tag:forestelves.com,2005:/blogs/newsNews2022-04-22T14:56:16+03:00Forest Elvesfalsetag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/65843842022-04-22T14:56:16+03:002024-01-04T14:50:25+02:00Path Of Fate<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large">*</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="YrzGXSJSZ38" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/YrzGXSJSZ38/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YrzGXSJSZ38?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">~Happy Earth Day dear Owls and Listeners!~</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">This is a blog post about Path of Fate!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">This song has been getting so much appreciation recently and despite it being 7 and a half years old, I’m very happy about that. For some reason or another, I find it really hard to draw out memories about the creation of this song, but I do remember that it felt right to create this due to a coincidence. I had composed an idea at some point that I hadn’t shared with Merry that was incredibly similar to the start of Path of Fate! The rhythm and the harp dancing around a similar scale and hitting similar notes. It was only right that this song should be born! I think that both myself and Merry are of the same mind in saying that approaching our older songs to include on Roots were probably the most difficult. For many of them – after so long – it would almost be easier to recreate them from scratch.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">With Path of Fate for Roots, I wanted to see if it would be possible to really brighten and elevate this without needing to completely recreate a new version, because I do love what we created! We both agreed that the mix of the old one could be a lot less muddy and a lot more powerful. We worked with what we had, but re-rendered some of the parts with shiny new digital instruments, like the piano and the harp. We recorded some new vocals as well, and really worked on the mix and master. The clarity between the original version from 2014 and the Roots version is really night and day!! It was shocking to hear the original mix after the Roots version, and only then did the contrast between the two expose our ears to the true extent of the muddiness, which they were not attuned to prior to that!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">- Jordi</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large">*</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Path of Fate! I always think I made it in 2015 but that isn't right. I'm confusing it with Euphoria which is a track very similar to this one. I can barely remember when or why I even made it. I know at the beginning I played around with this little harp and piano scale and I loved the slightly elegant and bouncy softness. It felt like it could lead up to something so I continued working on it. When I shared the first part with Jordi he surprised me by showing me something he made that sounded very similar! Sometimes I think we both seem to drink from the same well of inspiration.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">He encouraged me to continue, something I didn't expect actually, but I was elated when he told me I should see where it will lead me so I sat down and added the next part. I have so many demos of this song still flying around on my old hard drive and they're a wonderful reminder of my process. They all sound the same though. I didn't change much when I worked on this song, it just kept flowing and I finished the first version rather quickly.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="TL_PPrs2mhk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/TL_PPrs2mhk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TL_PPrs2mhk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><em>The old version of Path of Fate</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">When I sent the finished Instrumental over to Jordi he had the idea to write the lyrics in Latin, an idea I was quite fond of. I still don't know how he got the translation though. Back then we didn't really pay as much attention to things like we do now. It was a different time, haha. But the way it was written it flowed quite nicely with the song, so we decided to keep it that way and I had the idea that we'd chant it throughout the last half of the song. I had the idea of a journey in mind and the chanting should symbolise someone walking forward, accepting where fate would lead them, along with the song as it goes on and becomes more complex and intense towards the end.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">In 2018 as we revisited PoF for Roots we wanted to change some things. By this time Jordi and I had the possibilites to increase the quality of the instruments, as well as reducing muddiness, which really was a problem with our songs back then, lol. Jordi was actually the one to suggest to change the piano and he added this lovely accent at the end to make it sound less repetitive! We decided to record everything again and I changed the harmonies towards the end a little to make them sound more exciting and powerful by singing in a more fiery and raw way and utilizing my range and Jordi's vocal talents.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We hope you enjoy our new version of Path of Fate and our Album Roots: The First Chapter! We're currently still working on lots of new things for you to listen to and we can't wait to show you what we have in store for the future.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">- Merry</p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/65843832021-06-29T13:11:31+03:002021-12-19T03:26:34+02:00Metamorphosis<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="RKIZPGMdLJs" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/RKIZPGMdLJs/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RKIZPGMdLJs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><strong><em>*</em></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">The Elves are waking up and poking their heads out of the bushes after a long time of hibernation. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>We are back! :) </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>This time we continue our venture into Roots and we pick up where we left with our track Metamorphosis! <br>I promised I would tell the story of the song when we released Rebirth which is its sister track and a reversed version of Metamorphosis and looking back to it it's a tale of transformation and connection on my part with both of these songs. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>Metamorphosis, as bouncy, jiggly and fun as it sounds is based on a rather confusing childhood memory. One of the very few clear ones I have. You see, I used to experience sleep paralysis pretty frequently. Funny, I remember a lot of the dreams I had as a child. They were intense. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>This song is the tale of a rather particular night when I was around 3 or 4 I think. I would try to calm myself down while being in the grip of a rather intense hypnagogic hallucination. I used to have this weird little "movie" (as I called it) going before finally falling asleep and by this time already it happened almost every single night. Now I know it was just sleep paralysis and me sleeping with my eyes half open, lol, but as a child I thought my room was a gate to another world at night. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>It would start out with a little drum. Steadily beating in the distance just outside of my room. Growing louder and louder, you can hear it in Metamorphosis' rhythm that carries throughout the song. I wasn't able to move, but I could watch the shadows gushing out under my door, slowly filling the room like strange shadow like people. Once these beings arrived in my room the drum was so loud it drowned out everything else. They were everywhere and they danced around me. They never did anything to me, still I was scared of them because they had scary faces and grimaces and they smiled, dancing around me while I slowly drifted away, finally falling asleep.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="jIF0bcWxeJM" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/jIF0bcWxeJM/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jIF0bcWxeJM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_small">The old version of Metamorphosis</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">While working on the first version Metamorphosis I started off with the bouncy melody - although it was a different instrument at first, which you will be able to hear in one of our next videos! -, which made me remember a tiny snippet of the memory above so vividly I almost felt like I was back there. At first it didn't make much sense to me - it still really doesn't but I know the context now - I kept wondering if it was something that really happenend or if I dreamt it, but as I was adding more and more to the song I remembered the drums and so I put them in, documenting my first 'audio memory' without knowing so to speak, haha. When I heard the final result I still didn't have the full picture but I was gripped by excitement, confusion and anxiety. