Fresh Energy & Chaos: A Catch Up With Forrest Flowers
Words & Photographs: Eerie Rose
The last time south east London’s DIY punk band Forrest Flowers played a live show, it was to a packed out Camden assembly, supporting Tokky Horror for the last day of tour. The night before, they played their first set in Bristol, and both nights were met from roaring success from new and old fans alike, who appreciate the uniqueness of their sound and intensity of their energy.
I’ve been intrinsically involved with the band for about five years now, which sounds crazy when I think about it - at times it feels like it was only yesterday that I watched them play over the banister of the five bells in New Cross while I managed the art exhibition above, meeting frontman Noel and then-drummer zee briefly upstairs after agreeing to sell their merch for them (and noticing it was the most organised merch ever). Deciding they were ones to watch, I booked them for a cover feature for the second big print issue of 5.18, an entirely diy shoot we conducted on Hampstead Heath with nothing but two film cameras, a fabric backdrop, some donated clothes and jewellery from creative friends and a dream. Guitarist sunny filmed it for their YouTube - a video I now hold so dear as what was just a normal day working for the zine, turned out to be the foundation of friendships that I unequivocally know will last a lifetime. On that balmy summer day, I felt comfortable in a way I hadn’t around new people for years - and as we continued to hang out (I soon became a fixture in the front row of Forrest flowers shows) I began to fall into a closeness with them all that felt nothing short of family.
Fast forward a little, and we’ve all lived together in various iterations for several years, band practices sometimes taking place in the kitchen and recording in the bathroom - seriously, all cods are bastards was entirely recorded at home, with drums set up using the toilet as a drum stool. You can hear the creak of the door and the shower in the intro. First releases had vocals recorded in the hallway of Sunny’s old place in Peckham, gear assembled into his room like a fully fledged studio that just so happened to also have a bed in the corner.
We were so young back then, so full of life and drive and energy and the delusion that we were going to make it. Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t given up - it’s just a very different experience being 22 and fresh eyed, compared to 26-30 and knowing the reality of success for people like is not overnight, but a long haul. At first I think we took this as defeat, but now it feels like a reason to push harder than ever - just think how sweet it will feel to achieve those goals, knowing the odds were against us? I think the goalposts shift also; bright Hollywood lights entice you in the dreams of your early twenties, but now I think we all just want to be able to do the work we love, be creative, and possibly have enough people listen that allows us to keep doing it. I think we’d all like to maybe see the Hollywood hills once though, even if it’s just in passing. I had a casual chat with the band about this new era of Forrest Flowers after their first show back on Tuesday at the Windmill Brixton.
We’ve seen many different iterations of Forrest Flowers over the years - what is different this time around?
Noel: We’ve grown and we’ve found fresh energy. We’ve got Mikey and we wanna get busy.
Ayu: Mikey is the difference, what a sick drummer.
Sunny: We grew up a bit. As friends as well as musicians…we are more cohesive. The love has grown.
How does it feel venturing into possible new releases and new music, what feels different now vs when you first started working together?
Noel: There’s more thought in it, more nuance and care. I think things were more erratic when we started and it was fun but the writing now is different and has a lot of soul in it. I’m very proud of what we’ve been brewing.
Ayu: I feel we've kind of cracked our formula now, we have much clearer ideas of what our strengths are as musicians and as people. There's also a degree of confidence in our new writing process that wasn't there before. At least for me, it's more about trying to do as little as humanly possible to let the song do the talking, rather than playing with your ego which is definitely something I've been growing out of over the past 10 or so years. Oh, and more gang vocals.
Sunny: We’ve always wanted to do something really unusual and inventive but never really had the vocabulary to be able to do it until now.
DIY is at the heart of what you guys do, largely out of necessity, but if you do get to grow in popularity and opportunity, how would you keep this aspect of the band alive?
Noel: I think it’d be hard to lose, DIY is at the core of what we do. We play for ourselves and the community, we love what we’ve built here with solely our own efforts. This is the only way, and it’s a rewarding one.
Ayu: Having a marketing budget would be a cool leg up, and a manager and booking agent definitely seems like something we could use but generally the fact we did nearly everything in our bedrooms, living rooms and bathrooms is such a large part of what makes it special. We are a little family, making our songs and having fun. I'm not sure where suits fit into that equation, at least in the creative process.
Sunny: We’ve only really done everything DIY because it was what was available to us and I like messing about with sounds. It’s important not to let being too militant about DIY close you off from the collaborative nature of making music. At the heart of it we just want to be in charge of our own sound. If we had the means to work with some great people in some amazing spaces, rather than just me in a mouldy caravan or bedroom, we probably would. That being said, I love the simplicity of everything being on our own time.
Community has also been such a huge part of Forrest Flowers, it feels like there is a real family of people both in the band and that support & love it. Are you excited to reconnect with that more through playing shows again?
Noel: Absolutely, that’s always been my favourite part. I’m so gassed to see everyone come back together again for the occasional summoning.
Ayu: Of course, I can't wait to get back out there, see some new crowds and cities even.
