A Hawk And A Hacksaw’s Jeremy Barnes Talks New Album ‘Forest Bathing’

A Hawk And A Hacksaw’s Jeremy Barnes Talks New Album ‘Forest Bathing’: drummer for folk rock duo discusses evocative new album. 

Barnes took out time before the duo’s European tour to discuss the inspirations and recording process behind the new album, guest collaborators that added layers of musical intrigue, their upcoming plans for their U.S. tour and much more. Enjoy the full Q& below:

I was reading in the press release this album title comes from the American translation of the Japanese phrase Shinrin-yoku, which means “taking in the forest atmosphere.” Why did you chose that phrase for the title, and how does it inform the album?

We’ve been going on a lot of walks in the Bosque forest along the Rio Grande, and it’s true– being in a forest is therapeutic. As you walk and talk, you choose paths in the forest, and paths of thought in your mind. Your mind and body connect. Important things take precedence. And I love the term Forest Bathing.

I also read that the Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico was your “forest bath of choice”.  Can you tell me how you and Heather drew inspiration from that environment?

Walking casually through a beautiful natural environment is about as inspiring as it gets.
Escaping the studio, or all the tasks that are supposed to be at hand… Watching the flow of a river and seeing the changes in a landscape throughout the year. Growing old with a place. I love the idea of growing old as opposed to getting old. Growing into something.

There is obviously a very eclectic and diverse sound to the album, and the song Alexandria is a perfect example. With primarily instrumental music you can’t build a composition around a lyric. Is that aspect more challenging than playing in a traditional rock band? What is your general songwriting approach?

At this point I’ve done more of this stuff than playing in a traditional rock band. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever really played in a traditional rock band. I’ve never listened primarily to lyrics. They come second or third to me. I’m interested in melody and rhythm.

You primarily play accordion, but you worked with other instruments on the album, including a Persian Santur On Alexandria. What inspired you to use it for that track, and was it challenging to play, or have you had experience with it in the past?

I’ve played the santur for about 8 years, but only seriously for the last 4 or so. It just totally fit that song, and yes it is challenging to play in some ways, but coming from a background of playing drums it feels very naturally to me. The has limitations, but it feels much easier to play than the accordion, which is a total burden. I have to work at it and it is exhausting to play, exhausting to carry.

There is such a cinematic quality to your music, that you can hear in songs like The Magic Spring, Night Sneaker or Babayaga. I realize so much of that comes from your travels and mix of different regional styles of music, but do you ever draw inspiration from film, or think in terms of imagery when recording?

Definitely. We love films and film music. Some of my favorite records are soundtracks: Once Upon a Time in the West by Sergio Morricone, Nino Rota’s Fellini soundtracks… we’ve worked more in film and TV. We did the soundtrack to an Albanian TV show called Skanderbeg, and working with the incredible director Peter Strickland on a short for the film A Field Guide to Evil.

You have a variety of guest performers on the album, like clarinet player Cüneyt Sepetçi, Chicago trumpeter Sam Johnson and Deerhoof‬’s John Dietrich. Did you write certain songs when them in mind? How did you decide which tracks would benefit from their involvement and additional instrumentation?

Yes, certain things were done with people in mind, but we also experiment with versions of songs. We have alternate versions of many of these compositions with different instrumentation. But certainly someone like Cüneyt immediately brings a completely wonderful and unique style to a tune. He doesn’t speak English, and I don’t speak Turkish, but he still happily talks to me and I talk to him. One of our few common words is kardeş, or brother.

You also have a European tour kicking off this month and North American tour dates in May. Any hints you can give to fans about what to expect–and will there be any guest appearances from the aforementioned performers on Forest Bathing?

We are doing all these shows as a duo. And it feels so good! We can practice all time, and we can bend and change things and create dynamics in volume and tempo, in ways that get harder and harder to do with large groups. We’re doing a mix of songs from most of the AHAAH records, and it’s been nice to revisit and rework songs from the past. I want things to be as easy as possible. I don’t want to stress. I just want to get out there and play with Heather.

In addition to my questions, is there anything else you’d like to tell fans about the new album or any other musical plans for 2018?

We want to tour as much as possible this year! I miss my dog but I’m ready to travel. I’ve devoted the last year and a half to recording, producing and releasing a lot records, and now I want to get out of my yard and tour.

Thanks to Jeremy for taking the time out for this interview! You can buy Forest Bathing via Amazon below the list of U.S Tour dates.