Forest Swords aka Merseyside producer Matthew Barnes, is back with Panic, the third track to be lifted from forthcoming album ‘Compassion,’ out May 5th via Ninja Tune. You can watch the video for Panic via YouTube below. The track journeys between a rumbling cello loop, chiming bells and clattering beat, pulling in a reworked northern soul sample for the tracks ecstatic hook. It is accompanied by a video directed by Barnes and AV collaborator Sam Wiehl, produced by Barnes’ new experimental creative studio Dense Truth.
“Most of the tracks on Compassion were started in quite a heavy place but all managed to move towards the light the longer I worked on them” says Matthew. Panic is the point where tension and stress boils over into a sort of euphoria.
Barnes will be Skype screening, one-on-one, an extended edit of the song and video to a number of people who add him (username: densetruth) over the next two days. It follows an experiment earlier this month where Barnes sent out unreleased tracks to anyone who messaged him personally via Whatsapp.
“I’d been thinking about communication and connections while I was making the record” says Barnes of the experiments, “and ways we can perhaps use all these existing channels in different ways. Social media still feels impersonal and clunky to me, like you’re shouting over a wall at someone, so I wanted to try to connect a bit more directly and see what would happen”.
‘Compassion’ track listing
War It
The Highest Flood
Panic
Exalter
Border Margin Barrier
Arms Out
Vandalism
Sjurvival
Raw Language
Knife Edge
Forest Swords also announces headlining fall European and North American live tour dates. He’ll tour Europe and North American across September to December, including a headline performance at London’s Village Underground and festival stops at Glastonbury, Field Day, Sonar, Latitude and Dekmantel.
North American Fall tour dates
Nov 14: Good Room – NYC, US (Tickets: http://ticketf.ly/2qdzPYl)
Nov 15: Lincoln Hall – Chicago, US (Tickets: http://bit.ly/1thLVZu)
Nov 18: Echo – Los Angeles, US
EU Fall tour dates
Sept 21: Atlas – Aarhus, Denmark (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2o2JVN8)
Sept 22: Jazzhouse – Copenhagen, Denmark (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2naT4Vm)
Sept 23: Sodra Teatern – Stockholm, Sweden (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2oBXtB3)
Sept 26: Berghain – Berlin, Germany (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2oIpofr)
Sept 27: UT Connewitz – Leipzig, Germany (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2p16Mqc)
Sept 28: Meet Factory – Prague, Czech (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2o9VVx7)
Sept 29: Waves – Vienna, Austria (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2oInag3)
Sept 30: Dürer Kert – Budapest, Hungary (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nL4eeX)
Oct 02: Drugstore – Belgrade, Serbia (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nK07R8)
Oct 03: Mocvara – Zagreb, Croatia (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2o7cQA1)
Oct 04: Kino Siska – Ljubljana, Slovenia (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nK72cX)
Oct 06: Locomotiv – Bologna, Italy (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nJWMRU)
Oct 07: FAB – Prato, Italy (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2o9XhYx)
Oct 08: Lanificio 25 – Naples, Italy (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nXL7zX)
Oct 10: Dachstock – Bern, Switzerland (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nK7w2L)
Oct 11: Rote Fabrik – Zurich, Switzerland (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nJTFJX)
Oct 12: Uebel & Gefährlich – Hamburg, Germany (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2oBZk8Z)
Oct 13: Bitterzoet – Amsterdam, Netherlands (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nb5DzR)
Oct 14: Badaboum – Paris, France (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2olrCkG)
Oct 16: The Lantern – Bristol, UK (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2oIll2m)
Oct 18: Village Underground – London, UK (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nu7r2Y)
Oct 19: The Haunt – Brighton, UK (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2oBV1dC)
Oct 20: Headrow House – Leeds, UK (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nXKrKW)
Oct 21: Gorilla – Manchester, UK (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2oIM2UH)
Oct 25: Teatr Warsawy – Warsaw, Poland (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nn9wOi)
Oct 27: Six Dogs – Athens, Greece (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2p0RQbI)
Oct 28: Salon ISKV – Istanbul, Turkey (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2nXXxrC)
Nov 29: GNRation – Braga, Portugal (Tickets: http://bit.ly/2oDe86C)
Nov 30: ZDB – Lisbon, Portugal (http://bit.ly/2o325P4)
Dec 01: Caracol – Madrid, Spain (http://bit.ly/2oC0Mbr)
