Forest is an unconventional synth rock band from Los Angeles that is the brainchild of frontman Forest Marchini.

In this interview, we discuss the new project, influences, and more.

Full Q&A, links, and a stream of The Struggle Is Not Real below.

Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?

It’s a matter of following what feels good, what feels right, and being able to express the full range of my emotions as accurately as possible, which usually means first cultivating and maintaining as many choices as possible. I deeply love rock, romantic period symphonies, and the production of hip hop so naturally I feel compelled to combine them. I don’t know what style my music is, especially since it changes from one song to the next but I hope there is a through line of some kind.

What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?

My parents gave me a record player and the Beatles album Abbey Road when I was 3 and I spent my childhood absolutely obsessed with classic rock. Ever since middle school I’ve been writing and recording my own music, playing all the parts myself – it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. My campaign to share my music is fueled by my desire to keep making music, to keep chasing whatever it is that flies into my room at night sometimes. I need to share it.

Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?

My creativity has always come and gone of its own accord, if I could pinpoint anything that influences it I would be so happy. Over time my style has changed very dramatically. In high school I had a rock band, in college I wrote music for orchestras, and progressive rock, and after college I fell in love with the freedom of hip hop production and made beats for a couple years. Now I’m enjoying combining all these loves into one.

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?

The one thing I love more than music is the natural world. In my lyrics I seek to express the deep reverence I have for nature. Musically I’m dedicated to originality. I want to express something that comes from a single point.

What was the last song you listened to?

Funky Crime by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

Whenever I develop a real love for an album,  it’s sound, it’s composition, which is often, I make sure to find it in a high quality download – at least 16 bit. It makes such a difference over MP3s. I’ll settle for CDs if I have to. I dig vinyl though.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I use Spotify for the bulk of my listening but I make sure my favorite albums are in high quality formats, downloaded from bandcamp, hi-resolution download sites, or burned from CDs and then tossed into iTunes.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?

Not knowing what style of music it is makes it hard to talk about it, and the fast pace of our lives can make it difficult to slow down enough to really hear the EP as a whole.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?

Our first EP “The Struggle Is Not Real” came out August 18th on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. Being me, I’d download it on Bandcamp so I can hear everything clearly. I’m also going to send out a very cool experimental mini-EP I just finished to anyone who downloads it in the first week. My previous releases can be found at www.forestmarchini.com

Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?

Thanks for having me, it’s been a pleasure!