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>I wasn't sure what to do with this song. I liked it, in a way, but it also scared me. So I showed it to Jordi, saying it doesn't really sound much like a Forest Elves song, but he convinced me otherwise and added his own little vocal touches to the song which I loved! And so we recorded our stuff, I mixed it in (and nearly lost my mind trying to get it all to work together. We had SO. MANY. vocal files) and in the end we were both pretty excited about the result. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>We kept talking about a video and we both had the idea to include kaleidoscope visuals that change to the song, an idea I absolutely loved because I know I used to play a lot with kaleidoscopes as a child. I loved them. I still do! </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>So I gathered materials, taught myself how to use the mirror effect in Sony Vegas and I made this little animation you can see in the video above.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Cut to 2018 when I revisited Metamorphosis in an attempt to find inspiration, by listening to the main melody of Meta in reverse, which in turn lead to the 'birth' of Rebirth (lol). Rebirth, as I said is the sister track of Metamorphosis. It was me trying to connect with the little memory snippets Meta brought up and working through them hoping I could let them go and feel less anxious about these things. It worked quite well.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_small"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="3XMTRs4kPgE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/3XMTRs4kPgE/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3XMTRs4kPgE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_small">The instrumental version of Rebirth</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">While working on Rebirth I remembered the context of this memory, I remembered I used to sleep walk, that I had nightmares as a child and I read through articles about sleep paralysis which explained the phenomenon I experienced as a child and it calmed me down a lot to find a rather innocent explanation for the things I remembered.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">2018 was when we decided to revisit our old songs for Roots we watched all of our videos and while we enjoyed Metamorphosis and absolutely wanted it to be on the album we didn't like the muffled quality and weak vocals. We knew we could do better and so we did! We sat down, recorded all vocals again and now with a little bit more knowledge of how mixing actually works on both sides we could finally make a version we're both pretty proud of. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>We hope you enjoyed the new and improved version of Metamorphosis!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">-Merry</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large">*</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Ah we are back! I was jogging my memory with Merry to make sure I hadn’t misremembered anything, and thankfully I hadn’t. Although it was a while back, I remember exactly where I was when I first heard the demo of this track. Merry didn’t initially feel that it was necessarily a project for Forest Elves because the electronic/synthy style of this differed so much from our tracks up ‘til this point. When I first heard it though, the ambience, the rhythms, the melodies… it all felt very Forest Elves to me! It wasn’t quite like our more acoustic and relaxed stuff, but it was still very ambient and otherworldly. I knew immediately that we could turn this into something amazing, and the vocal rhythms we created for this were incredibly fun and catchy too! To me, this track was also a turning point in terms of our experimenting with more electronic instrumentation, which has since become a staple of our sound in its own regard for our more ambient pieces.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I have a lot of fond memories of this song, and dancing to the alternate version as well with Alex while we drank some drinks. For our album, the song was already pretty good, but we wanted to go over the vocals and re-record them with a bit more power! We felt the original vocals were lacking a bit in energy, as the instrumental is so energetic. We felt we could do better, and I love our Roots version of this track</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">-Jordi</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p> </p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/63088662020-06-21T19:00:00+03:002021-07-05T14:47:43+03:00Freebird<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="9dG9JsTYhAA" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/9dG9JsTYhAA/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9dG9JsTYhAA?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Freebird! What a song. This was a particularly fun one for me to re-arrange, and this was also a pretty spontaneous composition originally. We made it for Laura Shigihara's Secret Santa and the person for whom we were tasked with making a gift was Kan Gao, the creator of the game To The Moon! If I recall correctly, he was happy with the gift! The song was named Freebird after Kan's company, Freebird Games. It felt fitting, and the name evoked much of the inspiration of the song. It was quite an honour to be creating this for someone whose work has been very inspiring to me already. To The Moon was one of my favourite games, and the soundtrack was just beautiful. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="95Nx10YT9jg" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/95Nx10YT9jg/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/95Nx10YT9jg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_small">The original version of Freebird</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I remember at first, the name was 'Thera'. The lyrics came from this word and grew further to what they became, as you hear them in the music in their entirety. I was trying a certain type of meditation at the time, and one instruction that I had was to choose a word that is devoid, and then to focus on this word to help your mind become calmer. The word that came to my mind then was 'Thera' - it sounded nice, and gave me a sense of peace, but also wasn't attached to any existing concept or thought, for me. I suppose this is why the song became as meditative as it was, with piano, bells, and erhu. It transported me to a peaceful place in my own mind. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We kept quite true to the original with the new arrangement, but also added some unique touches and extra layers of harmonies. It sounds relaxing and meditative in a different way than the first version did, but in my opinion, this version sounds more complete and full. Perhaps the emptiness of the other version is more appealing, who knows? :D<br><br>I enjoy how rich this new arrangement became, and I feel that it really found its own place on Roots: The First Chapter.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>-Jordi</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large">*</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Oh my, Freebird! Jordi approached me, back in 2014 (I think it was in December 2014 actually, like just a few days before deadline?) and he told me he was in Supershigi's forum where they hosted a Secret Santa and he drew the name of no one than Kan Gao, the person behind the lovely game "To The Moon" himself!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Cue me being surprised and delighted when he asked me to record some harmonies for Freebird. Btw, I didn't get the reference of the song's name until a few weeks ago when Jordi told me the story behind the name. I was honestly baffled that I didn't see it, lol.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Back to 2014! Jordi already had an instrumental ready and I recorded my harmonies and mixed them in along with Jordi's vocals and Jordi made the lovely video just a day before christmas and we uploaded it to our channel. I'm still in awe that we managed to work on this so quickly.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">When we listened to it again deciding what to change for the Roots version we both found that the mix of this version was especially muddy (and honestly, it sounded like we sang in a bathroom... or underwater, lol) it simply wasn't up to our standards anymore. So Jordi sat down and made a completely new instrumental from scratch and I have to say I really love this one.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">It sounds so light and airy and really graceful. Very fitting to the name. I had a blast recording for this one and it's one of my favourite songs from Roots. Which is funny because the old version of Freebird was one of my least favourite songs we did... not because I don't like the song (I love the old instrumental) but our vocals weren't our best work, in my opinion. I'm glad we got another chance with this song because there was so much potential.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>-Merry</em></p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/62755362020-05-31T19:00:00+03:002021-03-25T13:05:45+02:00Lament<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="14PJ5bFx3ec" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/14PJ5bFx3ec/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/14PJ5bFx3ec?