Lockdown chats with Ryan Williams.
I’m a little sick of sitting around with no where to go and no gigs to see or perform in during this lockdown in Melbourne. So, I’ve decided to sit down with some of the Forest Collective family to see what’s keeping them busy and to look back on their time in the Forest.
First up is recorder player extraordinaire Ryan Williams, who first performed with Forest Collective way back in 2010.
Tell us about your involvement with Forest Collective, how long have you been involved and how it all started?
My first memory of Forest Collective was seeing Evan rolling around on the floor of Loop Bar, performing on clarinet, with newspaper and other objects flying around as part of a cross-genre theatre performance. Looking back at Forest's Previous Projects on our website, it looks like that performance in 2010 at Loop Bar called Love Dogs hooked me in completely, as I then performed with Forest in their next project called Holz with a recorder quartet I was in. I believe we performed a new work composed by May Lyon who continues to do brilliant things! I definitely did another gig in those early years with Forest out the back of some dodgy warehouse space in Fitzroy, but I don't think it's registered in our Previous Projects - maybe it's a lost masterpiece!? I then had a large break from Forest activities, pursuing lots of my own projects and living overseas. I caught up with Evan at BIFEM in 2017 and heard that he was putting together a more fixed ensemble line-up for Forest in 2018 - I said sign me up please, and have performed regularly with Forest since 2018.
Can you name your highlights from working with Forest Collective?
Apart from the dumpster dive gig in Fitzroy, I'd say fluttering hearts // thinking machines (2018), Skin Deep (2018), Orpheus (2019), & Diimpa x Forest Collective (2021). The concert with Diimpa was particularly sweet, being one of the first performances back for me personally after 2020's lockdowns, and the first gig back for Forest Collective after not playing together for a year. To celebrate one of our members' works like that was incredibly special. Looking at all those projects I've mentioned, the thing that stands out for me is the nature of them. They each used nearly all the members of Forest Collective. Whilst I enjoy the smaller ensemble programs we do, packed full of variety - I really love to explore an idea fully with the whole Forest team. That's where I feel this ensemble shines, and our performances can really reflect who we are as a collective through our sound-making together.
What's keeping you occupied this lockdown?
The hope is that I'll be out and about performing for people again! The smattering of performance opportunities I've had since March 2020 has kept me going emotionally and artistically. In the snap openings, Melbourne venues have been packed and audiences are hungry for connection and to explore art-making. It's really fantastic that they are bringing this energy into the space, and it makes each performance super special. Otherwise, I've been composing, improvising, teaching, finding new outlets to make money, and listening to full albums - with dedicated listening time, just sitting on the couch and listening right through. I haven't done that for years, and it's been incredibly rewarding and inspiring - there's so much amazing music out there!
What's on the musical horizon for you at the moment?
Hmm this is a little hard to answer at the moment. I'm being booked up with lots of exciting things for 2022, but after getting so burned this year with lockdowns it's hard to have the confidence that all these amazing things will go ahead. Many projects that I co-run are based interstate and internationally, and as such they've completely ground to a halt, these two years of lockdowns have changed lives completely, and I've found myself rethinking the way my career works and what to put my energy towards. Blooming out of this time have been many new ideas and ways forward including a few new projects I'm incredibly excited about. I'm particularly happy to be back playing with my friend and long-time collaborator guitarist Diego Villalta performing a bunch of new jazz-inspired original material. I've also been working online to produce a bunch of singles and video releases with Japan-based koto player and singer Miyama McQueen-Tokita as part of our project Unknown Mirrors. And there's a brand new project called Croissants & Whiskey with Joy Lee (harpsichord), Katie Yap (baroque viola), & Miranda Hill (violone) producing our own original music, as well as commissioning a bunch of composers. I'm really excited to be creating new music together as a contemporary baroque quartet, and we've got a single release with ABC Classic & composer Elizabeth Younan coming up in 2022.
