Joe Forrester On His Self-Titled Solo Release

13 July 2017 | 10:04 am | Louis Costello

"I felt a need to make sure this album happened. I didn't want to die without making it."

Despite his recent self-titled album featuring an array of depressing and dark themes, singer-songwriter Joe Forrester was adamant that the album eventually came to fruition, regardless of how difficult or confronting the venture was going to be.

"I felt a need to make sure this album happened. I didn't want to die without making it," Forrester asserts. "It was an incredibly hard and challenging process, [sound engineer] Sam Lowe was there for me every step of the way and I worked tirelessly to get it to how it is."

The difficulty Forrester faced during the album's inception may partially be due to the album's dark material, as he explains; "...It's kind of a negative album, meaning that it explores themes of suicide, depression, misogyny, relationship failures, family breakdown, loneliness, but also it's meant to be reassuring to anyone who's experienced such things in an entirely empathetic and empowering way."

Forrester waded into solo work after his own experience with a band break-up pushed him to try his hand at various other projects. "One day I picked up a guitar and tried to sing. I couldn't really but I enjoyed the process and the songs. They usually have a pretty deep connection with me that I hope others can relate to."

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Jam-packed with "noise and energy", Forrester's album lets listeners into his world, with the hope that the connection Forrester feels with his songs can extend to his fans.

"The album represents the songs that are in my head, with all various instrumentation. I've played the songs solo countless times but I wanted to show people what I'm really thinking when I write songs.

"The album captures that better to when I'm solo."