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Lament has gone through quite the journey and it is one of my oldest compositions :)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I started making music and singing in April 2011 and that was the month I made Lament. I have this really vivid memory of that day in my head where I sat infront of my PC playing around with the trial version of FL Studio and some free virtual instruments, exporting patterns in the crustiest mp3 quality available and putting everything together in Audacity... Sometimes I miss these times where everything was experimental and new. Where I truly had no idea what I did (not that I have now, but it feels very different) and the task at hand seemed monumental if not impossible. How do I compose something? How do I make music out of silence? How do I tell stories with melodies? I loved figuring out how to do things by myself... I had no internet connection at home to look anything up, so I had to piece everything together via trial and error. It was fun!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">With Lament I wanted to make something that conveyed sadness, grief and loneliness and I sang from the heart... badly, but at that time it was my best. Nowadays I hear every single bit of weirdness and gasping breaths in it and I cringe, lol. Let's say: It's unpolished, but genuine. I don't want to drag past Merry like this. She was proud of herself and she deserves to be.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="GKp3EPZdFkE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/GKp3EPZdFkE/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GKp3EPZdFkE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><em>A video with my first compositions: The first version of Lament is at 4:44</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">A few months later, in November 2011 after my situation changed quite drastically (I went away from home), I found myself visiting Lament again and I felt inspired to dabble at it once more. This time with a little more knowledge and a clearer vision in mind... and a bit more control over my voice. I could draw upon my own feelings of isolation and sadness at that time and I put them into this somewhat gloomy sounding piano piece. I recorded tons of harmonies and I wanted to put them all in, but in the end I found out I genuinely enjoyed the hollow feeling this one conveyed. I remember that I felt very removed from my own feelings when it got too much to bear so I thought the emptiness was quite fitting.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_small"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="5GqlraZIl0I" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/5GqlraZIl0I/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5GqlraZIl0I?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><em>The second version of Lament also made in 2011</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular">Before sharing this version I had an idea. Many people asked me to collaborate with them at the time and it felt awful that I often had to turn them down, so I decided to share the instrumental and invited people to make their own version of this song. Although at this point a very personal composition, I felt it was that kind of composition that lent itself well for many kinds of interpretations. Sadness, grief and emptiness all come in so many forms. So this was an attempt to reconnect with people and myself when I put this 'challenge' as I called it back then, together. I asked others to sing, play instruments, or do anything really to make this song their own. Many people contributed! Back then when YouTube still had the feature that allowed to put other videos as response (I think that's what it was called?) I would link them under the video of the instrumental for other people to find. It was lovely to hear other people's interpretation of this song and the ideas they came up with. I still have them all saved on my external hard drive :)</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular">Music truly has a way to connect things and people.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular">One of the people who joined in was Jordi who did an absolutely outstanding version. I put it down below. If you listen to it you'll hear where the influence of the latest version of Lament comes from.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><em><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="DYoFMQCvD6g" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/DYoFMQCvD6g/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DYoFMQCvD6g?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><em>Jordi's version of Lament the first Forest Elves song you could say!</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular">In 2018 I visited many old pieces again. I wanted to see what they would sound like now and along with Cry of the Forest, Lament was another song that got a full remake and we decided to turn it into a Forest Elves song. </span>I put influences of both Jordi's and my versions together and blended them into one. <span class="font_regular">The instrumentation is something I'm quite proud of. It's delicate, elegant and a little solemn. It went from this somewhat limited feeling of sadness and loneliness from just one person who was detatched from everything and transformed into this version it is now. I liked that our vocals sounded more raw compared to the instrumental, especially Jordi's vocals. He really added another perspective to the song in my opinion. And I can finally say now it sounds like the song I envisioned in 2011. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">-Merry </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">* </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Lament! A track yet unheard probably by many of our listeners. I remember, I first heard this in 2011, when Merry released a vocal version of this, which included Merry's voice and just piano. Along with this, Merry provided just the instrumental and the opportunity for others to make their own interpretation of Lament and record their own versions, which I went ahead and created and released on the very same day Merry had released her version. Merry already gave a lot of the details behind this process, some things I'm even learning for the first time (or perhaps forgotten since), so I really can't add all that much more.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Mostly, what I want to say is that Lament is something I personally really wanted to revisit for Roots, because I think that it was technically our first released collaboration? Already then, I was singing in what I now call 'Etherean' before I ever had a name for it. It was just me singing sounds that sounded nice to sing. We had yet to make a proper Forest Elves version for it, and we took inspiration both from Merry's original versions of the song, and also my arrangement of it, and merged them together, while adding our own new shine to it all. I'm really happy with how this turned out, and it feels like we came full circle with this!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Please enjoy it! <3<br><br>-Jordi</p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/62792232020-05-17T19:30:00+03:002020-05-17T19:40:21+03:00Forest Elves Music Box Collection - OUT NOW!<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="EzDaRXAdy6Y" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/EzDaRXAdy6Y/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EzDaRXAdy6Y?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Well, who would have thought we have a second full album release in the same year? It only took us almost 10 years to get to doing the first one... I suppose Merry and I can't take 100% of the credit for this. I don't think we actively chose or decided to do this album now! Merry was struck with inspiration to work on some music box arrangement for Forest Elves and we had three nearly finished arrangements. This had been something we had thought about for a loooong time as an idea, and it was like "well, I guess this is happening then!" It's so interesting to me how sometimes the music just creates its own path. It makes things easier for us because we never have to force anything! </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We finished all the arrangements for this in about a week! We split the arrangements equally between us, and we even included a couple of arrangements that we haven't yet turned into music. Home was actually inspired by reversing Lost in Space and listening to the melody, which we found was an insanely nice melody in itself! So I went ahead and turned that into a song which we'll arrange at some point properly in the future with lyrics and such. Once again, the music calling the shots. We just go where it guides us! Merry arranged a song called Wind and Leaves, which actually has no Forest Elves arrangement. That song has such an interesting story though because it's one that Merry composed around the same time as Cry of the Forest, and it was a sort of sister track to Cry of the Forest too. This is a song we intend to arrange for Forest Elves and one that we really wanted to include on this album. