Los Angeles based, producer, composer and songwriter Francisco Dominguez arrives with his project, Forest Robots, which serves as a platform for delivering love letters to his daughter while encouraging her to maintain a healthy appreciation for nature and the natural world.
The powerful new single and visual treatment for Inevitable is now available.
While Forest Robots hopes to instill a love of nature in his daughter (and hopefully the rest of the planet), Inevitable, specifically the music video, touches on the sensitive subject of domestic violence with hopes it will motivate or lead people suffering from domestic violence to seek help as soon as they are able.
With an ambient, electronic, hauntingly enchanting soundscape, Inevitable is equal parts downtempo electronic as well as shoegaze with hints of avant garde. The result is a mesmerizing composition that sets the mood and provides the soundtrack for an equally powerful and potent visual treatment.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Francisco (aka Forest Robots) about the new single, challenges, technology and much more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Watch the video for Inevitable below or subscribe on YouTube.
You can find the song on Bandcamp.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m based in Los Angeles California. I compose electronic based music.
What led you down this path of music?
I grew up with what now I understand was a music privileged upbringing. What I mean by it is that I grew up exposed to so many genres of music at a very young age. My parents were musically adventurous and always cared to share their musical finds with me. That included everything from Jazz to Classical, Soundtracks, International Pop, World Music, 60’s and 70’s rock. Listening to the radio and exploring the entire spectrum of FM and AM stations was a ritual activity as well. All of these things set me up for a great appreciation of music styles. But as I grew up, I began to take notice there was one particular genre of music that seemed to have great synthesis in its compositional process and be able to cross-pollinate other genres to create new amalgamations of sound. That genre is electronic music and it was its compositional process that attracted me to music composition and exploring that process.
What motivates you to keep going?
I enjoy being creative in general and much of my music is inspired by my adventures in the outdoors which can be quite inspiring and educational. The two activities always seem to dove tail and feed off each other in a very symbiotic process. When at home, it’s great putting to use this inspiration I come back from the outdoors with and use music as a way to catalog my experiences for posterity. In my opinion, it’s an enjoyable and positive way to pass a few hours at home. So in general this is why I enjoying being creative and creating music but more specifically, the Forest Robots project was inspired by the birth of my daughter. Forest Robots is a love letter to my her about the wonders of nature. It is a collection of photos and music written to accompany them in the hopes of instilling in her the benefits of spending time in the outdoors and the importance of preserving our public lands. So first and foremost, this is an ongoing project for her, for the present and for posterity. She is my main drive. The music I share publicly is only a fraction of the entire project. And I do enjoy sharing that portion to friends and family and anyone else that might find it inspiring. As long as I can find the time, I will continue to share the music. Most of all this facet of the project is very much more of PSA about nature and our connection to the natural world more than anything else.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
This single is different to 99% of everything I’ve released so far in two ways: There are lyrics and vocals. Every once in a while I’ll record vocals for my demos but for the most part I compose exclusively instrumental music. But vocals and lyrics can be fun. It’s a great way to break with habit and reset the mind. Last year I released two albums of instrumental music Supermoon Moonlight Part One (https://forestrobots.bandcamp.com/album/supermoon-moonlight-part-one) and Timberline and Mountain Crest (https://forestrobots.bandcamp.com/album/timberline-and-mountain-crest) and I’m gearing for a third album later this year. This non album single release is a nice break from promoting a much bigger concept musically like a full album.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
As I mentioned before, Forest Robots is a project that I created for my daughter. What I share publicly is more of a PSA about nature and our connection to the natural world than anything else. I don’t do this to pay my bills nor am I trying to. I have a day job to do that. I don’t have many expectations other than my hope to inspire people. But I do empathize with artists that are trying to make their music career their means of supporting themselves because it is an over saturated market and the big music distribution companies seem to be ones that are best off than anyone else in the industry. It is a sad state for the music industry.
What was the last song you listened to?
“Across The Graveyard” By Royksopp from their “Lost Tapes” single releases.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I enjoy formats for their functionality. I own a fair amount of music on each format. MP3’s obviously are fantastic in their portability. CD’s still play a good amount of service but I do admit MP3’s have stolen much of their thunder. CD’s technically offer the best fidelity but vinyl offers a particular warmth that is absent in the other two formats. I love playing records when I’m at home, having dinner, reading a book, of hosting friends.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
They are all functional formats although the first two formats have been pushed on the music listening public without much choice and at the expense of artists. So I have a tendency to thumb my nose down at them from time. Bandcamp I enjoy the best, their transparency in support of artists is great as well, and artists benefit the most from this platform.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can find Forest Robots on all digital platforms:
Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/artist/7lPKjXalkuNklA8VbuXjN3?si=bS9ZoK6vRKWaljJJUzmQWQ)
Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/artist/forest-robots/1309442776)
Bandcamp (https://forestrobots.bandcamp.com)And you can follow Forest Robots news here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forestrobots/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/forestrobots
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forestrobots/
Anything else before we sign off?
Thanks for the interview. I appreciate it.
