Q&A: Forest Takes a ‘Swan Dive’ Into Her Latest Single, “Anchor”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY JACK BERTH ☆
Photo by Bella Villa
FOREST PUSHES THE ALTERNATIVE GENRE—Whether that is by adding synths or guitars, Forest is determined to constantly reinvent her music, especially with her upcoming album Swan Dive. Her latest single, “Anchor,” has rumbling drums and scorching guitars, along with her voice staying strong on top.
Forest grew up in Chicago, moved to Boston and now resides in LA, enjoying her best local spots like Stories. Boston is where she fully refined her craft, playing in many New England basements. She did not start playing music until she was 15, spending most of her childhood dancing ballet, which played a part in her upcoming album’s title.
Her sound initially started with a more pop-ish sound, but has transformed into a lovely mixture of alternative, rock, and slight dips into electronic. Inspiration from music acts like The Smashing Pumpkins and film minds like Gregg Araki definitely shows in her music and visual choices—might as well start headbanging now.
“Anchor” is the fourth single released for Swan Dive, with “Prosthetic Stars,” “Whore & Savior” and “Lay With Me” preceding it. She brings the heat with some intense percussion and electronic swirls. The lyrics match the intensity, whether it is being harmfully attached to someone, not wanting someone to leave and the idea of people. Forest wants the sound to be the story on Swan Dive, as she expands her musical repertoire.
Continue reading to see our conversation about Swan Dive and “Anchor,” her shenanigans on her first tour, and how her feelings have plunged their teeth into her music.
Photo by Bella Villa
LUNA: You have plenty of tattoos, are you someone that gets them on a whim or do they require something behind them?
FOREST: It’s definitely more on a whim. I have always wanted tattoos. My mom has a giant Japanese traditional sleeve that she got when I was 15. She picked me up from a sleepover with it and I said, “Oh my god!” My first one was planned out; it was an elephant, a reference to Neutral Milk Hotel. Yeah, so I am super cool and get laid all the time. *laughs* My tattoo advice is to get tattoos based on the artist’s work. I’ll say, “Here’s what I want, here’s the general shape I want it in, do something to me.” It’s like art on my body.
LUNA: I am still in dire need of getting a tattoo, hopefully it is soon!
FOREST: Honestly, it is a little more punk nowadays to not have any tattoos, showing that self restraint.
LUNA: Your music has also seemed to gain a heavier edge from when you first started. Is that down to getting older? Life getting darker?
FOREST: I think it's down to playing live. I have always leaned towards alternative music, and the first time I started to make music, I was working for someone that produced more house stuff while trying to figure out what I like making. I was just making whatever came out of me at the time, which is why it is not really rock, but more pop-ish. I am proud of where I’ve come to now.
Then we focused more on just band recordings. With the new stuff, I have worked back into a happy balance of having a band feel and a more produced sound. I started to go into a more band feel because that is what I listen to on a normal basis.
LUNA: There was definitely some stage diving on your tour with Clarion and Bed. How was the touring experience? Was it your first time?
FOREST: We’ve done the typical “weekender” or two week run, but that was our first real tour. It is such a different experience being on the road and doing a show almost every day. Talking to my partner, he said, “Y’know, this isn’t the typical length for a first tour,” and he was right. It was almost 45 days. I did get the flu during the middle of it, which led me to be slumped over in an elevator after checking in somewhere near Washington D.C. or Virginia. I of course don’t remember any of this. It’s a lot more grueling, but for me that makes it worth it.
LUNA: On this tour, I saw you uploaded a vlog for the tour as well. How did it come to be?
FOREST: Oh my god, thank you for watching our vlog! Ben recorded mostly everything for the vlog, and I have known him since college. We then moved to LA together, so it’s full circle to do my first tour with him. He would just film little clips for it, and he initially wanted it to be more cohesive.
But at a certain point on the road you get to a point where nothing is real and you don’t know what is going on, so that was really expressed in the vlog. He actually couldn’t upload it because he made it on iMovie and couldn’t export it. He can make a killer song, but can’t export a video.
LUNA: All the artwork for your singles and album run have been done by Bella Villa. How did you two come to meet and how do you find these industrial spaces to shoot?
FOREST: Bella is my fucking GOAT. She actually managed half of the tour we did with Clarion. Next time, I want to bring her when she can just focus on doing photos. She’s fucking amazing. We met at one of the first shows I played in LA. It was at Old Towne Pub in Pasadena, and she was super cool. I just kept asking her if she wanted to do photos, and then just kept on asking. Now we’re friends!