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">This music box collection makes so much sense for us, as we both respectively enjoy making music box arrangements on our own channels, and have done so for many years now! I suppose it was only a matter of time before we finally got to doing so with our music together. So please, enjoy! We wanted to include the full album up in one video for YouTube. Perhaps you would like to put the video on loop, put on some <a contents="rainymood" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://rainymood.com/"><strong>rainymood</strong></a> in the background, close your eyes, and take yourself to wherever your imagination takes you.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>- Jordi</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large"><em>*</em></span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">It's finally here! We are so excited! <br>We've always wanted to make a music box collection of our songs, I think this was a dream of us since we started making music together back in 2011. We are quite ambitious, haha. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Back in 2018/19 when we started working on Roots we had quite a few ideas of what else we wanted to make. Things like a Piano Collection and a Music Box Collection were thrown around but we never really got to work on them, since we were busy with Roots stuff and all the other releases in between. We did start some arrangements (for both of these ideas) but they never got that far. The first song I picked to arrange for music box was 'Stella'. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>A few weeks ago, in March (2020) I remembered that we made all these plans and so I sat down and started to arrange 'Cry of the Forest'. It took me a few hours to make a quick demo of this song and 'Calling Dreams' as well and I showed them to Jordi together with the old demo of 'Stella' and he encouraged me to finish up these songs. Inspired by these we picked up the idea of a Music Box Collection again (for real this time) and as Jordi explained above, we split the arrangements of our favourite songs between us with a catch, each had to arrange a song of the other person. Jordi picked 'Blue Sky' and I picked 'Lullaby from a Distant Land'. It took us a week to finish all these arrangements. I love how much we can work when inspiration strikes, haha. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We also wanted to include new material in this collection and I chose 'Wind and Leaves', a song we plan to release properly in the future :) </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We hope this release will bring you some peace and joy <3</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>- Merry</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">You can download our "Music Box Collection" in MP3 for free (or pay what you want) here on our website, you can listen to it on Spotify, or if you wish to support us financially you can also get a download of our Music Box Collection in any high quality format of your choice on our Bandcamp! </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Get our "Music Box Collection":<strong> || <a contents="➤Pay What You Want" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://forestelves.com/album/1593025/music-box-collection">➤Pay What You Want</a> || <a contents="➤Bandcamp" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://forestelves.bandcamp.com/album/music-box-collection">➤Bandcamp</a> || <a contents="➤Spotify " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/16E0A5HMjBsnPKvLr1MoaX">➤Spotify </a>|| </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Every cent goes into further Forest Elves projects and no matter how you chose to support us, we are both eternally grateful! :)</p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/62755352020-05-03T19:00:00+03:002020-05-03T19:00:46+03:00Blue Sky<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="AeoRjhIziag" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/AeoRjhIziag/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AeoRjhIziag?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">This song is one of the rare occasions that you get to hear a song that was solely intended to be composed without vocals, and I have always felt that the melodies in this song really shined instrumentally! I remember I was back home in Devon, England. I was taking a bus from the village of Totnes to the city of Plymouth in the westcountry. The bus journey usually takes just a little shorter than an hour, but the bus winds through all the beautiful countryside. The forests, the meadows, the rivers, the outskirts of the moors... until eventually, the bus reaches the oceanside where Plymouth is situatated. Although it always took a little longer than taking the train, I always opted to take the bus if I wasn't in a particular hurry. The day itself was a particularly bright spring day, and the sky was a luscious blue. I had sent Merry a few videos and photos from the bus journey and that is when she was inspired to compose Blue Sky, which really captured the feelings of that day. Although that time was very difficult for me, I could feel genuine happiness from this song. We usually tend to write very intense melodies, often in the minor key, so this was a nice departure! I will leave you with a photograph I took during that journey!<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/386673/f7f8d5779f8051170fec3e3eeaf2073441b628aa/original/blue-sky.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>-Jordi</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>* </em></p>
<p>Blue sky! I have so many fond memories of this song! It's actually one of the few songs only one of us worked on.</p>
<p>It all started on a beautiful spring day. I was at home and the weather was just incredible! Sunshine, clear sky as far as the eye can see.... I was chatting that day, with Jordi, he was on the bus and he sent me pictures and videos from his travels and one particular video stood out to me because it was the beautiful deep blue sky and I immediately got inspired. This melody just sprang onto me, dug its claws right into me and woudn't let me go until I've put it down in FL studio, which I did, as quickly as possible.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I then finished it up quickly in August, making a little video - after trying to make something more elaborate and failing spectacularily. That's just how it is. At least if you're self thaught and stubborn like I am... But I quite enjoy the process. Coming up with something elaborate and complicated way out of my skillset to challenge myself and then slowly realising I can't do it is a humbling experience and honestly: I don't mind failure. I learn from it and don't fear it anymore. Oftentimes trying alone is already part of the fun for me and I usually learn something new that's useful in another project later down the road.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="AkbMlMpqpS8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/AkbMlMpqpS8/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AkbMlMpqpS8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><em>The old video of Blue Sky</em></span><br> </p>
<p>For Roots we barely touched it. We actually had planned to include new vocals and I even recorded some, but honestly? It just distracted from the simple melody and the sheer joy of this song, so I went and added some drums to the album version to make the last part really shine. The recorder you hear is played by me as well. It's quite rare that we use real instruments for our work aside from percussion (mostly the logistics of recording them are too much of a hassle to really bother with it) but we're both trying to include more real instruments in the future :D</p>
<p>This time I tried to include lots of flowers and skies in the video because this is what makes me really happy, which is everything this song stands for.</p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed this remastered version of Blue Sky! Thanks for reading <3</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>-Merry</em></p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/62755342020-04-12T14:17:20+03:002023-08-01T10:07:08+03:00Tree of Life<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="IWSZambxskU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/IWSZambxskU/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IWSZambxskU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p>Tree of Life, oh I remember this song was a stressful experience. Jordi uploaded the first version for the NGADM (Newgrounds Audio Deathmatch) way back in 2014 and we were so proud of our work together. The demo of the song itself was quite old. Jordi sent it to me to work on it because I showed interest and I wanted to work on an instrumental together with him (something we rarely do) but just a few days later and we had both forgotten about it, so it just sat there in my files, waiting for its moment to shine. A funny thing: The demo sounded nothing like the finished song either... I think only the harp part somewhat existed and I would probably have gone a very different way than Jordi. It's been a while and my memory is hazy these days, haha.</p>
