Releases

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Majectial Electical finds the artist in positive, even joyful, mood. Expressed herein is something unusual, but wonderful, about daydreams and dancefloors. Playing trumpet, clarinet, live drums and heavy bass with one hand, cranking up his homebrew electronics with the other and a smile about the face, Michael Forrest provides a multi-genre blast of optimism, a remedy for stylistic stagnation, blues and boredom.

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Michael Forrest – Damaged but Beautiful

Michael Forrest has never been one to take the conventional path. This multi-instrumentalist musical scientist has not latched on to his burgeoning popularity amongst the cognoscenti to cash-in and record a pop album. That is simply not his style.

Instead, he has done what so many great artists have done – he has made a record as personal catharsis. And for that we should thank him.

Psychogenic Fugue State is a journey into the dark heart of human relationships, with all the joy and despair that travel in their wake. It is a personal record because it couldn’t be anything else. It is almost painfully personal at times, but all the more beautiful and truthful for it. As Michael says, “I don’t really know how to depersonalise it.” If only all artists approached their work in such a way…

Referencing artists as diverse as Sun Ra, Steve Reich and Super Furry Animals, Michael Forrest’s latest album is, like all his work, virtually unclassifiable. It is shamelessly electronic in its composition, but its heart lies as much in classical music as in the grime scene from where he takes many of the tracks’ rhythms.

Psychogenic Fugue State moves from the intense passion of the first throes of love (I Said I Love You) through the melancholy slow-burning despair of loneliness (I Wish I Could Make It All Go Away), the realisation that we have the power to hurt others (Look It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way) and the redemption that can come from anger (Sing The Truth). The lyricism throughout, whether Michael’s or collaborator and sometime muse Halina, is affecting in its rawness. It is a record that sits firmly on the bleeding edge, but one we should all relate to.

What separates this album from the mass of soporific doom-laden guitar bands out there is that, despite the firmly realistic content of Michael’s songs, their form stays true to his experimental remit. Here is a musician who never stands still, never stops pushing the boundaries. He writes, performs and engineers every note. His is a rare talent, seeing music as other people might see novels or films – as something to engage with not wash over you.

Impossible to imitate and impossible to predict, Michael Forrest’s music is as unique as it gets. Here’s a chance to get inside his dark, yet beautiful mind. Don’t miss it.

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Michael Forrest – The Science in The Music

Michael Forrest is one of life’s true experimenters. A background in physics, and with a personal musical history that encompasses almost any style you wish to name, he is finally ready to offer the world the fruits of his bizarre labour – the album is called Broken Into Tumbolia, and it has truly got to be heard to be believed. As a record, it is a masterpiece of the cut and paste ethos of much electronic music. As one man’s work, it is a testament to his almost limitless creativity.

“Music for grown ups” is how Michael describes his music, adding “I don’t do cheese.” And while it may well be for grown-ups, it is certainly for those with a healthy playful streak in them. This is because Michael is an artist who plays around with his material, who is constantly innovating and for whom the only purpose served by a boundary is for him to be able to push at it.

Michael is adept at a range of instruments (cello, piano, trumpet) but he was never satisfied making the conventional music that he was producing with the bands he joined as a youngster. He progressed from being the faceless keyboard player to pulling the strings at the front of the stage in his own solo shows. He has a residency in the creative hub that is his native Camden Town in north London and has brought his unique brand of music to venues all over the UK.

The music showcased on Broken Into Tumbolia is a strange electronic combination of free jazz, hip hop and drum’n’bass, but it all manages to stay head-noddingly funky. The record is an ever-evolving musical soundscape, built around more than a fair helping of bass. Bass is, very much, Michael Forrest’s love. It defines every track, from the infectious beats of ‘Juicy Skin Biscuits’ to the darker edges of ‘Hobgoblin’ or ‘That Yawning Hollow Void.’

“I like dirt,” says Michael. And you can see what he means. You could call this grime, or funk, or electronica. Whatever it is, this is music which is gritty but funky all at the same time. And above all, it is original. Michael Forrest is the sort of musical pioneer that makes you exited to hear what he will produce next.

Get your first taste with Broken Into Tumbolia.

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I handed out a few of these so you could call it a ‘release’. There is some decent stuff in here actually. This is from when I was still calling myself “Smunk”. I was living in Brixton at the time; the opening track is a recording of the sounds from my window.