Forest Falls

Chatting to the lead singer Jon O’Neill of Forest Falls, it’s quite peculiar that he is so sprightly this early in the morning, given that it’s 9am on a Friday. It’s only natural, that we begin to discuss each other’s morning routines. “I usually get up at 6:30am and go through all of my emails. After that, I either head along to my day job, (unfortunately the music doesn’t pay for itself at the moment) I am a barista at my café Oscar Mike – otherwise I’ll pick up my guitar and go through some poetry, to get the brain and creative juices flowing. I am a big believer in feeding your mind positively right at the start of the day.”
The new EP for the band is called Hounds and is the follow up to 2014’s Julia. Produced by the one and only Wayne Connolly, who has worked with Boy and Bear and The Paper Kites, it is a blissful electro pop listen and can be compared quite easily to the sounds of Snakadaktal, with indie guitars and synths thrown in for good measure. Talking about the writing process of the band, I’m quick to find out that there are several different ways that the band write.
“It’s either music first like a riff or it could be a vocal melody first. In relation to the song ‘Hounds’, Gabe had a killer chord combination and for me it evoked an emotion that took me back to a part in my life where I was concentrating on perspectives. The song is about a conflict between two couples and I wanted to be a fly on the wall,” he says.
Talking about the process for this EP, one of the main changes to their early work was having Connolly at the head of the beast in the producer role. “Wayne was absolutely amazing to work with. Right from the get go, he felt like a part of the band. I guess that when we first started it was quite like how we went about recording Julia, but eventually we found that we needed to step back from the song. Wayne was really good at working to everybody’s strengths and making them feel so comfortable. The silliest idea was the best one to go with and he really nurtured the best out of the band on this recording. Wayne, in saying that, was the best person to work with. He has so much talent on the faders and he has so many ideas to give in terms of Australia’s music,” Jon says.
From chatting so positively about the experience with Mr Connolly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned up in a producer role in the future.
The new EP is glistening with energy and vibrance throughout each of the six tracks. Forest Falls will be heading back to Geelong to play at the Workers Club on May 10 as part of their tour – which includes a residency at the Workers in Melbourne. “We feel really good about the opportunity to play at the Geelong contingent. It’s such a musical institution in Melbourne and I’m excited to hit the stage. I think that Geelong has a great music scene, and most of the band originates from Torquay. So in a matter of speaking it’s a Forest Falls hometown show. Come out people of Geelong and see Hounds in it’s entirety. See you there mate!”
When & Where: Workers Club Pop-Up @ Beavs Bar Geelong – May 10 and residency at Workers Club, Melbourne on May 6, 13, 20 and 27
Written by Tex Miller