Holy Forest is the brainchild of musician and filmmaker Jon Fine. Wearing a number of hats on this record as producer, instrumentalist and songwriter, he enlisted friends and collaborators on a genre-blending project recorded in The Gambia, NYC, Woodstock and San Francisco.
The seeds of the recording sessions, spanning 3 years, were planted on a trip to the Makasutu Forest
Read more…The seeds of the recording sessions, spanning 3 years, were planted on a trip to the Makasutu Forest, a lush, green wilderness of mangrove swamps that line the River Gambia. While there, Fine connected with legendary griot Tata Din Din Jobarteh and the project was born.
With an intimate knowledge of music across genres and styles, Fine reached out to a number of critically acclaimed musicians including members of Antibalas, singer-songwriter Morley, Grammy nominated kora master, Youssoupha Sidibe and rising Gambian star ST. Digging even deeper, he brought in BK afro punks No Surrender, Bay area singer Sparlha Swa, and the criminally underrated Harlem soul man, Ed “Preachermann” Holley to craft a collection of songs about love and distance. Holy Forest is 21st century cross-continental roots music.
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