Forest Swords, creator of dark sonic worlds, comes to Brno

Multi-talented artist Matthew Barnes, aka Forest Swords, works in design, photography and graphics, but it was as a music producer that he made his name. Over the years he has composed music for many documentaries, ballets and performances. His work spans many genres, with elements of dub, electronics and industrial. It's the industrial side, shaped by his home city of Liverpool, that forms the backbone of all his work. Barnes's tracks also capture the dark landscape of inhospitable, abandoned industrial factories.

Barnes released his debut EP Fjree Feather as Forest Swords in 2010. It got positive reviews from prestigious outlets such as Pitchfork and The Guardian and won him a wider following. He had even greater success with his first full-length album, Engravings, in 2013. Compassion (2017) came out on the prestigious Ninja Tune label, as does his latest, Bolted, on which Barnes continues his distinctive style full of dirty samples and meditative soundscapes.