Forest Swords

Matthew Barnes, known by his stage name Forest Swords, is an English record producer, composer, DJ and artist.

Forest Swords
Forest Swords
Background information
Birth nameMatthew Barnes
OriginThe Wirral, England
GenresExperimental, electronic, dub
Occupation(s)Musician, record producer, composer, DJ
LabelsNinja Tune
Dense Truth
No Pain in Pop
Olde English Spelling Bee
Tri Angle
Websiteforestswords.co.uk

Artist career

Dagger Paths EP

Forest Swords's debut six track EP Dagger Paths was originally released in March 2010 before being reissued later that year with additional tracks. FACT Magazine's named it their album of the year,[1] received an 8.4 rating on music website Pitchfork[2] and was No. 48 on their 'Albums of the Year' list,[3] was rated 9/10 on music website Drowned in Sound,[4] called "one of 2010's finest underground records" by NME,[5] and was chosen a 'Hidden Gem of 2010' in The Guardian.[6]

Engravings LP

Debut album Engravings was released through Tri Angle Records on 26 August 2013. The critical response has been unanimously positive, with Pitchfork giving an 8.5 Best New Music review and Resident Advisor a 4.5/5 review.[7] Stereogum rated it at number 37 in their best albums of 2013 list,[8] Wire Magazine at number 35, Pitchfork at number 34,[9] Clash Magazine rated it at number 21,[10] Dummy Magazine at number 16,[11] and Tiny Mix Tapes at number 10.[12]

The video for Thor's Stone was directed by Dave Ma and was online in September 2013, featuring Spanish dancer Guzman Rosado.[13]

A video for The Weight Of Gold directed by French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied was posted online in February 2014, featuring dancer Billy Barry.[14]

A remix of Engravings lead track Thor's Stone by dub artist Lee Scratch Perry was posted online in November 2013.[15]

Compassion LP

The second Forest Swords album, Compassion, was released through Ninja Tune on 5 May 2017, with a video and streaming single release of lead track Arms Out and a set of worldwide festival and headline tour dates.[16] Previously the track The Highest Flood was released as a standalone digital single.[17]

Resident Advisor gave the album a 4.5/5 review, calling it "both sincere and sublime".[18] Fake DIY called it "heart-stopping and thoroughly arresting" in a 4/5 review.[19] DJ Mag gave it 4/5 and called it "a stunning vision, hypnotic". In an 8.5/10 review The 405 website calls it "a brilliant album – well worth the four year wait".[20] Q Magazine gave it a strong 4/5 review, and said it “unfolds like a journey through a bustling soundscape of found sounds, instrumental loops and post-dubstep production". The Loud & Quiet review stated the album is "arresting in its austerity" in an 8/10 review.[21] Pitchfork rated the album at 7.8; "more ambitious and varied while retaining the uncanniness he’s known for".[22] PopMatters gave it a score of 8, saying "A dazzling, evocative album that acts as the perfect soundtrack to the precarious times we live in".[23] AV Club called it "passionately realized" in an A- review.[24] Clash gave it an 8 out of 10 review, describing it as "wordless protest music that impresses with its sheer thematic ambition".[25] Exclaim awarded it 8/10, saying "the goosebumps will cover most of your body".[26] Sputnikmusic gave the album a 4.5 out of 5 'superb' rating, describing it as 'nothing short of breathtaking'.[27] Gigsoup praised Compassion's 'beautiful strings and rolling percussion' in an 86% review.[28] In an 8 out of 10 review Soundblab claimed Barnes has 'developed a whole new language/style that other electronic musicians should be eager to take note of'.[29] The Age rated Compassion 4.5 out of 5, calling it 'triumphant'.[30] It was album of the week on BBC 6Music and Bleep.[31]

A new single featuring two tracks from the Compassion album recording sessions - Congregate and Free - was released later that year, with all proceeds going to relief work in Mexico and Puerto Rico.[32]

DJ-Kicks compilation and mixes

Barnes has created mixes for Fact, Unsound Festival and Dazed, which featured exclusive remixes of tracks by Björk and Anohni.[33]

In 2018, Forest Swords curated and released a 27-track DJ-Kicks compilation through !K7 Records. The compilation which "draws a line between past inspirations and his current peers" and features one exclusive Forest Swords track called Crow, as well as songs from artists like Dead Can Dance, Orbital, Laurel Halo and Mira Calix. The album artwork was also designed by Forest Swords.[34]

Remixes and production

Forest Swords has created remixes for Björk, Anohni, These New Puritans, Wild Beasts and Gold Panda amongst others. In 2012, he co-produced and co-wrote the single Cold Nites for How To Dress Well, from the album Total Loss[35] and went on to produce Barbados rapper Haleek Maul's track Lobo.[36] Dyymond of Durham, a one-off collaborative project with Bavarian fine artist Otto Baerst, released a track on No Pain in Pop's vinyl compilation The Bedroom Club II.[37]

In April 2014, Forest Swords recorded a BBC Radio 1 live session at Maida Vale Studios for Benji B.[38]

Forest Swords co-produced the opening track on Ellie Goulding's 2020 album Brightest Blue, featuring vocalist Serpentwithfeet.