LUNA: The guitar work for these recent singles is ethereal, especially for “Whore and Savior,” almost soaring above the mix. Do you build songs with guitars/instrumentation first or focus more on the lyrics and writing?
FOREST: My writing process has really remained the same since I was a teenager. I am not the most talented guitarist, but I am good-to-okay at songwriting, so I decided to stick with that. I will usually find a couple of chords and repeat them by myself, looking like a crazy person. Then I’ll start humming something and sometimes it’ll come pretty quick. Sometimes I’ll have an idea, like for “Whore and Savior,” a phrase that I want to use or build around.
LUNA: Synths and other electronic influences have started to mix in as well, with that lovely synth in the opening of “Prosthetic Stars.” Did you find it difficult to add in new instruments and sounds that you have previously used? What makes it easier or what makes it hard? Is the electronic influence in part to producer Aaron Liebman?
FOREST: There’s totally a difference between going into a room with a producer versus recording a live band. With band stuff, all I need is an engineer and someone to mix it. With Aaron, I went into it wanting a little twinge of electric or industrial. I didn’t know how to get about it, so I wanted us to try and figure it out, and we hit it pretty good. There were some original mixes that had to go because it had just a bit too much production. I am trying to teeter a line, because if you are putting beeps and boops in there, it sounds kind of shitty.
LUNA: Percussion and drum are a great way to teeter the line between band-feel and a more produced-feel. The drums on “Anchor” are really great, and open the track with vivid energy and close it out with some great tom work. How important is it for you and the drummer to be in sync?
FOREST: Yeah, that is my drummer Lucas. I joke all the time to him saying, “You’re never leaving my evil clutches,” because it’s hard for me to find drummers that I like. He is a king ripper. I’ll say sometimes that Lucas is a Ferrari that wants to go really fast or do complicated things… but Lucas is great. When he needs to smack the fucking shit out of the kit, he will, but knows when it is not needed. Him and my bassist are the two parts of my band that don’t move.
LUNA: I also imagine it is important to be in sync on tracks with abstract time signatures. “Anchor” also has a distinct 6/8 or triplet rhythm to it. Will you be experimenting with other time signatures or rhythm patterns on Swan Dive? What is your favorite time signature?
FOREST: So hyped you asked that! I’m really bad at writing in different time signatures and my drummer actually does a side project with my bassist that goes into really weird time signatures and stops, shout out CGOV, Caterpillars Graze on Victorians. I recently wrote a song that switches from 3/4 to 4/4 and switches up the tempo a ton; weirdly a very emo song. I definitely want to write some more complicated time signature things, but producing them is so difficult. I’m mostly a 4/4 girl because it’s really easy to write in. I do love a waltz though, but I think that is in part to my ballet background.
LUNA: What do you want listeners to look for in Swan Dive? Specific feelings? Themes?
FOREST: My main thing was wanting to experiment with sound. I told myself I was going to give myself the freedom to do that and not be binded to an idea of what the album is about. It is not really a concept album, but as previously mentioned, there are a lot of themes of being tethered to someone.
A constant theme in my music entirely is the idea of someone versus the actual person. A lot of the tracks specifically have a lot of very intense feelings. I am not going to pretend that there’s some crazy deep meaning, like I’m a 23-year-old girl writing rock music and sometimes I get really upset and sad about things.
LUNA: For these themes and feelings, are they things that came up when you were writing? Or is it stuff you have been holding for a while?
FOREST: A lot of it are things I have been feeling for a very long time. I was an only child, so there was a lot of time spent in my own head, pondering. Still love pondering today! A lot of the themes and the sound on this album are inspired by me in my life. I love the idea of a person, like I can fantasize a life with someone I don’t even know. It’s a lot of looking back on situations as well.
LUNA: You just announced you will be supporting Ivri for some of her West Coast shows. Are you excited? Bringing along the same gang as the vlog? Making sure no one’s cars get into accidents?
FOREST: We’re going to try to hit some dates that are not on the specific tour. People ask for Texas all the time, so I’m talking to try and get back there. I’ll probably announce some headline dates, if people are doing their job. I’m bringing the same guys, Danny Ochoa, Ben Porrett, Mars Horner and Lucas Simblett, but I have some rules. I banned trips or traveling before tour because I don’t want someone like Ben fucking up his shoulder again. I’ll ask if Ben wants to do a vlog, he probably will, loves doing it. We’re so excited!
