Matthew Barnes is one of the most distinctive producers of contemporary electronic music. His Forest Swords project has gained respect thanks to its uncompromising sounds and strong audiovisual processing. Praise is also expected for his new album Bolted, which will be released on 15 March 2024 at A4. The concert premiere of Forest Swords will take place as part of the Nu Sound Of…
Forest Swords, backed by British electronic producer Matthew Barnes, has arrived with the long-awaited release Bolted on Ninja Tune. He has spent the last few years working as a composer and sound engineer, writing music for ballet, film, video games, but mostly preparing to create new songs.
Bolted was recorded over the last year at the Barnes factory, in his hometown Liverpool. The result has translated into a very strong form that rivals previous recordings. Across eleven new tracks, listeners will delve deeper into a unique world of sounds that are both haunting and exhilarating, both euphoric and chill-inducing.
The solid foundation of this album is industrial electronica, trip-hop rhythms, deconstructed vocals and the sampled voice of Neneh Cherry (single Butterfly Effect), the fat beat to the track The Low, which was originally intended for Yoko Ono, or the dub influenced handwriting of Lee Scratch Perry.
Like everything in his music – melancholy and euphoria, black and white and color, past and future – the final shape is unclear. The result has translated into a very powerful form that rivals previous recordings, and in which the clash of dance beat and deconstructed sounds is once again inescapable. It has received positive reviews from prestigious magazines such as Pitchfork, DJ Mag, Stereogum, Clash, etc.
Forest Swords will perform a live concert as a duo on March 15, 2024 at A4 – Space of Contemporary Culture.
The support will be Ficture (HU).
This event is organised by Music Press Production, as part of the event series Nu Sound Of… The A4 membership card is not valid.
entry: presale 22 € / at the venue 25 €