Presenting: a (second, fully recorded, and sans garbled mess) conversation with Fran Dominguez – AKA Forest Robots – whose latest album, HORST AND GRABEN, is now available from Elm Records.

In which: we discuss Fran's 29-hour birthday weekend adventure in the wilderness, the perils of final-approach sand, the utility of data to ameleoriate misery, swiss army knees, surprising a couple from the Pacific Northwest as he emerges from the wilds following said 29-hour birthday hike, and, oh yes, music.

Fran's bio / The Story of Forest Robots:

"The idea for Forest Robots evolved over a period of several years. Its conception began vaguely during my travels to the legendary mountain range of the Sierra Nevada. As I began to compile picture after picture of beautiful mountain landscapes, narratives of my adventures began to attach themselves to each collection. However, it wasn't until my daughter was born that these narratives began to weave into a cohesive story and the opportunity presented itself to use these pictures and stories to teach her about the wonders of nature, the importance of spending time in the outdoors and how vital it is to help in the conservation of public lands. Soon after, the visual narratives also began to inspire music as well and at last the concept of Forest Robots was fully formed. What does it all of this have to do with this site, though? I'm sharing this project with the world in the hopes that others also become inspired to spend time in the outdoors and perhaps even become an advocate for the personal benefits of the outdoors and the importance of preserving our public lands as well."

Chapters:

00:00: Intro & Notes
02:00: "Cool with an 'E'" / Happy belated birthday / Rooftop hammering
03:13: "I believe it was about 29 hours straight... "
08:19: "Having data... makes it less miserable..."
21:01: "I had run out of water..."
23:43: "Now it was all mental; it was a mental game..."
25:20: "There's a sense that everything shifts at night... "
26:44: "I started hiking in earnest again at around 10PM..."
29:05: "I literarlly forget everything going on outside of where I am... I reach this profound sense of mindfulness of the present when I'm there."
31:50: "Pandemics favor the reclusive."
33:13: "And then I had to drive almost four hours home... "
36:18: "I go by this edict... 'There are bold mountaineers and there are old mountaineers, but there are no bold, old mountaineers.''"
37:27: Music Interlude: "This World is Held Together by the Beauty of Humble Places," from HORST & GRABEN, by Forest Robots.
41:15: "We're all part of the same landscape..."
45:12: "We're the most advanced ecosystem on earth but we're the least effective... We wreak havoc on nature."
49:30: "It's my hope... to use them as conversation starters..."
53:03: "There's a sense of nostalgia there..."
58:54: "That's what propels me to make an album in the first place..."
1:02:00: "It's always a process..."
1:03:30: "Where can people connect with you?"
1:06:00: Outro

Linkage:

You can connect with Fran at his website, forestrobots.com, and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @forestrobots.
Buy, follow, and support Fran's music at Bandcamp.
Sites and things mentioned: Conny Plank: The Potential of Noise documentary ... summitpost.org ...peakbagger.com... Elm Records on Bandcamp… and David George Haskell’s THE SONG OF TREES.

You can keep up with my latest socializations via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast app; earlier episodes live here.