“When I met Bruce for the first time (I had known Paul since way back), we were all renting a very humble rehearsal space in Los Angeles at the same time,” recalls guitarist/vocalist Daniel Ash about the genesis of Ashes And Diamonds, the new band he formed with Bruce Smith (drums, programming, background vocals) and Paul Spencer Denman (bass). “Paul and I had been already discussing working together, but it was Paul’s wife Kim who suggested Bruce for drum duties. It all started with the standard, ‘Hi, I’m Bruce / Hi, I’m Daniel’. About an hour later, the three of us were making a noise putting something together.”
With each of these storied musician’s experiences in vastly impressive histories (Daniel from Bauhaus/Tones On Tail/Love and Rockets bringing his signature post-punk, glam and experimental style; Paul from Sade/Sweetback delivering smooth, rhythmic low-end that anchors the band’s cinematic feel; Bruce from Public Image Ltd./The Pop Group adding textured percussion and atmospheric electronics, balancing the band’s classic roots with an experimental edge), Ashes And Diamonds launches their new outfit with their powerful debut single “On A Rocka” which is released today, August 14, 2025 via Cleopatra Records. The accompanying video for the song which Brooklyn Vegan calls “a glammy stomper that revels in its simplicity with a killer signature riff from Ash” was directed by Jake Scott, son of acclaimed film director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) and director of music videos by Oasis, U2, Radiohead, The Rolling Stones, among others.
Taken from their upcoming album, Ashes And Diamonds Are Forever which will be available digitally and in stores on October 31, 2025, “On A Rocka” is gritty rock and roll with a pulse set firmly in the late ‘50s but with a modern rock twist. Chugging along with a series of repeated stabbing, staccato guitar chords a la Daniel, the propulsive track is launched forward through Bruce’s steady rock-solid beat while Paul holds it precariously together with an embracing melodic bassline.
“We wanted to start with something hard and fast for major impact regarding the first single,” says Daniel. Adds Bruce, “It’s a killer piece of music. Super fresh, it doesn’t sound like anyone else. What else can you say?”
While their originating bands seem miles apart genre-wise, their singular focus is creating songs that are tenaciously infectious, adhering to the brain like taffy to teeth, and musically adept and highly skilled. Beginning pre-Covid and developed since then, …Are Forever is an album carefully built and heavily curated. “The first few songs we wrote in the studio together, but then Covid landed, so several songs were written long distance,” explains Bruce about the songs that took a few years to complete. Eventually split by geography when Paul departed Los Angeles for the U.K. and Bruce for Vermont during lockdown, writing for the album was completed virtually with each band member emailing their ideas to each other.
Further explains Paul, “We taped what we had done in LA in the early days, and then went away with it. Bruce put some beats down, I played bass, and we sent what we had done to Daniel.” Meanwhile, Daniel adds, “I use newspaper headlines as a starting point for my lyrics, so by the end of the first day, there were clippings all over the floor… and the rest is history.”
Eventually, the three rejoined in-person to record the album in Los Angeles. Holed up for ten days with engineer Robert Adam Stevenson (Queens of the Stone Age, Jane’s Addiction, The Kills), they recorded and mixed 12 songs, banging it old school. What they ended up with is a chef-d’oeuvre, each song bubbling with potent anticipation and erupting with adrenaline, fortified by each band member’s notable histories.
“For me, it’s been one of the most fulfilling recordings I’ve ever been involved in… and I’ve made a lot,” says Bruce. “The songs are realized, the production is dope with no tracks you wanna skip over.”
“I am incredibly proud of what we have done,” continues Paul. “When we first got together, we didn’t know if it was going to work out and we had to see if things gelled, but working together was a breeze! I’m a big fan of Bruce and Daniel. They are both exceptional musicians but in a rather non-musical way. They always play things that surprise me and I find that exciting.”
“It took seven years instead of seven months to finish,” reflects Daniel about the lengthy gestation of this band all three are extremely proud of. Like the time it takes for coal to turn to crystalize, …Are Forever may have taken a while to develop, but finding a diamond amongst ashes is a great find indeed.
The single “On A Rocka” is available through DSPs today. The album Ashes And Diamond Are Forever will be released via Cleopatra Records on October 31, 2025 and was produced by Ashes And Diamonds with some co-production with James Salter and Joe Dexter. It was mixed, engineered with additional production by Robert Adam Stevenson.
Ashes And Diamond is Daniel Ash (guitars/vocals/), Bruce Smith (drums, programming, background vocals) and Paul Spencer Denman (bass).
Tracklisting
- Hollywood
- Teenage Robots
- On A Rocka
- ON
- Boy Or Girl
- The A Listers
- Plastic Fantastic
- Ice Queen
- Setting Yourself Up For Love
- Alien Love
- Champagne Charlie
- 2020
