Forest Swords
Biography
The project of producer/graphic designer Matthew Barnes, Forest Swords fashions hip-hop-inspired beats with atmospheric samples and evocative guitar work into dreamlike tracks that evoke the windy coastal terrain of his home in England's Wirral Peninsula. As a teen, Barnes made four-track recordings, drawing inspiration not just from hip-hop and electronic music, but also from punk and pop groups such as Sugababes. He began issuing music as Forest Swords in 2009, including the self-released EP Fjree Feather and the cassette singles Miarches and Glory Gongs. The following year saw the release of the Rattling Cage single and the Dagger Paths EP, which received widespread critical acclaim and appeared on several 2010 best-of lists. Though the time seemed ripe for a Forest Swords full-length, Barnes' exacting standards and his tinnitus led him to work slowly on new music. During that time, he performed three specially commissioned pieces for the Abandon Normal Devices Festival in 2011, co-wrote and produced How to Dress Well's 2012 single Cold Nites, and continued working as a graphic designer. In June 2013, Forest Swords' first new music in nearly three years arrived in the form of "Thor's Stone," a more streamlined-sounding track that heralded the release of the debut album Engravings that August. . The project of producer/graphic designer Matthew Barnes, Forest Swords fashions hip-hop-inspired beats with atmospheric samples and evocative guitar work into dreamlike tracks that evoke the windy coastal terrain of his home in England's Wirral Peninsula. As a teen, Barnes made four-track recordings, drawing inspiration not just from hip-hop and electronic music, but also from punk and pop groups such as Sugababes. He began issuing music as Forest Swords in 2009, including the self-released EP Fjree Feather and the cassette singles Miarches and Glory Gongs. The following year saw the release of the Rattling Cage single and the Dagger Paths EP, which received widespread critical acclaim and appeared on several 2010 best-of lists. Though the time seemed ripe for a Forest Swords full-length, Barnes' exacting standards and his tinnitus led him to work slowly on new music. During that time, he performed three specially commissioned pieces for the Abandon Normal Devices Festival in 2011, co-wrote and produced How to Dress Well's 2012 single Cold Nites, and continued working as a graphic designer. In June 2013, Forest Swords' first new music in nearly three years arrived in the form of "Thor's Stone," a more streamlined-sounding track that heralded the release of the debut album Engravings that August.
Top Albums |
1. Engravings
| 2. Dagger Paths
| 3. Dagger Paths..
| 4. Fjree Feathe..
| 5. Rattling Cag..
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Top Songs |
| Name | Album | Time | Price | |
1. | Friend, You Will Never Learn | Engravings | 8:12 | $0.99 | |
2. | Plumes | Engravings | 3:39 | $0.99 | |
3. | Gathering | Engravings | 4:58 | $0.99 | |
4. | Anneka's Battle | Engravings | 4:09 | $0.99 | |
5. | Hour | Engravings | 5:01 | $0.99 | |
6. | Weight of Gold | Engravings | 5:04 | $0.99 | |
7. | Onward | Engravings | 5:40 | $0.99 | |
8. | Irby Tremor | Engravings | 4:11 | $0.99 | |
9. | Thor's Stone | Engravings | 4:31 | $0.99 | |
10. | Ljoss | Engravings | 5:18 | $0.99 | |
11. | Hjurt (Remastered) | Dagger Paths (Extended Vers.. | 4:10 | $0.99 | |
12. | Rattling Cage (Remastered) | Dagger Paths (Extended Vers.. | 3:49 | $0.99 | |
13. | Glory Gongs (Remastered) | Dagger Paths (Extended Vers.. | 6:24 | $0.99 | |
14. | Visits (Remastered) | Dagger Paths (Extended Vers.. | 3:30 | $0.99 | |
15. | Miarches (Remastered) | Dagger Paths (Extended Vers.. | 6:22 | $0.99 | |
16. | Bones | Fjree Feather | 5:27 | $0.99 | |
17. | Riverbed | Fjree Feather | 5:29 | $0.99 | |
18. | Trust Your Blood | Fjree Feather | 6:15 | $0.99 | |
19. | Red Rocks Fogg | Fjree Feather | 6:23 | $0.99 | |
20. | Down Steps | Fjree Feather | 5:58 | $0.99 | |
21. | Rattling Cage | Together | 3:49 | $0.99 | |
22. | Light | Dagger Paths | 3:30 | $1.29 | |
23. | If Your Girl | Dagger Paths | 6:24 | $1.29 | |
24. | Glory Gongs | Dagger Paths | 6:25 | $1.29 | |
25. | Visits | Dagger Paths | 3:32 | $1.29 | |