Mexican classical guitarist Morgan Szymanski and Scottish artist Tommy Perman will release their second album Songs for the Mist Forest on Blackford Hill in July. While their first album explored the sounds of the Scottish woodland where Tommy’s parents live, their new album is inspired by Morgan’s ranch in the mist forests of Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
All stills and photos © Juan Pablo Ortíz
The music evolved from a soundtrack Morgan and Tommy produced for the documentary film El Dragón de los Bosques de Niebla (The Dragon of the Mist Forest). The documentary shines a light on the ecocide that’s happening in Valle de Bravo. Overdevelopment is destroying the forests that are home to Abronias, beautiful small reptiles native to the region – the ‘dragons’ of the film’s title.
For Earth Day we are sharing the video to lead single ‘Harmonic Rain’ made by one of the documentary’s filmmakers Juan Pablo Ortíz (Ambient CieloRojo).
Below, Morgan tells us about his life in Valle de Bravo:
Songs for the Mist Forest is an ode to nature and the natural world that surrounded me in my childhood, growing up in the pristine forests of Valle de Bravo in Mexico.
My family decided to move to Valle de Bravo in the late eighties to escape the pollution in Mexico City. Back then, Valle was a small village overlooking its lake. Peaceful, clean and quiet, it lay among green forests, springs, rivers and waterfalls. A hidden paradise that not many came to, other than the Monarch butterflies that migrate here every year from Canada.
Dad decided to start our small organic farm project, providing produce to local restaurants. Mum started the first English speaking school, the Escuela Valle de Bravo. We had a wonderful childhood, eating fresh organic food, horseback riding, cycling and swimming, walking to school with nature all around us. A complete contrast to living in the city.
However, due to its proximity to Mexico City, Valle became a prime location, soon the mega rich bought swathes of land, including the springs which fed the lake. Hundreds of private lakes started appearing mysteriously, while other areas struggled for water. New highways were built, and after the pandemic Valle doubled in size. Organised crime quickly took over, causing hundreds of intentional forest fires to clear the way to build new developments.
Carelessness and greed are quickly taking over. We can now see, smell and feel the devastating toll human development is having on what was once a thriving healthy ecosystem.
This album is an ode to a magical place, which might not be here for much longer. Each track is inspired by a different character or aspect of this story. Fireflies, birds, flowers, the river, our sunsets, are all engraved in these compositions in the hope that future generations will be less careless and learn to protect our natural precious world.
We are, however not alone in this quest. We are grateful to our friends in Ambiente Cielo Rojo for inviting us to compose the music for their documentary, El Dragón de los Bosques de Niebla (The Dragon of the Mist Forest). Composing the music for this documentary was the source of inspiration for this album. All the sounds were recorded here in our ranch, hitting sticks, tapping trees, rustling leaves, blowing through shells and bottles. Once Tommy had a play with all my field recordings we recorded the guitars in Scotland. Special thanks to the Edinburgh Music School for letting us record there, thank you to Blackford Hill for believing in the project, and to everyone who has supported us. We hope you enjoy this album which we made with lots of love.
*
‘Songs for the Mist Forest’ is out on 18 July on Blackford Hill. You can pre-order the album on Bandcamp here.
Morgan and Tommy will be launching the album with a special one-off performance at The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh on Sunday 13 July.