Forest Swords (UK/ Ninja Tune) ^{UK/ Ninja Tune}

Forest Swords is electronic producer and artist Matthew Barnes, based in Liverpool, UK. Barnes is known for rewiring sounds into innovative electronic worlds, most recently on his acclaimed second album 'Compassion' (Ninja Tune), remixes for Bjork and Neneh Cherry, and curation of a release as part of the the DJ-Kicks compilation series. He has simultaneously explored scoring and composition for many visual and art projects, including original scores for the Sundance award winning documentary 'Ghosts of Sugar Land’, drone shot art film 'The Machine Air', and an original soundtrack for a dance performance by choreographers Emma Portner and Alan Lucien Øyen for the Norwegian National Ballet.

A unique blend of jagged hip-hop and R&B beats, looping guitar lines and manipulated samples, his evocative and emotional music reflects the sprawling Wirral landscape of river, coastland and woodland with all the haunting melodies of nearby city Liverpool’s enviable pop history.