Two Bicycles - The Holy Forest

This is by far one of the most beautiful releases I have heard in a while. The fact it was recorded only using the built in microphone on a Mac all the space of 2 days amazes me. You can stream the full release via Bandcamp now. 

The Holy Forest is a record that I wrote and recorded in under 24 hours. I knew I wanted to make something that was along the same lines as the Valerie EP, but with a bit more song based. Where I wanted to keep Valerie more of an instrumental affair, this record features a lot more vocals and percussion. 

The idea behind the record was to tell the story of a piece of land that was quite dear to my heart. Behind my parent's house was a mountainside forest that was full of wonder and inspiration. One afternoon some friends and I were wandering around it when we came upon a huge clearing, almost 200 feet wide. The trees gave way to huge stalks of uncut grass, and a hidden cove, complete with a looming rock face. People had definitely discovered it before we had, what with the discarded car batteries and rusted out bed frames. Some people saw it as a dump; we saw an oasis. For that summer, this place became my escape. I'd go to the meadow to think, to take in the sun, and to go be imaginative. It instantly became a muse, inspiring me to write countless songs and other works.

Once the summer ended, and I left home to go back to school, my parents told me that the forest was being cut down to make way for a housing development. A total Fern Gully experience. I was saddened to think that a place of such mystery and wonder would be replaced with sheer efficiency and logic. People need places to live right? Perhaps, but at what cost.

So over the span of four months, I saw glimpses of what was once a beautiful place, turn into a pile of dirt. The album cover is a collage of a picture of the once full forest, and one of my friend Adam standing over the wasteland it became.

This record is the story of this forest, as told by the trees themselves.

I hope you enjoy this record, and I hope it inspires you to find a place of wonder.