<p>Come the NGADM and Jordi still had to compose something for his entry. The deadline was only a few days away. I remembered the demo he sent over and showed it to him again and he fell in love with it once more.</p>
<p>He finished the song in ONE DAY, doing everything by himself, and we had another day for recording, if I remember correctly...<br>I only contributed vocals and we had to be quite fast, the deadline was literally on the same day and fast recording/singing definitely isn't my strong suit. Although it doesn't sound like it, I'm usually very, very picky about my vocals. My voice is rather weird to work with and sometimes it just flat out refuses to work. A shame because I have quite the range and variety when it cooperates. I delivered though and the result was, in our ears (and it seems in the ears of the NGADM judges) quite pleasant since it brought Jordi right into the next round!</p>
<p>Success! :D</p>
<p>We then worked on a charming little video. I drew the artwork and I'm honestly still quite fond of it, although I'd definitely approach it differently this time. At this time Forest Elves didn't really have its own visual style just yet. We slowly grew into it over time as my own art changed quite a bit and I gained experience over the past few years. I still don't have a consistent style, but I see it as an advantage. It means I'm flexible :)</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/386673/138657320390ef07330ede28877e2850c5293816/original/316706-merryberry-tree-of-life.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><span class="font_small"><em>Tree of Life - Artwork by Merry</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p>I remember it didn't take too long to draw this picture. A few hours perhaps. All done with a tablet in Paint Tool Sai.</p>
<p>By the way, the tree you can see on the artwork for our Roots album is another version of the Tree of Life! I wanted to use this specific artwork for a video, back when we decided to include "Tree of Life" in Roots, but in the end it became part of our album cover and I'm pleased with that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/386673/0f87c966b4a96cd8e491914f3aabf980f947f3dd/original/tol-kopie1.png/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_small">Tree of Life reimagined - Artwork by Merry</span></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This one was actually done traditionally with paper from my sketchbook and a cheap ball pen. I barely drew a sketch and just started working on the details at once. I wanted it to look old and mysterious, a tree that doesn't really exist in reality that way with lots of visible roots and tendrils. I think if you'd put a human next to this tree you could barely see them since this tree is so massive.</p>
<p>A few years down the road we listened to Tree of Life again with the intention to include it in Roots, now with way more experience under our belts... We were absolutely APPALLED at the muddiness of the mix... We didn't remember it to be this bad actually, haha. It simply shocked us.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="vpl2rBL-j6M" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/vpl2rBL-j6M/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vpl2rBL-j6M?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_small">The old version of Tree of Life in all it's glorious muddiness</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p>So we sat down, we realised the instrumental itself still held up to our standards and Jordi also had the WAV, so we could master it for release. It's still one of my favourites he has done so far. But yeah, the vocals... They were so weak and we knew we could do it much better. So we started recording the current version you can now hear on our album.</p>
<p>I had lots of fun recording this time and frankly more time, which definitely helped me to get as many harmonies and extras done as I could. We changed up the middle part from the original quite a bit. I didn't include my higher range here and let Jordi have the spot because he created a lovely texture and I thought it would sound good to let it shine, but I recorded a ton of stuff for the climax part to make it stand out even more and I think we definitely delivered here... the original just kinda drags along and tapers out at some point, lol. Seriously, compare them, the difference is astounding!</p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed our remake! :D</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>-Merry</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_xl"><em>*</em></span></p>
<p>Ah, Tree of Life! Now I have fond memories of this song, but the process of writing it as Merry mentioned, now that I come to think of it, was indeed quite a stressful time! I had worked on the instrumental and gotten that to a place where I was happy with it, but the deadline of the round of the NGADM competition was literally a few hours away. My vision of having this song as Forest Elves song in that moment was really strong, and Merry was so patient and kind (a superstar to be honest) to have jumped in so late in the evening to help me with all these vocals under the time constraints! When we released this, I was so proud of it, and it got me through to the next round.</p>
<p>Many people were introduced to our music from our old version of this song too, when Nixxiom used it in his World of Warcraft machinima "The Druid: Tree of Life"</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="re3XbUqsJFo" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/re3XbUqsJFo/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/re3XbUqsJFo?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_small">"The Druid: Tree of Life" by Nixxiom</span></em></p>
<p><br><br>It was seriously a beautifully made video and the storyline was very emotional! He had also used some of our other music in his first machinima "The Druid" (which you can find <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eS_QXsHnBo" style="">here</a>). We were really grateful to have more people find our other music too from this and were excited to welcome everyone to our little world! </p>
<p>Anyway, as Merry mentioned, when coming to Roots preparations and with our growth (which has been expansive) since the original version was created, everything just sounded really muddy. I was able to salvage the original instrumental, but we decided to re-record all the vocals! Now that we weren't under any time constraint, I feel that this really elevated the song to where we always wanted it to be.<br><br>When I was working on the video for this new version, I felt really inspired particularly by the vocals in our new arrangement. In a way, in my mind, our voices connected directly to the tree of life. At first the harmonies we're singing sound quite suppressed and are just simple 'ahh's', and with the visuals, all the nature during these parts is in a sort of watercolour style that I wanted to use to represent a lack of life and freedom. But as the music goes on, especially during the middle section, the tone of the music changes and the vocals start to come to life more! In the visuals, it is still in watercolour style but you can see more movement. Almost as if the tree of life is starting to work its magic, while the voices dance like a spell being cast. The bridge comes in and the tree of life is in full force, the voices growing and everything eventually coming to life and being set free, also reflected in the visuals as the watercolour style disperses to reveal the nature in its authentic form! The outro slows down and lyrics are sung - everything is alive. </p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/386673/39f1cc255b64773dd7f460231f55edbde9a0a052/original/12342.png/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><span class="font_small"><em>"Everything is alive"</em></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just thought I'd jot down my thoughts for those that might be interested - the scattered thinkings of a creator. I hope you guys enjoy this remake!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>-Jordi</em></p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/61947202020-01-31T21:11:49+02:002022-04-22T13:30:56+03:00Cry of the Forest<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="54plAqMwr7k" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/54plAqMwr7k/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/54plAqMwr7k?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Cry of the Forest... our first and oldest song. This song has a very special place in my heart for that reason. I can't believe we first released this over seven years ago! We first had the idea to remake this song and another, which actually then turned into what has now become our first Roots release. The idea sort of snowballed into the album, and it made sense for us! We never would have anticipated how many people our first version of Cry of the Forest would reach, and it also set the precedent for what 'sound' Forest Elves would have. Of course, we experimented a lot since then, but Cry of the Forest has always been quintessential Forest Elves. We've grown a lot since then, and we wanted to elevate this song and arrange it in the way we always wished we would have done back then. Equipped with new and more advanced skills and musical knowledge, we remade this song from scratch and we hope you enjoy this new rendition! We also wanted to keep fairly true to the original arrangement because it's one of our more relatively iconic melodies and vocals. </p>