Wider critical response

In 2010, Pitchfork Media posted an article suggesting Barnes was part of a new generation of producer/composers, alongside James Blake, Mount Kimbie, Bon Iver, Burial and Four Tet.[39] A 2013 feature on The FADER website placed the Forest Swords project as a unique and contemporary strain of dub music, "worth endless listens, endless re-examinations, endless re-contextualizing", and stating it "exists in that sweet spot of musical influence between everything and nothing."[40]

Original composition and scoring work

In 2014 Barnes was commissioned to produce the trailer music for Ubisoft's video game title Assassin's Creed Rogue.[41]

In 2015 Barnes collaborated with Robert del Naja from Massive Attack and Young Fathers on the score for La Fête (est Finie), a short film about climate change.[42]

In 2016, Forest Swords released Shrine, the soundtrack for an original contemporary dance piece. The dance performance was streamed via Boiler Room and has toured European festivals such as ReWire in Den Hague.[43]

In 2019, it was announced that he had completed the soundtrack for documentary film Ghosts of Sugar Land, directed by Bassam Tariq. The film won Best Documentary Short award at Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for the 2020 Academy Awards shortlist in the Documentary Short category, and was subsequently bought by Netflix.[44][45]

Forest Swords composed an original soundtrack for The Machine Air film by director Liam Young, which was released in December 2019 through the Dense Truth label. The press release included with release calls the project ‘part art film, part performance piece’ and ’the first film to be both about and recorded by flying drones'.[46] The film was originally premiered at the BFI Imax in Waterloo, London for the BFI London Film Festival.[47]

In 2020, Barnes composed music for islands, a dance piece choreographed by Emma Portner and performed by members of the Norwegian National Ballet. It premiered at Oslo Opera House as part of the Norwegian National Ballet Festival.[48]

Artwork

Forest Swords is also a graphic designer, with work featured in Creative Review, Grafik, and Dazed & Confused.[49][50] He has mentioned in interviews that design and visual art are key influencers to his music.[51] A special edition of the Engravings album is available with an additional 20-page booklet of Barnes' original photography.[50] The cover artwork, designed by Barnes, was selected for Art Vinyl's 2013 Best Art Award,[52] and Pitchfork included it in their top 25 album covers of 2013.[53]

In 2011, at the Abandon Normal Devices festival, three new pieces, as part of a site-specific sound installation called 'Ground Rhythms',[54] were cut to 12" X-ray film and performed on turntables at an event in Liverpool.[55] The pieces were inspired by three architectural sites from Merseyside history which no longer exist, and the tracks on the brittle X-ray pressings were designed to be "played once only before degrading, never to be played again".[56] The final copy of the X-ray vinyl was sold in December 2013 on eBay, with all proceeds going to the Philippines Typhoon Appeal.[57] A second performance in the series took place at the AV Festival in Newcastle in 2012, inspired by demolished buildings in the north east.[58]

In 2019, the music video for Crow was included at an exhibition event at Vienna's Museum of Modern Art, mumok.

Discography
Studio albums
  • Engravings (Tri Angle Records, 2013)
  • Compassion (Ninja Tune under exclusive license from Dense Truth, 2017)
Original scoring
  • Shrine: Original Dance Score (Dense Truth, 2016)
  • The Machine Air: Original Score (Dense Truth, 2019)
EPs
  • Fjree Feather (self-released, 2009, re-issue on No Pain in Pop in 2011)
  • Dagger Paths (Olde English Spelling Bee, 2010, expanded re-issued on No Pain in Pop)
Singles
  • Rattling Cage (No Pain in Pop, 2010)
  • Congregate/Free (Ninja Tune under exclusive license from Dense Truth, 2017)
Curated compilations
  • Forest Swords - DJ-Kicks (DJ Kicks, 2018)

