A Dead Forest Index
Adam and Sam Sherry of A Dead Forest Index, recently released their debut album In All That Drifts From Summit Down. Mike Alexander chats with the NZ-born brothers.
How did you arrive at A Dead Forest Index? Sam:
A Dead Forest Index was originally an idea for a song title, inspired by a (sunstroke) dream that Adam had about travelling ‘‘above a dead forest’’ while clutching maps ... the name took on more meaning as time went on, and also related to literal landscapes and our experience of travelling. Adam was also listening to Nico’s Marble Index at the time, so the name also comes full circle to something close and dreamlike.
Adam, you have such a unique voice. I can imagine you as a choir boy or someone who has had classical training. Are either of these observations true? Adam:
I’ve had no formal training but just try to sing from a sincere place, drawing inspiration from Nina Simone, Bachu Khan, countertenor David James, flamenco singer La Caita.
Originally, A Dead Forest Index was just you, Adam. When did you realise Sam was the ideal collaborator?
Adam: Sam joined me in Melbourne and we instantly started working together, developing from a few start points I’d just written. Previously, I was experimenting with guitar noise, vocals and field recordings, more of a collage of sounds. Sam helped focus what I was doing, adding percussion and a new energy.
Adam, did you move to Australia because it was a more robust and musically creative environment?
Adam: I never intended to live in Australia but ended up moving to Melbourne from London with my girlfriend. It was an instinctive decision and something that turned out beautifully over time.
At what stage did the two of you start to realise your musical vision?
Sam: Our band originally started out with vocal structure and improvised instrumentation. A lot of what we did live in Melbourne was improvised, we weaved in and out of abstraction and clarity. A starting point for us was Scott Walker’s The Drift. The immensity and singularity of his voice and compositions sparked me personally to approach percussion in response to voice, almost as a reaction to words more than anything. Adam’s always had a very clear ‘‘pop song’’ ethic of writing, we always come back to the intonation of words while keeping everything open and new.
It seems like hard work has opened doors – a release through Pop Noire, the collaboration with Savages and now a full album release on Sargent House. Sam:
We had some correspondence in 2013 with the amazing producer Johnny Hostile and vocalist Jenny Beth which led to UK and European tours supporting Savages. At that time we released the Cast Of Lines EP on their label Pop Noire as it was the beginning of a new phase of songs (leading to our first record). We also started collaborating with Gemma Thompson (Savages) who is like our third member. Her guitar playing is featured on our on Myth Retraced and Sand Verse from the album.