PREMIERE: IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE MAJESTIC STORM THAT IS FORLESEN
It's my absolute pleasure and honor to present this exclusive stream of the new Forlesen track, "Strega." That's the bottom line you might have been looking for, and here it is (after the jump).
A few years ago an album dropped, as the kids say, into Bandcamp and straight into my soul. That album was Hierophant Violent, the debut full-length from Portland musical project Forlesen (feat. members, past and present, of Lotus Thief and Botanist). I couldn't believe it. It was like so much of the music I had loved and still love was bundled, no, woven into a shimmering fabric of beauty and atmosphere. I still can't really say what it was that struck me, I just know I was struck, and, for whatever reason, it reminded me of the quiet, unsettling power that once had been Wolvserpent and the grandeur and subdued cruelty of bands like Black Math Horseman or even SubRosa. I lost my shit, is what I'm saying. And as is protocol when I lose my shit, I put them high on my (stacked) 2020 list and was lucky enough to interview those lovely people as well.
But now chapter two awaits, and it's name is Black Terrain, which will soon (not soon enough) be out via the incomparable I, Voidhanger Records. The most fitting counterpart to their brilliant debut, Black Terrain is often brash where Hierophant Violent was subdued. Attacking where the debut was lurking about. Both unbelievable records, really, and the comparison in itself seems kind of pointless, especially since Forlesen is that rare musical entity that doesn't really work well with the whole "band narrative" concept. They make art, they retreat into their musical lair, and they make art again. Much like any great band or artists. It's just what they do.
And this winding, 19-minute miracle of a track below is just that, another expression of the beautiful, human, and somehow still almost supernatural music that marks Forlesen. "Strega" will take you, it will love you, it will hurt you, and it will envelop you in a shimmering veil of magic. Go listen to any Forlesen you can put your human hands on, and when the time comes pre-order the fuck out of what will without a doubt be one of the best albums of an already unbelievable musical year.
Follow I, Voidhanger on Bandcamp (if you haven't already) and expect that notification to come later this week. When it does: pounce.
As always, check out our various interview projects and other cool shit. And if you'd like to keep abreast of the latest, most pressing developments follow us wherever we may roam (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and now also a tape-per-day series on TIK TOK!), and listen to our shitty podcast (YouTube, Spotify, Apple), and to check out our amazing compilation albums. You can support our unholy work here (Patreon), if you feel like it. Early access to our bigger projects, weekly exclusive recommendations and playlists, and that wonderful feeling that you're encouraging a life-consuming habit.
