the garden.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I wish people asked more about failure, it’s where the good stuff starts. I’m tired of “what genre are you?” It never quite fits.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I try not to look back. At one point I regretted not moving to New York with my old band, but if I had, I might never have ended up in London, which changed everything for me.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

To be in the Motown studios in Detroit during those sessions. Hearing those voices in the room, so many single takes, pure magic.

JOSH HIGHT LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

INSTAGRAM

Category: Interviews