Forest Clearing’s “Standing Clear” Feels Like a Softly Lit Breakthrough in Atmospheric Electronic Songcraft

With “Standing Clear,” Forest Clearing leans into restraint, intimacy, and slow-burn emotional clarity, turning quiet detail into the record’s strongest signal.

I hear Forest Clearing leaning into restraint and atmosphere on Standing Clear, and that choice gives the music real personality. I feel the project moving with patient confidence, favoring soft-edged melodies, intimate textures, and a slow-burn emotional pull over spectacle. What keeps me engaged is how the songs seem to breathe. They arrive quietly, then deepen in meaning with each pass. I read this release as a snapshot of an artist refining their voice. It sounds personal, reflective, and deliberate, and that combination makes the record feel quietly memorable throughout its run.

INTERVIEW

What was the emotional starting point for “Standing Clear”?

The starting point for standing clear came about as I was moving away from my hometown for university, leaving behind both good and bad memories and starting fresh somewhere new. The topic does very briefly raise its head during ‘our song’ where I talk about how leaving my hometown for uni helped me get out of a bit of a depressive state.

Did the song arrive quickly, or did it take time to find its shape?

The song took a little longer than previous songs did but I tend to write quite quickly once I’ve got the first couple verses written. ‘Standing Clear’ took a couple hours of writing and playing through and re rewriting or re wording to get to its finished state.

What element led the track first: melody, atmosphere, or lyric?

It’s a bit of melody and atmosphere to be honest… I can’t write music around lyrics it for me always works better when I have a melody to work off of. atmosphere is a big thing since my music is very bare bones, which is an advantage as I’m able to place you in the same room as me when you are listening.

How did you decide where to hold back and where to expand?

I definitely slowed things down with this EP I chose to fingerpick most of these songs in order to slow things down and let the songs breathe a bit, which I feel adds to the realness of the songs. In terms of expanding I put more emphasis on my vocals with this project, with two EPs behind me I’ve been able to grow more confident in my voice and it’s definitely something that has had an expanded role in this project.

What does “Standing Clear” mean to you personally?

Standing Clear for me is about being present, or at least trying to be present in the moment. Trying not to dwell on the past and instead to engage with the world around you. I write standing clear on train journeys to and from uni and home so I was surrounded by the past in my hometown and the present at university.

Was there a version of the single that felt too full, and how did you strip it back?

There actually wasn’t funnily enough, I had always planned to make this very intimate and raw.

What part of the track feels most like your signature?

I would say the atmosphere is definitely quite signature to me if anything is. I’m very emotionally influenced by the world around me and the seasons, when I was writing this it was late autumn coming into winter which always feels quite heavy and I feel as if that comes through in the project.

How do you keep a song intimate without making it feel unfinished?

I’m honestly not too sure… If I was to guess it would be to write lyrics that you can relate to you can’t fake intimacy and people listening will know when you are saying something you don’t mean, so I would say by being genuine you don’t need to do much else it will already feel complete.

What do you hope listeners feel in the first 30 seconds?

I hope they feel connected to the song and can maybe relate and say to themselves “ah I’m glad that I’m not the only person going through this, and if he can so can I”. The goal with music is to make it and hope that others who are likeminded will find and connect with it!

Does this release mark a new direction, or a clearer version of the same one?

I would say this release is definitely a more refined version of my previous work and I’m only going to continue to refine it as time goes on and as I continue to grow so will the music.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Forest Clearing on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist