Memory Is a Powerful Act of Resistance on Patrick Shiroishi’s Latest Album, Forgetting is Violent

Patrick Shiroishi. Photo by Jordan Reyes.

Patrick Shiroishi is a name you might not recognize at first, but the work of the Los Angeles based multi-instrumentalist and composer is omnipresent throughout the industry. Spanning a wide array of genres, he’s worked with The Armed, Chelsea Wolfe, Claire Rousay and Xiu Xiu. Now on his fourth solo release, Shiroishi is exploring systematic oppression and its persistence over time on his latest record Forgetting is Violent.  

Shiroishi is an artist rooted in personal reflection and musical exploration. His work has been a “very inward reflection and it’s been a vehicle to explore the stuff I’m interested in at the time,” he says. He isn’t chasing perfection, Shiroishi finds himself looking back at his work as a snapshot of time. His commitment to self-expression is evident throughout his work, as Shiroshi embraces imperfection and the rawness of live performance. “Robots can do perfect things, right? And that at the end of the day, that shit is not interesting. I think sometimes it’s hard because that shit is ingrained, I’ll listen to music that I’ve done like, ‘oh, you know, that’s a goof. I wish I could fix that,’ but at the end of the day, I think I’d rather have that in there than not.”

Forgetting Is Violent.

Shiroishi’s primary instrument is a saxophone, which might be unexpected for a frontman, but he found himself naturally inclined towards the instrument’s timber. On his record, I was too young to hear the silence (2023), Shiroishi explored the relationship between his saxophone and an abandoned garage with reverb. On Hidemi (2021), he recorded and layered the sax to create a drone. “I was really into that kind of illustration and timbre and dissension, before that was saxophone through pedals. I think at the core of it, it’s just how are the saxophone and these tools going to help me express what I want to express,” says Shiroishi.

His upcoming record, Forgetting is Violent, even from just the title is a call to action: To remember. It’s a powerful exploration of memory, family history, and a search for authenticity through music. Reflecting on his own family history, he says “during this time where it's so chaotic and grim, there are a lot of things that led us here... [history] just repeats, right? And a lot of this shit that's happening, I feel like it is just like a repetition of what happened 50 years ago, maybe 100 years ago.” 

Forgetting is Violent is a sonic experience divided across two suites. Moving away from the micro-explorations in his past work, the first suite Shiroshi describes is “ a macro observation and look at the kinds of injustice and racism towards people of colour as a whole.” In the opening notes of “To protect our family names,” a haunting loop of a Hiroshima survivor’s testimony is layered to create a sense of uneasiness. “I really like that recording because you can hear the emotion through her voice. I love that at all of our cores, it doesn't matter what language we speak, you can hear when someone is in pain,” says Shiroishi. 

The first three tracks constitute the first suite and are a journey meant to be taken at once, when listening to the album there is not a single point where the listener isn’t fully engaged in the drone of his work. The lead single follows the first suite. Titled “There is no moment in my life in which this is not happening,” the song acts like a powerful stand-alone in the album as the intermission featuring otay::oni. The title conveys a strong message, it’s an introspection to how racism persists over time. It prepares you for the remainder of the album, where the second suite acts as an homage to a family member Shiroishi lost. It explores themes of remembrance, grief, and the importance of honoring those who have come before us. Shiroishi emphasizes the significance of memory and ancestry, “I think we are a sum of all of our ancestors and everything, trying to give remembrance to them is important.” 

Collaboration has always been at the forefront in “Forgetting is Violent.” Shiroshi notes, “I think I chose people who I respect highly and they have a sound of their own. And I think they all did such an incredible job adding their own personality. But also, I think the record sounds like me and with their help, it just kind of took it to the next level.”

Forgetting is Violent is a brilliant exploration of how holding memory is powerful and it’s an exciting portent about where Shiroishi’s discography is moving next.

Patrick Shiroishi’s album Forgetting is Violent is out today.