Anarchism and the Aesthetics of Alienation & Ambiguity in Ambient-Shoegaze

This audio-paper aims to investigate the politics of aesthetics from an anarchist perspective, exploring whether radical sonic aesthetics in ‘Ambient-Shoegaze’ are effective in communicating anarchist theory through ambiguity identified in the combined analysis of paradoxes present in the aesthetics of Anarcho-Punk (in its perceived militancy and ‘violence’) and Ambient music (as a ‘pacifist’ commodity) from the frame of the work of David Graeber, Jaques Ranciere, and the art collective Ultra-Red. This investigation began through the author’s participation as an audience member, as well as performer of ambient-shoegaze. Throughout the paper there will be audio examples in the form of music, field-recordings and archive material, played to explore the aesthetic ambiguity that arises from the identified paradoxical dichotomies within them and the language used to describe and define them, with the latter half containing an uninterrupted recording from a live performance by the author that is functionally used in the structure of the paper to present the audience with a source to question though its aesthetic implications.

 

Bio

Benjamin Thorn is an artist and designer whose artistic practice primarily involves the design and creation of virtual environments as an interface for software musical instruments.

Informed by anarchist thought, they utilise these tools in both gallery and performance contexts, exploring the aesthetics of alienation and obscurantism through sonic world building and fictioning.

Ben performances under the alias ‘my grey leaving’ have led to performances at venues across London (Corsica Studios, Avalon Cafe, Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes), and releases has been played across online radio stations (Refuge Worldwide, Noods Radio, AAJA).

 

Bibliography

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CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective (2022). Punk—Dangerous Utopia. CrimethInc. Accessed: 5 March 2025.

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Jewell, B. (2025). Ambient Music and the Climate Emergency. Itsfreezinginla.com. Accessed: 4 March 2025.

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Rancière, J. (2013). The Politics of Aesthetics. Bloomsbury Publishing.

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Sound samples

Poison Girls. (1979) Ideologically Unsound, Poison Girls. Accessed 25 February 2025.

Poison Girls. (1981) Persons Unknown, Poison Girls. Accessed: 25 February 2025.

Crass. (1986) Bloody Revolutions, Best Before 1984. Available at: Spotify (Accessed 2 March 2025).

my grey leaving. (2024) fields I, sustained/fields. Accessed: 5 March 2025.

my grey leaving. (2024) sustained III, sustained/fields. Accessed: 5 March 2025.

my grey leaving. (2024) cloud IV, clouds. Accessed: 5 March 2025.

1990: Chaos, Carnage & Bloodshed in Poll Tax Riots. Accessed: 2 March 2025.

The Day the Country Died: History of Anarcho Punk. Accessed: 2 March 2025.