East Forest

East Forest

East Forest is a New York-based trance and ambient project led by Trevor Oswalt, whose name is linked to the German meaning of his surname, “East-Forest.” The project begins as Oswalt’s solo identity and draws on field recordings, electronic textures and melodic soundscapes. Its stated approach combines recorded natural and urban sounds with ambient and post-rock elements, a style described by the project as “Shaman-Rock.”

Oswalt is raised in Oregon and later lives in New York City, where he records sounds from both outdoor and city environments. His field recordings include tree frogs, fire pits, mountain breezes through fall leaves, subways, mouse clicks and traffic light switch boxes. These sounds feed into the project’s musical library and shape its atmosphere.

Release and distribution

The debut album, The Education Of The Individual Soul, is presented as an uninterrupted sonic journey featuring jungle monkeys, entheogenic messages and pulse-like beats. East Forest makes its music available as a free download through its own website and shares it under a Creative Commons licence.

Style and themes

The project presents itself as a form of introspective music concerned with spiritual self-examination and a return to individual consciousness. Its sound draws together ambient, psychedelic, shaman rock, electronic and field recording influences, with trance also identified among its genres.