Forest Swords (a.k.a. producer Matthew Barnes) returned with a new single in "The Highest Flood" earlier this month, four years removed from his Engravings album. Now, he's revealed that the track is part of a new full-length titled Compassion, which will arrive on May 5 through Ninja Tune.
Ten tracks in length, Compassion is said to be "a response to the uncertain, aggressive new world we're experiencing and communicating within, distilling it into a unique sound territory." Said territory brings together "buzzing digital textures, field recordings, clattering beats and distorted jazz sax with fizzing orchestral arrangements."
The announcement comes alongside a second single in "Arms Out," which you can hear through watching an accompanying video below. Much like "The Highest Flood," the new track makes use of wordless vocal samples chopped and rearranged by Barnes.
As he explains in a statement, "I'm increasingly interested in the effects the web and media has on the way we think it's acceptable to communicate with each other day-to-day, and that maybe our current language structures aren't doing justice to how complex our emotions and identities are. The idea of flexible future languages, that bends to our needs quicker, excites me."
Compassion will also be followed by a glut of multidisciplinary art projects that will draw on the themes and concepts explored in Barnes's music. Collaborations will range from contemporary dance, performance art, publishing, film and music releases.
Read through Compassion's tracklist to watch the video for "Arms Out" below.
Compassion:
1. War It
2. The Highest Flood
3. Panic
4. Exalter
5. Border Margin Barrier
6. Arms Out
7. Vandalism
8. Sjurvival
9. Raw Language
10. Knife Edge
Ten tracks in length, Compassion is said to be "a response to the uncertain, aggressive new world we're experiencing and communicating within, distilling it into a unique sound territory." Said territory brings together "buzzing digital textures, field recordings, clattering beats and distorted jazz sax with fizzing orchestral arrangements."
The announcement comes alongside a second single in "Arms Out," which you can hear through watching an accompanying video below. Much like "The Highest Flood," the new track makes use of wordless vocal samples chopped and rearranged by Barnes.
As he explains in a statement, "I'm increasingly interested in the effects the web and media has on the way we think it's acceptable to communicate with each other day-to-day, and that maybe our current language structures aren't doing justice to how complex our emotions and identities are. The idea of flexible future languages, that bends to our needs quicker, excites me."
Compassion will also be followed by a glut of multidisciplinary art projects that will draw on the themes and concepts explored in Barnes's music. Collaborations will range from contemporary dance, performance art, publishing, film and music releases.
Read through Compassion's tracklist to watch the video for "Arms Out" below.
Compassion:
1. War It
2. The Highest Flood
3. Panic
4. Exalter
5. Border Margin Barrier
6. Arms Out
7. Vandalism
8. Sjurvival
9. Raw Language
10. Knife Edge
