I met Ryan, the artist known as Floating Forest, through my girlfriend and her work as a waitress. Needless to say, to anybody that knows the scene, there are a lot of musicians that wait tables for a living. I knew that Ryan made hip hop music, and had some experience in a professional studio as an apprentice, but I failed to realize how talented and interesting he really was until I listened to his music. The name Floating Forest is perfect for the music that Ryan creates, and although I had a much more cut and dry idea of what 'hip-hop' would mean to him, he outright blew me away with his originality. Floating Forest released his last collection of musical ear-feasts in 2014 under the title 'Holograms'. It's available on his Bandcamp, which will be included in the links below the review.
This is a new concept for me, and so I will be playing the album straight through and giving my first listen's opinion of every track. I will not be editing my initial comments, and at the end of the album I will write a short summary paragraph on how the album was as a whole. As I go into this, I am clear headed and feeling content and apathetic. I am in no way opinionated, angry or upset. I am using this as a music therapy experiment, and I am going to let you know how every song makes me feel. I have closed out of Facebook and all other pages, and will not be distracted by my phone. I hope this works, and I hope you all enjoy:
1. Escape The City
The song starts very strong. Beautiful pads leading into an amazing futuristic island world. Something jurassic, but futuristic, at it's core. A rebirth of the world. Becomes very adventurous, and driven. Reminds me of Mad Max... The old ones. The name fits. Structure. Deep structure. Falls off, and changes to Sonic The Hedgehog. Casino World. Machines are in control. Machine tribes. Natives of the land, glitching out. Last call sirens. Line of sight. I can see the exit. The helicopter to take me away from the zombie machine tribes. I've made it... But I'm still not sure what's next... This song made me feel inspired. I am feeling very empty. I like music that makes me feel empty.
2. Leaving Earth
Breaking the atmosphere. The bass drops out hard, and I can feel it in my chest. It's like take-off. The tempo is slow, which tells me we've made it safely out of the atmosphere, and are now floating aimlessly. The names of these songs are perfect. The song is short, and in no way driven. Continues the melancholy feel of the first song, but gives a break from the mania and panic. Very wavy. Perfect for drugs... or not.
3. Lost Voyagers
We've found prospects of life. We are setting a course for the nearest inhabitable planet. Now we have a purpose. The harmonious singing and the beeping sounds gives me an image of computer panels... The Starship Enterprise's cockpit. The singing becomes more annoyed. It seems like a teenager that has been forced to do their chores. Adds to the effect of the drums. Falls off abruptly and unexpected. Makes me think something went wrong. I feel panicked and I desire to find land.
4. Night Shift
There's a catch... This is dangerous territory. The darkness of this beat is fucking great. The lead is phenomenal. In the leaves, I can hear animals... birds. They're letting me know that this place is watching us but has not, yet, told us to leave. We may have made it... The synth flute gives me hope. I find myself swaying in my seat. This song reminds me of The Gorillaz, and Nacho Picasso, rolled into a strange, adventurous concoction.
5. Game Over
Years later, we have recreated all that we lost, and I am old. I look back to realize the virus I am. The machines that took over are back, and I brought them. Colonization at it's worst. The strings are strong and violent. A wind blows the dry bottles, and they're gone... This time we won't run, but accept our fate.
After listening to the album, I feel different. I feel just as nihilistic, and apathetic- but more inspired and adventurous. This album is existential, but not in a manner than inspires surrender. It makes you want to live, and gives the overwhelming feeling of exactly what it is named: Exploration. Adventure. Every song title is perfect. Every beat is original, prophetic, deep, wavy and beautifully produced. You can see a true amateur expert in Floating Forest. Tempo is something that most producers rely on, and I feel as though Floating Forest just does not care. He brings these beautiful sounds together in a manner than doesn't need a rhyme or reason to complete it. Psychedelic and visual. Close your eyes and listen, and I'm sure you will paint a more vivid story than most movies.
LINKS:
Bandcamp
I know this was short, but I want to keep Rival Tribes consistent, and with everything I am taking on, it's hard to write multiple pages and conduct interviews regularly. I hope to continue bringing you in depth artist profiles, but in between, I would like to have a consistent stream of album and show reviews that are shorter and sweet, like this. Let me know what you guys think of the new format in the comments below. Thanks guys! I hope you enjoy the album and follow Floating Forest on all the links above. He's a great artist, and deserves all the love you guys have shown my last posts. I appreciate you all very much and I will catch up with you soon.
I know this was short, but I want to keep Rival Tribes consistent, and with everything I am taking on, it's hard to write multiple pages and conduct interviews regularly. I hope to continue bringing you in depth artist profiles, but in between, I would like to have a consistent stream of album and show reviews that are shorter and sweet, like this. Let me know what you guys think of the new format in the comments below. Thanks guys! I hope you enjoy the album and follow Floating Forest on all the links above. He's a great artist, and deserves all the love you guys have shown my last posts. I appreciate you all very much and I will catch up with you soon.
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