Forêt Endormie is the genre-melding chamber ensemble led by guitarist and composer Jordan Guerette, known widely for his work with American black metal luminaries Falls of Rauros. Formed in 2016 in the "Forest City" of Portland, Maine, Forêt Endormie draws as much from the forms and fantasies of 20th century French composers Erik Satie and Olivier Messiaen, as they do the melancholic Neo-folk of Tenhi and Sol Invcitus and heavy minimalism of drone pioneers Earth.
Their debut record Étire dans le ciel vide (French for "stretch into the empty sky") finds the band deep in a singular sonic world, both immersed in western classical tradition and entirely apart from it. The instrumental make-up of cello, violin, piano, vibraphone, electric guitar, and voices sets up infinite possibilities: delicate melodies, interwoven rhythms, and lush, ever-moving harmonies. This is music replete in unapologetic romanticism, but with complexity and intricacy that never protrudes through its melodicism. The pieces, while airy and full of light, move with mournful grace like the heavy-hearted doom and dark Americana found in Falls of Rauros' sui generis black metal. Throughout the record's eight tracks, there is a certain, inescapable weight-- the pieces delve into the omnipresent anxiety and isolation of modern life, through the words of 19th century poet Paul Verlaine, as well as Guerette's own-- yet an inexorable beauty, purity, and sense of hope is always shining through.
credits
released October 20, 2017
Forêt Endormie is:
Victoria Hurlburt - violin
Shannon Allen - cello
Kate Beever - vibraphone, percussion & voice
Emmett Harrity - piano
Jordan Guerette - guitar & voice
all music and words written by
Jordan Guerette
with the exception of “L’angoisse” and “Soleils Couchants”
words by Paul Verlaine
cello on “String & Hammer Quintet” and “L’arbitrage” by Hannah Schroeder
additional vocals on “The Clearing” by Brendan James Hayter
recorded and mixed by Todd Hutchisen
at Acadia Recording Company, Portland, ME
mastered by Katie Gilchrest
at Mythology Mastering, Los Angeles, CA
cover art by Max Alex
photography and logo by Stephanie Sintra
Thank you, Stephanie Sintra, Max Alex, Brendan Hayter, Dan Sonenberg, Ray Capizzo, Aaron Charles, Evan Lovely, Jason Walker, Jessica Dorgai, Greg Souza, Jon Morse, Austin Lunn, Peter McLaughlin, Todd Hutchisen, Megan Lawrence, and Paul Verlaine.
Without your art and encouragement, I would be lost.
