Forgotten Garden
Forgotten Garden are an Indie Rock band (duo+guests) with dark/gothic post-punk tendencies. Occasionally they also wander from the path of post-punk righteousness into more acoustic territory. The haunting vocals are provided by Inês whilst Danny plays most of the instruments. Both live in the north of Scotland although Inês originally comes from Portugal. They started working together in 2019.
The Broken Pieces EP that dropped in September 2020 was Forgotten Garden's first release. It contains four tracks based around the theme of a relationship breakdown. On July 23rd 2021 Screamlite Records releasind a new single by Forgotten Garden entitled “Jessica”. This is a new song about the consequences of domestic trauma. It was paired with “Broken Pieces” (Natural Mix) - a re-mix that previously only had very limited availability.
The music of Forgotten Garden is mostly inspired by post-punk bands such as The Cure and Joy Division and earlier bands like The Doors. Inês's vocals are influenced by some of her favourite artists like Florence Welch, Lana Del Rey, Chelsea Wolfe, Weyes Blood, Kelsey Lu and Warpaint.
Christmas Time
Mit "Jessica" war Forgotten Garden bei uns schon einmal zu Gast, jetzt liefern sie ihren Nachfolger ab. "Christmas Time", so der passende Titel zur Jahreszeit. Wobei die Inspiration nicht den üblichen Konventionen folgt, sondern "... was inspired by seeing children laying flowers at the side of the road where their young friend had died in a car crash...", so Danny.
Diesen Eindruck, ein Bild geprägt von Traurigkeit, war der Anstoß zum neuen Song der Band, diese Szenerie auszuarbeiten sein Anliegen. Die Geschichte hat er zur Weihnachtszeit angesiedelt um zu verdeutlichen, dass das Fest auch für trübe Momente respektive Erinnerungen stehen kann.
Die musikalische Ausarbeitung wieder beachtlich. Die Interaktion zwischen Inês und dem Klavier bemerkenswert emotional, die geschaffene Atmosphäre ein Spiegel der Lyrics.
Zwar sind Inês und Dannys virtuoses Klavierspiel die Haupakteure, Cello und Violine vermögen aber der Stimmung die feinen Züge von Melancholie mitzugeben. "Christmas Time" by Forgotten Garden or how memories from the past can haunt you.
Q&A
Who or what inspired you to write the song "Christmas Time"?
Danny: “Christmas Time” was inspired by seeing children laying flowers at the side of the road where their young friend had died in a car crash. That image was very powerful (and sad). So I interpreted that image on the piano using the lyric contained in the first line. That then suggested the whole shape of the song.
The song was set at Christmas to reflect that as well as good memories Christmas can be a milestone for bad memories too. As the song was piano based it naturally fitted into a more acoustic type of arrangement hence the strings!
The Song sounds really great, it has that special something, is it more Danny or Ines based or 50/50?
Danny: Well, I wrote the song and then recorded the piano and lead vocal melody. Inês then took this and did her take on the vocal and then added the backing vocals which she created.
Inês: The songwriting and production are all Danny. This is how the process always goes for FG: he writes these beautiful melodies and arrangements and then I have only to try to get my vocal
interpretation to do them justice and fit the atmosphere and feeling of the music and lyrics. The backing vocal arrangements are usually a collective effort.
You are from Inverness, how would you describe the music scene there?
Danny: Inverness is only a small town so it hasn't got a very big music scene. However, it does have quite a large music festival, the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, nearby every summer (Covid allowing). It's attracted some quite big acts over the years. In 2022, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Van Morrison, Emile Sande, the Fratellis and many more are going to be on the bill.
Do you remember your first ever self written song?
Danny: Yes, I do. It was a heavy metal, Metallica sounding song that I wrote when I was about 12. The first line was “Schizophrenic sounds of laughter echo through the corridors of time” :) It actually had a good guitar riff which I may reuse sometime - although it might be a bit too heavy for a Forgotten Garden song ha-ha.
Inês: I never do the songwriting for FG - that's Danny's department - but I do write songs of my own. It's not the first one I wrote, but the first one I remember is a piano pop ballad of sorts, heavily influenced by Keane and Florence and the Machine. It was called Like in Dreams and it talked about how anxiety can feel a lot like those dreams where you're being chased and want to run but cannot move your legs. I liked it, but my style changed a lot since then, so I'm not sure if I'll ever pick it up again.
What was the first Pop/Rock/... song you listened to or remember on?
Danny: I can't remember a song but the first album I bought was the soundtrack to the film “Easy Rider” at the age of about 10. I'm quite proud that I bought that album and not something by, say, Steps ha-ha. I still love Easy Rider as a film and of course the music from it is pure class. I don't think I lost my cool credentials by buying that! :)
Inês: I don’t have any memory of this, but my parents often tell me there was a time when I was a baby when the only way of getting me to fall asleep was to blast the Rolling Stones.
Christmas time is here again, how do you celebrate this time of the year, or do you say "No, not with me"?
Danny: I prefer the old school approach to Christmas of visiting family and having a traditional Christmas meal (no meat though!). Often I also go for hill walk at Christmas or, if snow allows, a little ski tour. In the last few years it hasn't been possible to do a ski tour round here at Christmas due to a profound lack of snow! Maybe this year will be different since we are already getting snow :)
Inês: I try to spend time with loved ones and to enjoy baking traditional Portuguese desserts :)
How would you describe 2021 in a sentence?
Danny: I think due to the ever present Covid situation, Jim Morrison's words in “Strange Days” might sum it up....”Strange days have found us, Strange days have tracked us down, They're going to destroy, Our casual joys”
Inês : I’ll go with a quote by Virginia Woolf that, though not exactly one sentence, pretty much describes it for me: “It was awful, he cried, awful, awful! Still, the sun was hot. Still, one got over things. Still, life had a way of adding day to day.”
...and of course what’s next for you?
Danny: Well, last time I answered this question was to say we would be releasing a single called “Bad Guy” about a man who feeds on affection in a vampiristic way.
However, instead we released “Christmas Time”!! ha-ha. But “Bad Guy” is on it's way. Hopefully, it will be available early next year. After that we have an acoustic version of “Jessica” to release and then, all been well, an EP.
Inês: nothing else to add!
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