Sunny: I love playing and writing music with my best mates. The fact that other people get enjoyment as a result of that connection is so cool. You’ve all done an amazing job of building a community around the band. Our thing is that it’s okay to let yourself be vulnerable at our shows. I always feel so emotional at them.
What is your favourite type of show to play?
Noel: Ones without a stage.
Ayu: Big ones with our friends.
Sunny: Any with Louis as our sound engineer. Any organised by people who live and breathe it.
The last time we saw you live was at Camden Assembly supporting Tokky Horror. The turnout was crazy, and it felt like a really special show. How was it for you?
Noel: It was a turning point for a few things and a catalyst in a sense. I can’t yet say what for… maybe I don’t know myself yet.
Ayu: A little stressful to be honest, the logistics of getting that show together was an absolute nightmare, once we were on stage it was fun. Seeing Bob Vylan in Tokky’s crowd was cool, I wonder if he saw our show.
Sunny: It was special for me as it was our last show with Jas on drums. It was the end of an era. Having Mikey come in now is a blessing, we’ve always been lucky to have our best mates in the band.
Mikey: It was brilliant! I was stood up at the front grinning the entire set <3
The video from the Camden Assembly gig really captures the energy, are you pleased you have it documented - tell us more about how that came about!
Noel: Jude’s an absolute babe and the video was a perfect capture of what we do! I think we share a lot of the vision stylistically but also in terms of ethos. And it’s always a good day when you meet someone like that. It’s all about the art and the family around it, and Jude is about it.
Sunny: Jude came through with an insane video after that show. My main memory of them that night is listening to loads of Dreadzone with them on the drive back home. Since then I’ve been nagging Noel pretty much non stop to link us all up again with Jude to do a music vid for officer Nigel (unreleased).
Other than the show with us on Tuesday at Windmill Brixton, and the fundraiser in Brighton on 22nd September, what can we expect from Forrest Flowers for the rest of the year? Any plans, any dreams?
Noel: Only dreams (they will manifest).
Ayu: Write more songs, Play more cities, maybe play some festivals.
Sunny: The dream is to play a festival. Even on the smallest stage in the quietest corner with only the stragglers. Other than that, going forward we have lots of new unreleased music in the pipeline. Would really like to support Soft Play. I think those guys are great.
Mikey: I’m looking forward to contributing towards new material! Being behind the scenes of the FF creative process has felt so special after being on the other side of it for so long - the communal aspect of throwing loads of ideas together to create a song, and workshopping it until it feels right is such a great way of making music. I’m excited to explore new ideas and collaborate with these three amazing musicians, and hopefully get to perform with them as much as possible! :)
A chat with Jude Harrison who shot the Camden Assembly footage…
How did you get into videography? How much does skating and music overlap for you?
I started shooting video in 2019, filming my friends skating in our local town. I had seen a video of someone filming skating and knew I wanted to try it out, it looked so fun.
It wasn’t until 2021 when I began to use the camera to capture moments in music alongside my skate projects. Both skateboarding and music have been massively prominent in my day to day life for years. Music is a huge part of a skate video, almost as important as the filming itself, it can make or break a skate video for me. And In a way, when editing a skate vid there’s a similarity to making a live music edit.
What was it about Forrest Flowers that caught your attention? How did this collaboration come about?
Forrest Flowers are dope. I’v worked with lots of different bands but it’s not often I get the opportunity to shoot a band that I’m genuinely really into. When I can see the potential for that I’l jump on it! Noel put a story up asking for an upcoming gig to be shot so I quickly reached out. The bands image is unique and I felt it would work well with the style of video I had in mind.
What was the inspiration behind the Camden Assembly show video - I love the editing, it's fast and carries the band's energy so effectively. Do you plan a lot in advance or do you sometimes work more reactively in the moment?
Thanks! I’m heavily inspired by The prodigy’s live videos Circa 2009-2012. That era of tech is also really cool, the earlier HD stuff looks so sick.
I shoot a mix of analogue & digital to get the final look, using different cameras is an effective way of making the video more captivating in my opinion. It can look stale if the footage is samey for a minute for those recap videos I think. Multi cam, full song videos is a different story but I like to show that it’s an entire show I’m recapping, different songs, different feels so the camera switching helps show that to the viewer I think.
It helps to give the small instagram minute long format a beginning, middle and end.
I like to think I have my style now & as much as I want it to grow and change, I don’t need to plan as much prior to the show as I used to. It’s all in the edit anyway really…
Do you have future ideas for collaborations with Forrest Flowers, and if so are there any particular things you'd like to do?
Yeah I defo want to work with Noel & the band again. We’v had chats about a photoshoot & a music video. Both of which will come together soon I hope, when life stops getting in the way.
Stay up to date with Forrest Flowers via Instagram & their website, to see all new announcements and upcoming shows. You can find them on all streaming platforms including Spotify and Bandcamp. The next show you can catch them at will be in Brighton on 22nd September, fundraising for Lyn’s medical debts alongside Electric Cowboy Club, The Damn Shebang and more. Save the date, come on down and donate to the surgery fund if you can!
