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Future of Forestry

:::Travel

Following a recent journey through both painful and beautiful life changes, artist Eric Owyoung has arrived at this wisdom: “Listen to your heart, and take with you what lasts forever.” That deep and bright message defines “Traveler’s Song,” a soaring tune he wrote to rise above the transient mess of human circumstance. And it’s the same piece that launches the Travel series, a conceptual trio of poetic and elemental records from his ethereal rock band Future of Forestry.

Three sets with six tracks each, and released just months apart; Travel I, Travel II, and Travel III use the carriers of air, sea, and land respectively to explore our temporary struggles and eternal hopes, ultimately discovering what matters most. Issuing several projects in quick succession may not be an obvious way to chase acclaim for Future of Forestry’s 2007 debut album, Twilight (“This could be a hit.”—AbsolutePunk.net), but therein rests the outfit’s unique appeal. Aural comparisons to Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and early U2 are well made, still it is clear that Owyoung and his rotating cast of dynamic players have an exciting creative pace and vision all their own.

“The music business changes constantly. The buzz about a song or band comes and goes, but few things remain the same,” says Eric. “I’m learning to stay focused on enjoying the process of making the best music I can rather than thinking about fickle ideas of success and failure.”

That said, response to Travel I suggests the San Diego act whose name comes from a C. S. Lewis poem has produced another winner. ChristianityToday.com hails Future of Forestry’s “lovely songs that build to triumphal climaxes and are filled with the confidence that many bands strive for, but few actually achieve.”

Indeed, the first leg of this musical trip is a bold quest for flight—for true spiritual uplift—with skyward themes in everything from the artwork to Owyoung’s lyrics. The falsetto vocals, otherworldly keys, and slowly oscillating rhythm of “Traveler’s Song” invite the listener to “dream of when you fly.” Takeoff happens on “This Hour,” a surge of progressive rock where the heart begins to speak: “Sing out . . . you are free to capture your daylight.” The twinkling bells and vibes intermingled with shimmery guitars on “Colors in Array” lend themselves to the track’s idea of seeing clearly from above the purpose of life’s turbulence.

“The ‘colors’ represent the spectrum of experiences on earth,” explains Eric, whose classically trained voice shines through here. “Usually, these colors end up looking pretty messy. The song is about stepping back from the mess to see how beautiful it is in the bigger picture of life.”

Travel I closes with the postmodern worship of “Halleluiah,” its melody ascending with a prayer—“Fill the sky, Adonai”—until quiet meditation gives way to an electrical storm of sound.

“I love seeing people encounter God through the intensity of a rock song or beauty of an ambient song,” says Owyoung. “Those are some of the most worshipful experiences for us as a band.”

Just as convincingly, Travel II pulls anchor for an ocean-wide perspective on not being undone by the noise of this world. Plank-stomping World Music percussion splashes into the mix on illustrative, getaway tunes like “Hills of Indigo Blue” and “Set Your Sails” as well as “So Close So Far” and “Someday,” in which Future of Forestry ponders a restless desire for heaven.

“It’s the home I came from and yet have never been to,” Eric says. “ . . . These songs are about finding wholeness, depth, conversation, and peace in my life.”

Choppy alternative rocker “Holiday” floats an interesting idea past the listener in regard to human emotion and God’s creation: Owyoung has an aunt who claims how one feels about the sea is the same as how one feels about love.

“I based the song on that—went around and asked people what they thought about the ocean,” he admits. “ Some are invigorated by it. Others feel it’s mysterious and can’t be trusted. The answers were fascinating. It was a fun concept to work with.”

Should you meet Owyoung at a Future of Forestry concert, chances are this multi-instrumentalist and producer of Chinese descent will find something of interest in your thoughts as well—his attention to detail, whether in music or in life, as endless as the horizon.

“Everyone and everything inspires me,” he says. “I carry a notebook and rudely begin writing in it during conversation. If that happens, you probably said something I thought was pretty cool.”

That excitable attitude is sure to be reflected in Travel III, the series-concluding road record scheduled to release in April 2010 that is still marked by construction-ahead signs in Eric’s mind.

“At this point, because of the driving theme, I’m hearing a lot of groovy beats—incorporating the bass and kick drum punch from R&B music, but doing it in an indie-rock Forestry style. But who knows? It might end up totally different. I’m just going with the flow.”

An exciting soul journey continues.




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