Compassion arrives 5 May on Ninja Tune
Forest Swords, aka Merseyside producer Matthew Barnes, has revealed the details of his latest album, the follow-up to his critically regarded 2013 album Engravings.
Compassion arrives on 5 May via Ninja Tune, however fans were given a taster of what to expect earlier this week when Barnes gave out music via messaging platform WhatsApp. The album – and unusual dissemination method – paves the way for a number of projects across multiple mediums by Dense Truth, Barnes’ experimental studio and record label. This includes a series of music videos. The first video, for Arms Out, is available to watch now via the player below.
“Like many, with all that’s been going on since I started making the record, I’ve struggled to see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel,” says Barnes in the accompanying press materials. “So I realised there’s some sort of power in trying to create our own instead. I’m inspired by the ways we’re communicating now, for better or worse, and thinking about new channels we can distribute ideas.”
An expansive European tour has also been announced, featuring appearances at Glastonbury, Field Day and Latitude. Keep reading to check the full list of dates and tracklist.
Tracklist
1. War It
2. The Highest Flood (Listen)
3. Panic
4. Exalter
5. Border Margin Barrier
6. Arms Out
7. Vandalism
8. Sjurvival
9. Raw Language
10. Knife Edge
31/03/17 – ReWire – Den Haag, NL
08/04/17 – Dense Truth Showcase @ BRDCST Festival – AB, Brussels, BE
22/04/17 – Safe As Milk – Prestatyn, UK
25/05/17 – Festwochen – Vienna, AT
26/05/17 – Spring Attitude – Rome, IT
03/06/17 – Field Day – London, UK
04/06/17 – Heart of Noise – Innsbruck, AT
15/06/17 – Sonar – Barcelona, SP
25/06/17 – Glastonbury – Pilton, UK
07/07/17 – Tauron Nowa – Katowice, PL
14/07/17 – Latitude Festival – Southwold, UK
03/08/17 – Dekmantel – Amsterdam, NL
21/09/17 – Atlas – Aarhus, Denmark
22/09/17 – Jazzhouse – Copenhagen, Denmark
23/09/17 – Sodra Teatern – Stockholm, Sweden
26/09/17 – Berghain – Berlin, Germany
27/09/17 – UT Connewitz – Leipzig, Germany
28/09/17 – Meet Factory – Prague, Czech
29/09/17 – Waves – Vienna, Austria
30/09/17 – Dürer Kert – Budapest, Hungary
02/10/17 – Drugstore – Belgrade, Serbia
03/10/17 – Mocvara – Zagreb, Croatia
04/10/17 – Kino Siska – Ljubljana, Slovenia
06/10/17 – Locomotiv – Bologna, Italy
07/10/17 – FAB – Prato, Italy
08/10/17 – Lanificio 25 – Naples, Italy
10/10/17 – Dachstock – Bern, Switzerland
11/10/17 – Rote Fabrik – Zurich, Switzerland
12/10/17 – Uebel & Gefährlich – Hamburg, Germany
13/10/17 – Bitterzoet – Amsterdam, Netherlands
14/10/17 – Badaboum – Paris, France
16/10/17 – The Lantern – Bristol, UK
18/10/17 – Village Underground – London, UK
19/10/17 – The Haunt – Brighton, UK
20/10/17 – Headrow House – Leeds, UK
21/10/17 – Gorilla – Manchester, UK
25/10/17 – Teatr Warsawy – Warsaw, Poland
27/10/17 – Six Dogs – Athens, Greece
28/10/17 – Salon ISKV – Istanbul, Turkey
29/11/17 – GNRation – Braga, Portugal
30/11/17 – ZDB – Lisbon, Portugal
01/12/17 – Caracol – Madrid, Spain