Forest (band)
Encyclopedia
Forest were an English psychedelic folk / acid folk trio who formed in Grimsby, Lincolnshire in 1966. Made up of brothers Martin Welham, Adrian Welham and school friend Dez Allenby, they started out performing unaccompanied traditional folk music in a similar vein to contemporaries The Watersons
and The Young Tradition
. The band were pioneers of the nascent 1960s underground
acoustic psychedelic/acid folk scene writing unconventionally crafted songs evoking Britain's ancient groves using a variety of acoustic instruments.
's emergence in the mid-1960s. They were championed by DJ John Peel
and performed several sessions for BBC Radio 1
.
In 1969 they were signed by Blackhill Enterprises
and were amongst the first wave of signings for EMI's new progressive Harvest Records
label.
The non-album single "Searching for Shadows" was released in 1969, followed by Forest's debut eponymous album which featured an array of acoustic medieval sounding instruments, contrapunctal harmonies and pastoral lyrical imagery.
Full Circle was released a year later, an eclectic set of songs with dark themes that saw more disparate styles incorporated into their brand of pagan folk, including the neo-classical
piece 'Graveyard' and the bleakly baroque
'Midnight Hanging of a Runaway Serf'. Opening track 'Hawk The Hawker' was given a country
hint by the inclusion of steel guitar (played by session musician Gordon Huntley) and the traditional folk piece 'Famine Song' saw the band return to their unaccompanied three-part harmony roots. Both gatefold
album covers featured strikingly haunting artwork by artist Joan Melville.
Dez Allenby left the band in 1971 and the Welhams drafted in Dave Panton (viola, oboe and saxophone) and Dave Stubbs (bass) for their live work. Forest's final festival appearance was at the 1971 Pinkpop Festival in Holland. 1972 saw them record their final BBC Radio 1 sessions before disbanding later that year.
The Forest song "A Glade Somewhere" featured on the Harvest Records sampler Picnic - A Breath of Fresh Air
in 1970. "Graveyard" was included on the 2004 Castle Records acid-folk compilation Gather in the Mushrooms and the Albion Records collection Strange Folk released in 2006, included the Forest album track "Fading Light".
's 1000 albums to hear before you die
Martin Welham is now one half of psych folk duo The Story
with his son Tom.
The Watersons
The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies.-Career:...
and The Young Tradition
The Young Tradition
The Young Tradition were a British folk group of the 1960s, formed by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood. They recorded three albums of mainly traditional British folk music, sung in arrangements for their three unaccompanied voices.-Biography:...
. The band were pioneers of the nascent 1960s underground
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
acoustic psychedelic/acid folk scene writing unconventionally crafted songs evoking Britain's ancient groves using a variety of acoustic instruments.
History
Beginning life under the name The Foresters of Walesby, the group began singing unaccompanied vocal harmony folk songs in Lincolnshire folk clubs. After relocating to Birmingham in 1968 they shortened their name to Forest and soon progressed to writing within the burgeoning psychedelic/acid folk movement in the wake of the Incredible String BandIncredible String Band
The Incredible String Band were a psychedelic folk band formed in Scotland in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially within British counterculture, before splitting up in 1974...
's emergence in the mid-1960s. They were championed by DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
and performed several sessions for BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
.
In 1969 they were signed by Blackhill Enterprises
Blackhill Enterprises
Blackhill Enterprises was a rock music management company, founded as a partnership by the four original members of Pink Floyd , with Peter Jenner and Andrew King....
and were amongst the first wave of signings for EMI's new progressive Harvest Records
Harvest Records
-References:* Harvest Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-9622-0021-7...
label.
The non-album single "Searching for Shadows" was released in 1969, followed by Forest's debut eponymous album which featured an array of acoustic medieval sounding instruments, contrapunctal harmonies and pastoral lyrical imagery.
Full Circle was released a year later, an eclectic set of songs with dark themes that saw more disparate styles incorporated into their brand of pagan folk, including the neo-classical
Neoclassicism (music)
Neoclassicism in music was a twentieth-century trend, particularly current in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of "classicism", namely order, balance, clarity, economy, and emotional restraint...
piece 'Graveyard' and the bleakly baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
'Midnight Hanging of a Runaway Serf'. Opening track 'Hawk The Hawker' was given a country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
hint by the inclusion of steel guitar (played by session musician Gordon Huntley) and the traditional folk piece 'Famine Song' saw the band return to their unaccompanied three-part harmony roots. Both gatefold
Gatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
album covers featured strikingly haunting artwork by artist Joan Melville.
Dez Allenby left the band in 1971 and the Welhams drafted in Dave Panton (viola, oboe and saxophone) and Dave Stubbs (bass) for their live work. Forest's final festival appearance was at the 1971 Pinkpop Festival in Holland. 1972 saw them record their final BBC Radio 1 sessions before disbanding later that year.
The Forest song "A Glade Somewhere" featured on the Harvest Records sampler Picnic - A Breath of Fresh Air
Picnic - A Breath of Fresh Air
Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air is a sampler issued by the Harvest Records label, originally released in 1970 and notable for including the previously unreleased Pink Floyd song, "Embryo"....
in 1970. "Graveyard" was included on the 2004 Castle Records acid-folk compilation Gather in the Mushrooms and the Albion Records collection Strange Folk released in 2006, included the Forest album track "Fading Light".
Legacy
Forest's second album Full Circle was one of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
's 1000 albums to hear before you die
Martin Welham is now one half of psych folk duo The Story
The Story (UK band)
The Story are an English psychedelic folk duo comprising former Forest member Martin Welham and his son Tom Welham. The pair write and record melodic songs that range from psychedelic pop to stream-of-consciousness folk and play an array of predominantly acoustic instruments as a backdrop to their...
with his son Tom.