<p>Remembering what I was thinking back when I wrote these lyrics is really difficult. Lyrics tend to come to me really spontaneously, and I think I wrote these in about 5-10 minutes. They were completely inspired by the music that Merry had written, which was so beautiful, yet had a tone of sorrow and longing to it. I also wanted to capture the element of mystery that I felt from the music. This world was created in my head; the Forest has a life of its own. The Forest feels, and it remembers. Every footstep that walks through it, every touch of skin on the bark of its trees, every hoot and howl of the animals that call it home. "Buried deep, lay secrets of forgotten places" ...the Forest is ancient and while time will wither and wittle away within, the Forest preserves what it wants to preserve. "The forest sleeps, never forgetting the faces of past" ...the Forest may seem calm and still, but it is aware and alive. Asleep, but awake. Still, but breathing. </p>
<p>This song became the roots of our project; our music-making journey together. We came together with a love of mystery, of nature, of magic, and this song was the first time this all crossed paths and came together. This song just became what it became, almost by itself. Its own entity. It grew into what it was meant to be, and we just enabled the environment for the song to grow. This is how all of our songs since have tend to come to be as well. Cry of the Forest may have been the start, but it certainly isn't the end. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>- Jordi </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><strong>*</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p>Cry of the Forest! The start of our journey and the first song of our album! It was the song that started Roots. The root of Roots, if you want to put it that way. </p>
<p>A little fun fact: We kept teasing the acapella version of this song throughout our uploads. We put it in our end screen and increased the decibel by 5 each time we uploaded a new video. We intended for it to keep going until Roots was finished but never got to the point where it was possible to clearly hear it in all its glory. In the end we released a little teaser with the full clip just about two days before the album dropped, along with a little riddle. </p>
<p>"Look to the very beginning, the first word ever spoken, and all will be revealed." </p>
<p>The answer to that was: Roots</p>
<p>It was the first word we've ever sang on Forest Elves and it's the name of our first full album. </p>
<p>When we decided on a name for the album we hadn't even realised that Roots was the first word of our debut song. Imagine our surprise and joy when we finally found out... it was around the time we nearly finished all the tracks for the album. We got quite excited over it. I still remember how Cry of the Forest came to be. It was back in 2011. At the end of it actually. I've been composing a lot during that time. Mostly originals and some have made it onto my own channel and some are to this day under my most favourite compositions I made. Cry of the Forest was actually always intended to be a Forest Elves song and thinking back to it, had we made it in 2011 it would have sounded a lot more different than in 2013, when we both already had a little bit more experience in making music. </p>
<p>2011 was the year I started composing music. I'm not trained in it (I can't even read music) and I had, up to that point, never done anything like composing but it was an exciting new thing for me to do and I immensely enjoyed it because it was a way to express myself more clearly than through art. </p>
<p>I've never been good with words. I'm actually quite a literal person and I'm also not very good at expressing myself through metaphors, or understanding them... I even struggle with jokes sometimes, but music helped me to get some of the things I experienced out there in some form. Sometimes way more abstract than intended. You'll find out when we get to Metamorphosis. That one is a doozy.</p>
<p>Although I'm an extrovert I'm extremely shy and reserved around other people. I do love talking, once I'm comfortable... Perhaps this is why I make music. I don't really know. I just know I can put things I feel into sound and hopefully inspire others to dream their own stories.</p>
<p>A little escape from our reality. Which is what music is to me. </p>
<p>With Cry of the Forest I wanted to express the compelling mystery of nature itself. Something mythical, something old and perhaps even a little bit beyond comprehension sometimes. There is so much going on, even when we're not around to see it. It just does its thing. Forests are interesting, quite scary at times if you think about it. Getting lost in one is like being eaten alive. It's an organism of its own, housing all sorts of creatures and beings, all contained in itself somewhat. </p>
<p>Another fun fact: Cry of the Forest actually has a sister track called Wind and Leaves. Wind and Leaves was composed a little later down the road, a few months after Cry of the Forest and both have been forgotten in my files for some time until I uploaded Wind and Leaves to YouTube. </p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">If you're curious about Wind and Leaves you can listen to it here. I included the video down below.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="CIaka0CfXww" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/CIaka0CfXww/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CIaka0CfXww?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br>I'd say it's almost quite the Forest Elves sound isn't it? I wonder what I'd do differently now... I'm definitely not opening up my program right now to do a remake of it, nope, hahaha. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p>Anyways! Back to Cry of the Forest! 2011 I wrote the melody and like I said I forgot about it for quite some time. Early Forest Elves was just as notorious about composing things and letting them age like fine wine as we are now. We're just a little more organized now so hopefully it won't be so apparent anymore ;) </p>
<p>A few months later in 2012 Jordi and I remembered the existence of a channel called Forest Elves on YouTube and that it actually was our own channel... </p>
<p><em>"Didn't we want to make music together?" <br>"Oh dude, I might have just the thing!" </em></p>
<p>And just like that I showed him Cry of the Forest which instantly inspired him to write beautiful lyrics in mere <strong>MINUTES</strong>. </p>
<p>Can you imagine my surprise? I have a terrible time coming up with things to say in my music, which is why most of my old stuff doesn't even have lyrics. Not to mention that my english was terrible at that time. You can still see some of it in my old video descriptions on my own channel... Then there was Jordi who wrote these beautiful lyrics in just minutes and I was SO thrilled and in awe. Although I didn't really have an idea what they meant exactly, they sounded mysterious and that was what I was going for with this song. He managed to put it all into words. </p>
<p>This was the first time someone was able to put something I wanted to tell into words. It seemed like he could sense exactly what I was trying to say with this song. That was definitely a magical experience. He quickly recorded his vocals. I mixed them in and then... we forgot about it until a few months later 2013 rolled around and I finally finished my vocals. </p>
<p>Last fun fact: The bit "The forest sleeps silently" (something I came up with) has always been a part of the song. Back in 2013 I recorded myself singing this part, but I wasn't happy with how it sounded. I couldn't really get it right so I left it out until we recorded it new in 2018. </p>
<p>Once everything was done Jordi made the lovely video for it, we put it up on YouTube and the rest is history. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>- Merry</em></p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/61655972020-01-24T16:38:15+02:002022-05-10T10:41:33+03:0012th Celtic Music Bundle on Groupees<p>Hello everyone! Do you like Celtic music? If so, keep on reading!</p>
<p>This year, we're a part of the 12th Celtic Music Bundle on Groupees! For just $2, you can get the HD version of our album "Roots: The First Chapter" as well as "The Forest Sleeps ∞ From My Dreams". On top of that, you will also get music from Jyc Row, Fiona Joy Hawkins and Elvann.</p>
<p>Wanna throw in another $2 on top of that? Get all of the above, as well as music from Logan Epic Canto, Derek & Brandon Fiechter, Drumspyder, and SeeD too! Available for three whole weeks. Grab the Celtic Music Bundle here: <a contents="https://groupees.com/celtic12" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://groupees.com/celtic12" target="_blank"><strong>https://groupees.com/celtic12</strong></a></p>
