Browse by Artist: FORREST, JASON

Artist:	FORREST, JASON
Title:	Shamelessly Exciting
Label:	SONIG (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	SONIG 049CD

"Jason Forrest turned heads with his first Sonig release, The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash, a musical rollercoaster ripping through genres like an amphetamine-crazed hobo. It received rave reviews from a respected array of international press -- a remarkable accomplishment for such an odd and ambitious mix of high-speed disco and breakcore with a '70s swagger. The question, of course, was 'can Forrest possibly repeat this success?' A few beats into Shamelessly Exciting and there is suddenly no doubt -- yes, he can and he does it in style! Cascades of sound taken from virtually every form of rock music (hard/soft/punk prog/blues) pour down heavier than ever before. Even more intense is the sound of shattering samples, every single one of them vying for the listener's attention. Forrest sets off fireworks of ideas and references, exuding enormous energy along the way, filling every possible nook with a rocking good time."

Artist:	FORREST, JASON
Title:	The Everything
Label:	STAATSAKT (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	AKT 716CD

Six years in the making, Jason Forrest's The Everything is the latest achievement in a long and varied career. It's perhaps his interest in new music, his openness to old ideas and a restless ear that has helped Forrest to keep current and to remain true to his unique place in the music world. Beginning his career in 1999, his blend of sample-heavy classic-rock meets jungle meets noise propelled Forrest rapidly to international acclaim. His 2004 album The Unrelenting Songs Of The 1979 Post Disco Crash was championed by Pitchfork and launched him on a non-stop international tour that continues to this day. His last album in 2005, Shamelessly Exciting was a personal best for Forrest and gained glowing critical reviews worldwide. The Everything is an ambitious record with a broad palette while at the same time remaining surprisingly cohesive. One can hear the same expressive mind at the controls over all 11 tracks. From the funk of the opening track "New Religion" to the chaotic bombast of "Archive," the musical thread leads logically (if unexpectedly) from track to track. Forrest covers a lot of ground along the way. On "Italian Lessons," Forrest takes cues from Ennio Morricone, Crass, Krautrock and Afro-pop ending up with something altogether unique. "Raunchy" is a juke-town boogie-woogie with a stomping beat interrupted by a cinematic build-up, resulting in a demonic guitar solo straight from hell. "Roger Dean Landscape" is drawn similarly from a sort of Arabic prog-rock but also fits easily at home on a late-night club music set while "Keys To The Door" feels like it would be right at home on a late-night radio station in the smooth '70s. The album ends with one of the biggest surprises in Forrest's career, "Isolation, Too," an introspective meditation on what it feels like to be still, to be quiet, to be lonely. The Everything is packed with vitality, innovation and musical daring. This is not a bashful album, it's not following trends, it's arty in many aspects and it's iconoclastic. The Everything is loud and proud, an album full of emotion from baroque melody to brutal noise. It's symphonic, it's clubby. There are elements of almost every genre one can think of -- from rockabilly to dubstep to electroacoustics. It's an album that takes the listener on an audio tour through Forrest's musical world. In short -- it's everything.

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