Swedish Grammy Award-winning Tribulation guitarist Jonathan Hultén has announced he will release The Forest Sessions through Kscope on December 16. You can watch a short video trailer for the new album below.
The Forest Sessions is the follow-up to 2020's well-received debut album Chants From Another Place that saw Hultén drawing comparisons to artists such as Nick Drake and John Martyn right through to his contemporaries in Anna von Hausswolff, Chelsea Wolfe and Hexvessel.
The Forest Sessions is a collection of experimental versions of songs taken from both Chants From Another Place and his earlier EP The Dark Night of the Soul, but it is also a short film composed of music videos and interludes with animated illustrations and poems.
“It all began with an idea of live streaming a concert from the woods," Hulten explains "I got a team together, a plan was worked out and eventually the project morphed into the making of eight unique music videos based on the setlist of a live performance.”
“All the filming locations were scouted in reference to the song titles and our plan was to film all the material in 24 hours around an area about 40 minutes from Stockholm, Sweden.”
Recorded by himself between January 2020 and June 2022, with mastering and mixing taken care of by frequent collaborator Ola Ersfjord, The Forest Sessions is being released as a 2 disc – CD and DVD edition with the DVD featuring the collection of music videos that spontaneously evolved into the album as well as clips from Roadburn Redux Festival.
You can view the artwork, created by Hultén, and tracklisting for audio and DVD versions below.
Pre-order The Forest Sessions.
Jonathan Hulten: The Forest Sessions
CD and LP
1. Wasteland (Forest Version)
2. Leaving (Forest Version)
3. Holy Woods (Forest Version)
4. Where Devils Weep (Forest Version)
5. ...And The Pillars Tremble (Forest Version)
6. The Call To Adventure (Forest Version)
7. The Mountain (Forest Version)
8. Dance Of The Water Spirits
9. The Call To Adventure (Roadburn Version)
10. A Dance In The Road (Roadburn Version)
DVD
1. Wasteland Poem (Animation)
2. Wasteland (Forest Version Movie)
3. Leaving Poem (Animation)
4. Leaving (Forest Version Movie)
5. Holy Woods Poem (Animation)
6. Holy Woods (Forest Version Movie)
7. Where Devils Weep Poem (Animation)
8. Where Devils Weep (Forest Version Movie)
9. ...And The Pillars Tremble Poem (Animation)
10. ...And The Pillars Tremble (Forest Version Movie)
11. The Call To Adventure Poem (Animation)
12. The Call To Adventure (Forest Version Movie)
13. The Mountain Poem (Animation)
14. The Mountain (Forest Version Movie)
15. Dance Of The Water Spirits Poem (Animation)
16. Dance Of The Water Spirits (Movie)
17. The End Poem (Animation)
18. The Call To Adventure & A Dance In The Road (Movie)