<p>If you choose to donate to charity, 20% of the price you pay for the Celtic Music Bundle will go directly to the charity "MyMusicRx" which is part of the Children's Cancer Association, bringing music to children facing cancer and other illnesses. This is a cause that's near and dear to our hearts. You can find more information on the charity here: <a contents="https://mymusicrx.org/about-us/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mymusicrx.org/about-us/"><strong>https://mymusicrx.org/about-us/</strong></a></p>
<p>And the cherry on the cake - we've just hit 1000 likes on our Facebook page! Thank you all so much, this is amazing ♡</p>
<p>- <em>Merry & Jordi</em></p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/61346892020-01-22T21:28:58+02:002020-01-23T07:21:24+02:00Roots: The First Chapter - Out Now! <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Jd8rL5f0T2c" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Jd8rL5f0T2c/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jd8rL5f0T2c?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>I still can't believe we're actually here, announcing this project, releasing it into the world for everyone to hear... It's surreal in the best way possible. We've been working on it for at least two years now (9 years if you count us composing all these songs over time) and it all started, simply because I shared my remakes of "Cry of the Forest" and my original song "Lament" with Jordi. From there on it snowballed, because we're not happy with just doing one single thing... we love to overload ourselves with work and then getting through it in bursts of unholy lightspeed and snail pace.</p>
<p>My, what an adventure.</p>
<p>I can never truly anticipate where this journey with Jordi takes me and I honestly love it. We are both so very chaotic and working on this project (and the other releases we have planned) taught us much needed lessons about organisation and patience, which in turn helped us to get even better with music and ah- it's all so nice to look back. I'm tearing up a bit...</p>
<p>Since I shared my remakes we bounced ideas back and forth, realising that we had enough songs already to make an entire album out of them. Back in 2015 when Euphoria first was released we already had the idea to make an album, but we never really went through with it and the idea was just in the back of our heads until 2018 when we realised that we had grown so much as musicians that we should try again. For real this time, because now our audio quality is actually something you could listen to without wondering if we had any idea what we were doing... mind you, we still don't really know.</p>
<p>Although we only uploaded once in a blue moon, we had managed to gather a lot of music throughout the years and so we revisited each song, listening to them and trying to figure out what to improve or which songs we could breathe new life into and our choice fell on these 8 tracks which we put all our love into. But wait, we made more music, right? What happened to all the other tracks that didn't make the cut? Well~ who knows what the future holds ;)</p>
<p>These past two years have been exciting for sure!</p>
<p>Countless times people approached us asking if they could support us more than they already did, or if we are on Spotify and so far we never could give a truly satisfying answer, which is why this release is even more special. While I love all our first versions we made, they were terribly unprofessional and full with mistakes, muddiness, weird decisions and little annoyances here and there and I personally couldn't have endorsed the thought of putting these versions out on Spotify- or worse, asking for money for them.</p>
<p>So many people wanted to support us further, so many people wrote to us, commented, liked, shared, listened to our music and every single time it's something special and I still can't believe it and I'm very, very grateful. So I hope you enjoy our remasters and remakes on this album. We thought of you in every single one of them.</p>
<p>If you prefer the old versions there is nothing to worry about: They will stay on YouTube. We won't just go and delete everything now that we have new shiny versions. We'll leave them up just so you can compare them if you so wish, or maybe you're old-school and enjoy some good Forest Elves nostalgia, lol. I sure do. It's fun to compare these</p>
<p>Mind you, even with this release, our music is still completely free. You can get Roots on our website here and can choose to pay whichever amount you see fit. No matter what amount you choose, or if you download it for free even, we're grateful and absolutely thrilled that you supported us and hopefully you'll enjoy this release <3</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>- Merry</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large">*</span></strong></p>
<p>It's really hard to believe we're announcing this finally, as it's been in the works for such a long while now. Over the years, people have asked us if we have albums, or if we can upload our music to Spotify, or if there are ways in which they can support us more than by listening to our music, watching our videos, or leaving comments. I've said it a few times now, but this has always brought such a heartwarming feeling to me, because we've always been about keeping our music free so that anyone is able to listen to it without any limitations. Yet even though we do this, people still want to support us in further ways, even if they don't have to. We may not be the biggest artist out there, but I'd definitely say we have a very special support-base that we've seen stick with us over the years. I always feel so grateful for this, and it motivates me to keep making music! </p>
<p>Roots: The First Chapter is something we've wanted to do for a while now. We've created and released music so sporadically over the years, and we are constantly working on improving our skills and capibilities when it comes to the process of making music. Every one of our songs has a special place in our heart (which is why you can find all the original recordings of our songs still on YouTube, and in the Archive on our site here, under the music section), but hindsight is a wonderful thing. As we grow and develop, we think of new ways we could have made our older songs even better, that we didn't have the skills to achieve at the time. As we level up, we wanted to bring our beloved older songs with us too! Each of the songs on this album has had a glow up, be it a completely new and original arrangement, new vocal re-recordings, mastering, or all three of these. Rather than just re-release the songs you're all familiar with and have grown to love over the years, we wanted to properly put the time and love into polishing them as best as we can at this point in time. </p>
<p>This has been such an insanely fun project to work on... there is something endlessly satisfying about revisiting old recordings and further working on them, years into the future. Hearing the 'before' and 'after' side-by-side is even more so! This is something that I am personally really proud to be releasing with Merry, and it only took us 9 years to release a proper album! We decided to name this album "Roots" for a few different reasons, but mainly because the premise of it was revisiting where we came from and going back to our 'roots'. We also realised when we were talking about it, that 'Roots' is THE very first word of our very first song that we released on Forest Elves (from Cry of the Forest) ..."Roots and leaves, soulless thieves." It just made perfect sense. </p>
<p>So, here is Roots: The First Chapter, brought to you with love and as a thank you for all your kindness and support over the years. You may notice that not every one of our old songs is included on the album, or you might wonder if there will be another chapter to this story of our Roots. Well, you will just have to wait and see! ^_~ </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>- Jordi</em><br><br><span class="font_large">*</span></p>
<p>You can download "Roots: The First Chapter" in MP3 for free (or pay what you want) here on our website, you can listen to it on Spotify, or if you wish to support us financially you can also get a download of Roots in any high quality format of your choice on our Bandcamp!</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">Get "Roots: The First Chapter"</span>:<span class="font_large"> || <a contents="➤Pay What You Want" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://forestelves.com/album/1427909/roots-the-first-chapter">➤Pay What You Want</a> || <a contents="➤Bandcamp" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://forestelves.bandcamp.com/album/roots-the-first-chapter">➤Bandcamp</a> || <a contents="➤Spotify" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6orFzY3qvJmOaxM3p5M9Em">➤Spotify</a> ||</span></strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Every cent goes into further Forest Elves projects and no matter how you chose to support us, we are both eternally grateful! :)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p> </p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/60449772019-12-25T05:10:44+02:002024-01-04T14:50:25+02:00Happy Holidays ~ End of a Decade<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="bVYq4f1IqUY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/bVYq4f1IqUY/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bVYq4f1IqUY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="324" width="576" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><strong>*</strong></span></p>
