Forrest is not just a producer, nor an artist but an all round product. Everything released under or associated with his name is considered and tweaked to perfection. This same precision and attention to detail are what earned him a place amongst the most prestigious lists of artists to look out for next year. Shortly after the release of his new EP, Chasseur had a one on one chat with the artist himself to find out more about his humble beginnings and how he made it all happen today.
Where did the name “Forrest” originate from?
It was originally the name of my solo indie rock project. The musical identity slightly altered after residing in Berlin for 8 months. As I was still doing the vocals on most tracks, I quickly found a similar comfort in the song-writing process although the medium had changed from guitar/bass to computer/bass/synths. What I particularly like about it is that it does not lead to one specific musical genre. My general taste is broad and I like to keep every “creative” avenue open when it comes to my Forrest identity.
Do you find yourself on Portobello Road much?
Yeah you could say so. I have my daily coffee at a small coffee conveniently named TalkHouse. Quite fond of its bright wooden terrace. I also frequent this place called Electric Diner which is right by, wait .. actually part of one of London’s oldest movie theatre ‘”The Electric Cinema”.
What were you’re main influences during the making of your latest EP “Shiny suit man”?
The main attraction of the single “Shiny Suit Man” would have to be P.Diddy’s ego-defying monologue. His unexpected and euphoric shout right before the main drop has to be the part I’m always anticipating the most when I play it out. I mean all 3 tracks are dancefloor driven tracks. From the structure to the elements of production, the main goal was to be tastefully effective while bringing some personal ingredient. “Shiny Suit Man”, “My Factory” and “Beverly Hills” each have their own purpose and the feedback so far has been extremely rewarding.
Besides music, what would we catch you doing on a Friday night?
I usually start it off with a few drinks with friends then see what the night brings. I like dancing, celebrating for no reason. Makes the beginning of the week a little harder then when I find myself staying in, but if I’m not flying on Saturday you’ll definitely find me out there getting familiar with the London night game.
When and how did you realize music was what you wanted to do?
As a kid I played the violin for five years, piano and the guitar for three years. I stopped music from like 14 to 17 as I was more into skateboarding, basketball and snowboarding. I then picked up a guitar and it was pretty clear to me I wanted to be in a band. Post-band breakup led to Dj’ing which led to Sound Engineering school and finally resulted in me working on every original song with my ex-teacher and outstanding producer Jonathan D. Much love goes out to him, thank you for sticking with me.
How did it feel being named one of the top 13 artists to look out for this year by Pete Tong?
It felt quite unreal to hear it live the night it got aired on Radio 1; It is the feeling I’m always striving for. Every achievement comes with a proper “high”, a buzz as the Brits like to say. This type of excitement usually last for a day and then it’s back to the chase. So yeah, much respect to Richy Ahmed for ending his “13 artists to watch out for 2013” segment with “Get Up In My Head”. The track is actually coming out at the end of the month on the “Some Kind Of Friend” EP who happens to be a follow-up release with Tom Budden, a very dear collaborator.
Let’s talk fashion. How well does, in your opinion, blends with music?
The two are very similar; each domain thrives on what’s hot, unique or timeless. For me, there is no UNIQUE factor that validates a musical piece or clothing item. For example, take skinny jeans; safe to say they’ve been around long enough for them not to be considered as the current “hot trend” even though they undeniably had a considerable ascension in the past few years. Regardless of what you think about them at some point they were especially trendy, they were being debated and yes some people were right to point out that they’ve been around since the early punk days. The same can be said with deep house rise to the forefront yet it’s always been there. So, despite all hype or sense of eternity they are still here today and doing exactly what they do best and that’s precisely what I aim to achieve with my music and my brand.
So .. where do you see Forrest this time next year?
More music, shows, a potential LP, more collaborations, more EP’s and well .. basically more of everything. Fall as been a big turnout for me release wise with both the Shiny Suit Man EP and the Visionquest collab with Eric Volta that almost came out back-to-back. I also have a very special track that I wrote with one of my favorite artist out there Avatism. The song “Different Spaces” is currently streaming on Soundcloud and the whole release was recently featured on Fabric’s website. The track will be included in Avatism’s full-length release “Adamant”.