References
  1. "The 40 Best Albums of 2010 – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". Factmag.com. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  2. "Forest Swords: Dagger Paths [Expanded Edition] | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  3. "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2010 | Features". Pitchfork. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  4. Gibb, Rory (1 December 2010). "Album Review: Forest Swords – Dagger Paths / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  5. "Dagger Paths by Forest Swords reviews". Any Decent Music. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  6. "Hidden gems of 2010: the pop, world and jazz CDs you may have missed | Music | The Observer". Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  7. "Engravings by Forest Swords reviews". Any Decent Music. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  8. "The 50 Best Albums of 2013 Forest Swords – Engravings (Tri Angle) – Stereogum". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  9. "The Top 50 Albums of 2013". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  10. "Clash's Top Albums of 2013: 30–21 | Features | Clash Magazine". Clashmusic.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  11. Bulut, Selim (14 June 2013). "The 20 best albums of 2013 | Dummy". Dummymag.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  12. "2013: Favorite 50 Albums of 2013 | Staff Feature | Tiny Mix Tapes | Page 5". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  13. "Nowness". Nowness.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  14. "Nowness". Nowness.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  15. "Listen: Lee "Scratch" Perry Remixes Forest Swords' "Thor's Stone" | News". Pitchfork. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  16. "Forest Swords Announces New Album *Compassion*, Shares Video for New Track: Watch". Pitchfork.com. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  17. "Forest Swords returns with first new music in four years – hear 'The Highest Flood'". Factmag.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  18. "RA Reviews: Forest Swords - Compassion on Ninja Tune (Album)". Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  19. "Forest Swords - Compassion | DIY". Diymag.com. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
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  21. Reef Younis. "Forest Swords - Compassion - Album review". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
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  28. "Forest Swords 'Compassion' - GIGsoup". Gigsoupmusic.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  29. "Forest Swords - Compassion - Albums - Reviews". Soundblab.com. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  30. "Album reviews: Broads, Forest Swords, Strangers, Clowns and Colin Stetson". Theage.com.au. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  31. "Forest Swords - Compassion - Ninja Tune - Bleep - Your Source for Independent Music - Download MP3, WAV and FLAC, Buy Vinyl, CD and Merchandise". Bleep.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  32. "Forest Swords releases new single in aid of relief work in Mexico and Puerto Rico". 28 September 2017.
  33. Dazed (6 April 2017). "Forest Swords goes foraging in vast new Dazed Mix". Dazed. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  34. "FOREST SWORDS". DJ-Kicks. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  35. "How To Dress Well – Cold Nites | ABEANO | Page 5430". ABEANO. 29 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  36. "Stream: Haleek Maul, "Lobo" (Prod. by Forest Swords)". The Fader. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  37. "New Forest Swords project to feature on No Pain in Pop's Bedroom Club II compilation – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". Factmag.com. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  38. "BBC Radio 1 - Benji B, Forest Swords in session, Forest Swords in session". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  39. "Articles: New Vocabulary | Features". Pitchfork. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  40. "Freak Scene: Forest Swords and the Shifting Idea of Dub". The Fader. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  41. "Forest Swords soundtracks Assassin's Creed: Rogue trailer - FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". Factmag.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  42. "La Fête (est Finie) on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  43. "Forest Swords "Shrine" - BOILER ROOM". Boilerroom.tv. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  44. Kroll, Justin (14 February 2019). "Netflix Acquires Sundance Documentary 'Ghosts of Sugar Land' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  45. "92nd OSCARS SHORTLISTS". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  46. "The Machine Air (Original Film Soundtrack), by Forest Swords". Forestswords.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  47. "Buy cinema tickets for Liam Young & Forest Swords present In The Robot Skies | BFI London Film Festival 2016". Whatson.bfi.org. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  48. "A Night of Dance x 12". Operaen.no.
  49. "Forest Swords: "I nearly gave up making music"". SevenStreets.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
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  51. "Interview: Forest Swords". The Fader. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  52. "2013 Best Art Vinyl Nominations". Bestartvinyl.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  53. Renaud, Michael (5 December 2013). "The Top 25 Album Covers of 2013". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  54. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  56. Nathan Jones (26 November 2010). "Samizdat on Forest Swords' – Ground Rhythms *newMERCYcomission* Mercy : Design Agency, Literature & Arts Collective : London / Liverpool : UK". Mercyonline.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  57. "Forest Swords Auctions Special, One of a Kind Record For Charity | News | DIY". Thisisfakediy.co.uk. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  58. "Various Artists: The Time is Out of Joint ‹ Events & Exhibitions ‹ AV Festival 12: As Slow As Possible ‹ Programme ‹ AV Festival". Avfestival.co.uk. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
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