The term ‘bedroom recording artist’ often gets conflated with living in solitude. Dutch alt-folk outfit Moon Moon Moon‘s new single “Forest Ln. 16” is a charming fourth-wall-breaking tune about the joys of sharing a space with others. The lyrics reconstruct the time founder and songwriter Mark Lohmann was demoing the song in the kitchen, as the other roommates enter and leave the scene.
“Forest Ln. 16” travels between fantasy and reality in a winsome fashion. The nondescript student flat is turned into a magical treehouse, while at the same time, Lohmann divulges mundane actions such as connecting his Bluetooth speaker to his phone. With its delightfully dorky, bootleg Arcade Fire art-pop leanings, “Forest Ln. 16” resonates like a snapshot of happiness gift-wrapped into song.
“I recorded the guitar part with my iPhone earphones, which also made it in the final version,” Lohmann says of the song. “You can also hear people talking in the background. Their original names were still in the demo, but have been changed to animal names in the lyrics. But the feeling that I have found my place just felt real at that moment.”
“Forest Ln. 16” offers the first glimpse of Moon Moon Moon’s upcoming LP Silly Symphonies, which is slated for release around March 2022. Additionally, it’s the first album on brand new Dutch imprint At Ease. The record is said to have been inspired by old Disney cartoons and film soundtracks, with songs being built like set pieces through Pinterest sessions and quixotic sound experimentations. Lohmann developed the material with keyboardist Stef Koenis, finding an evocative purgatory between grand orchestral sounds and the abstract lo-fi recordings of yonder.
Listen to “Forests Ln. 16” below, or find it on other streaming services.
