Forest Swords, aka electronic producer and artist Matthew Barnes, has announced the release of his debut score for film. 'The Machine Air (Original Film Soundtrack)', will be released this winter on limited vinyl via his label Dense Truth.
Part art film, part performance piece, 'The Machine Air' is a fever dream visual poem and the first film to be both about - and recorded by - flying drones. Created by speculative architect and director Liam Young, it jams together Youtube and Liveleak rips with specially filmed, astonishing aerial shots of Indian textile factories and Bolivian lithium mines - the first time ever captured on camera. Premiered in its original form at BFI London Film Festival, it's since been screened at the likes of Sonar Festival and Eindhoven Bienniale.
Barnes' score, presented here sculpted and edited into 14 individual tracks, echoes the film's cyberpunk claustrophobia: smeared sci-fi synth and distorted melodies rattle alongside metronomic rhythms and stretched samples, rewiring the hums of flying vehicles into warped and contorted sound design. Intimate piano melody weaves with sub bass, while woozy electronics and strings mirror the fluttering of the machines as they hover skywards, powering up and down.
'The Machine Air's soundtrack navigates the tension of this tech in our lives: drones simultaneously used as autonomous killing machines or aid delivery vehicles; surveillance robots or Amazon shopping tools. While Barnes' previous work has retooled organic and human sounds into modern electronic worlds, here he pushes and pulls the music into beautiful, more dystopian shapes, combining with Young's visuals to give a chilly glimpse into the near future.
Edition of 300 only, on black vinyl with insert.
Produced and mixed by Matthew Barnes in Liverpool and London. Mastered by Denis Blackham (Coil, Cabaret Voltaire, Eurythmics).
The soundtrack follows his acclaimed DJ-Kicks compilation from last year, and Barnes' recent score for Sundance award winning documentary 'Ghosts of Sugar Land'.
Tracklist:
01. Forest Swords - Taking Off (3:13)
02. Forest Swords - Swarm (2:46)
03. Forest Swords - Do Drones Go to Heaven? (3:04)
04. Forest Swords - The Textile Factory (2:24)
05. Forest Swords - Civilians (3:16)
06. Forest Swords - Open Water, Looking Down (2:48)
07. Forest Swords - Lithium Pool (2:19)
08. Forest Swords - Lithium Pool (Reprise) (0:31)
09. Forest Swords - Police (2:18)
10. Forest Swords - Target Night Vision (3:42)
11. Forest Swords - Dust Settle (1:13)
12. Forest Swords - Medic Drop (1:56)
13. Forest Swords - Heatseeking (2:30)
14. Forest Swords - Battery Power Down (3:03)
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