[engl] „Forest Tapes“ is a new album by Heated Land. It was recorded directly to tape through just one microphone in a living room in Southern Germany and it is – we are not kidding – one of the best sounding and most soulful pieces of music we have heard in a long time. Live performance has always been at the heart of Heated Land’s music. These recording sessions with their long-time collaborator Torsten Lang – despite being carefully engineered and rehearsed – capture the band’s essence: Andi Mayrock’s rugged, feral songwriting and lyricism at the core of timeless, ever-changing, free-flowing songs about eternity, nature, capitalism, self-knowledge, and community. The record’s track list is comprised of new, unreleased material and new versions of songs from their two previous albums. It has a bluegrassy mood to it, but not one of wild improvisation. The minimalism of Wilhelmine Schwabs violin suggests she carefully chose only the most devastatingly beautiful notes. Raja Ghraizi’s lead guitar playing is otherworldly. Time and again, a small choir weighs in. No drums, no overdubs, no editing. They are being joined by Simon Preuss double bass on the b-side of the album. Their landlord, the stone sculptor and musician Milan Lipsky, contributes saxophone to an epic version of “Off The Trees”. He wound up playing his part out on the snowy terrace through a half-open door to not disrupt the carefully balanced sound image. It was ok. The music on “Forest Tapes” turned into a cozy fireplace.