<p><strong><em>Merry Christmas, happy holidays, or whatever it is you may celebrate, or perhaps you don't.</em></strong> Either way, I hope that your time through this festive season is a positive one. It can sometimes get a bit overwhelming or feel a bit capitalist... a pressure to make everyone you care about feel appreciated, or to not feel forgotten. Pressure to get everything right, if you're tasked with hosting Christmas for a large family. But in the end, all that matters is that the people you care about are together, and if not physically, then emotionally and spiritually. </p>
<p>After today's celebrations and as we swiftly approach a new decade, I'm sat here at gone 3am, reflecting on the past decade. Forest Elves came into being right at the start of this decade, sometime in 2011, when both Merry and I were but fledgling musicians... seeds of our current selves. Still, we both recognised the heart and soul we both put into our arrangements, even back then. I saw something in the way Merry approaches her craft, and I think she saw something in my approach too. Forest Elves became Forest Elves on a bit of a whim really; we had no idea what it would become, yet we wanted to see what would happen if we combined our sounds, our hearts and our minds. </p>
<p>Never in a million years would I have imagined Forest Elves would have become what it currently is right now. How so many people seemed to have found our original songs that compared to our current production skills, were comparitively poorly mixed and quite messy, I may never truly know. What I do know is that I can't really put into words how much I appreciate that we managed to reach so many people that found a place in their lives for what we have created together. </p>
<p>Forest Elves is a project without many rules or expectations, but I think the one thing that both Merry and I have always been sure of, is that we always want Forest Elves to remain that way. A stress-free, obligation-free project that we can dip in and out of whenever and however either of us wish. Something to come back to in times of inspiration, or something to remain there even in times where our inspiration or motivation dips, yet we are quietly aware that it is always there and waiting for us, when the time is right again. </p>
<p>Because of this, we may not produce as many songs as other artists, and we don't really care to force our inspiration in order to churn out song after song in the hopes of getting views or whatever. I mean, we could, but it would never bring us happiness. That's not why we do this. But, working in the way that we work, it means that you can be sure that the music we bring to you truly comes from the heart, every single time. We simply do it because we want to, and because we love to. It's so important to take a step back creatively, or any which way, whenever you need to. Our health should always be our priority, so that one can continue to be the best 'you' one can be. That way, we have the space emotionally to keep on top of things, and give love back into the world. </p>
<p>Let this new decade be an exciting and special one. No doubt, many life changing things will happen to every single one of us, some bad, some good. But let's try our best to approach each opportunity with a positive mindset! Remember, we must take life by the reins and ride the waves with great confidence. We shall take the knocks and the hits, but keep riding - It's okay to fall, as long as we get back up. </p>
<p>So much love to you all, seriously. You're all so wonderful! </p>
<p><br><em>- Jordi ♥</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large">*</span></strong></p>
<p><em><strong>Happy Holidays from me as well!</strong></em> <em><strong>An entire decade of ups and downs.</strong></em> I honestly barely remember any of it except some highlights, one of them being the creation of Forest Elves, meeting Jordi and another friend who I never want to miss and some downs like the loss of my father, trauma and chronic illness. But there was also music. Be it my own or Forest Elves stuff. </p>
<p>It has been quite the journey and I learned a lot, yet there is still so much to learn. </p>
<p>It was this decade that I actually found out about my 'natural talent' - for a lack of a better term - for composing music. Before I used to play around and dabble just a little with piano, or recorders and our home organ we had when I was a kid but I never really got into composing music or even singing, on my own until I found Erutan and considered trying to make my own covers. Funny, how this very random discovery changed so much. But discovering her gave me a push to tap into my own creative mind, unveiling a vast and unseen potential I didn't even realise I had and I'm incredibly grateful to her for this. <br>2011 I also met Jordi, who commented under my first few Youtube videos. He was so supportive and nice and we quickly got to talk, bonding over our instrument collections, lol. I still remember our very first conversation over on Skype. I could barely understand him, because my English was extremely broken (especially my output just wasn't really good) but we managed to communicate and I remember him singing 'A whole new world' to me. Having someone to talk about music like this was truly something so special and I remember how happy I was. It's funny actually, I found Jordi's music just a few months before we met but I never contacted him (I'm incredibly shy), so imagine my surprise when I received a comment from him. I was overjoyed because he too, was a reason I got into arranging music in the first place. His music just inspired me so much and there was so much more potential to discover. </p>
<p>Would you believe that we started Forest Elves on a whim? </p>
<p>We just talked endlessly about making music until we decided that we would totally cover lots of songs together... before even doing any covers at all. We quickly went on Youtube, searching for a name for our little duo and I suggested Forest Elves, which wasn't even taken. What a coincidence! I remember how proud and happy we were that we got this channel name, haha. <br>Our first cover we planned was a song from Erutan actually. We wanted to do 'Round and Round' and I still have the instrumental for it. All made of instruments I played myself back then... </p>
<p>Life sometimes does weird things and while we considered making lots of music together we never really got the chance to do it and barely even talked that much until 2013 came around. We had the channel Forest Elves for 2 years and didn't do ANYTHING with it. Can you believe it? <br>I approached him with my instrumental for Cry of the Forest, which I had made after just bouncing back from an incredibly awful year, which I barely even remember. I just know I almost got hospitalized at some point, but refused because it didn't feel like it was the right way to go for me. I've always been someone who preferred to fight my battles alone. </p>
<p>It was a hard time, considering that I had trouble with one of the few people who were still left in my life. Eventually everything did crumble and I had a few very rough years ahead of myself with mental and physical ailments becoming almost entirely bedridden until 2018 where I finally got a little better and reclaimed my life as much as possible. I continued making music and even art throughout these years. But 2018 I've finally gotten used to dealing with my situation in much healthier ways and I can say, although 2019 wasn't that good of a year for me, my chronic pain and depression came back with a vengeance, making me almost bedridden once more, I'm ready to take on 2020 and hope that it'll be better. </p>
<p>I'll try my best. I will fight. </p>
<p>I hope that this next decade will be a good one for us. For Forest Elves, for you dear reader and everybody else. Of course, life always has its way. There will be obstacles, but they are chances to grow, if we want them or not. We all just have to keep on going one step at a time and sometimes it's ok to look around and see how far you've already gone. Just like time, life never really stops. Even if it seems like you're standing still. You'll grow. Change is always happening around you. And you change as well. </p>
<p>I know I will do so too. Sometimes it just takes time. </p>
<p>At this point I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for listening to our music, for reading this post if you read this far. Thank you for all your support and love. It truly is a joy making music for all of you and I hope we can continue so throughout the next decade as well. If we can bring just one person joy with our music, it's worth it. </p>
<p><em>- Merry</em></p>Forest Elvestag:forestelves.com,2005:Post/60031542019-12-10T22:28:54+02:002022-04-22T14:40:05+03:00Welcome to the Forest!<p>Finally, we are unveiling our new website. This has been a long time coming, but we are here now! A hub where we can share everything we want to share, and you can find everything 'Forest Elves' all in one place. Think of this place as a sort of digital sanctuary amongst an internet full of chaos and wonder. Feel free to stick around and relax, listen to our music, browse our artwork, and get in touch if you wish - we absolutely love hearing from you! </p>
<p>Lots of love, </p>
<p><em>Forest Elves</em></p>Forest Elves