Mistletone and Thump are proud to present for the first time in Australia, acclaimed electronic musician Forest Swords. Performing as a duo and integrating immersive HD projections, Forest Swords live show is a truly overwhelming experience. Special guests: Cassius Select + Noise in My Head.
Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.
Liverpool’s enigmatic Forest Swords makes textured, gauzy music as indebted to the region’s rich musical heritage as it is the windswept and beautiful coastal environment from which it was born. The result is something completely organic, sounding like a mix of Massive Attack’s sample strewn claustrophobia, King Tubby’s sweating dub, with hints of Ennio Morricone’s legendary guitar soundscapes.
Forest Swords is a rarity in electronic music – his unflinchingly powerful body of songs is both euphoric and bleak, triumphant and heavy. To quote The Fader, it “exists in that sweet spot of musical influence between everything and nothing”.
Clattering beats, thunderous grooves and cavernous melodies rub shoulders with hip hop/ R&B shuffles and heavy drone to create a smeared, blurred take on electronic music that sounds weighty, chilling and triumphant. Forest Swords’ deep epics were first seen on the Dagger Paths EP, released via No Pain In Pop/Olde English Spelling Bee in 2010.
His debut album Engravings, released last year via Brooklyn electronic label Tri Angle (Holy Other, Evian Christ, The Haxan Cloak), saw Barnes refine and streamline his unique sound to huge critical acclaim, receiving praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, The Guardian, Mixmag and FACT.
Forest Swords shows, as seen at festivals across Europe including All Tomorrow’s Parties, CTM and Unsound, utilise propulsive soundscapes, visuals and live bass, combining to create a striking, immersive, and euphoric live set. In a recent review of his Way Out West performance, Resident Advisor called it “one of the festival’s most thrilling moments… It was a magnificent set—orchestral and sonically rich but abrasive, the reverb- and dub-soaked sound crying out for a mammoth speaker stack”.
To celebrate, Tone Deaf are giving readers the chance to win a double pass to see Forest Swords at Oxford Art Factory on Sunday March 15th. Enter your details below for a chance to win!
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