Forest Swords - Press Photo 2014

Ambitious UK producer Matthew Barnes aka FOREST SWORDS returns with his first new music in almost three years. Shrine, the follow-up to 2013’s Engravings album is not a usual album but comes with an entire dance piece he devised. The piece was commissioned by arts organization Metal and is presented by Boiler Room, is performed by Owen Ridley-Demonick and choreographed by Carmel Koster.

According to the press release most of the score for Shrine is made up of sounds from the human body. Barnes about the creative process in a statement:

‘For me, the past six months has involved watching how bodies can fail and fix. I became acutely aware of the power of forcing ourselves to look at its vulnerabilities and how we connect with them. In an age when human bodies are still regularly devalued, it feels cathartic to embrace the workings and design of them, even if it makes us uncomfortable and sometimes shameful. Being able to explore that has been enlightening.’

You can still stream the performance via Boiler Room below and also listen and buy the haunting new FOREST SWORDS music right here via Bandcamp.


FOREST SWORDS