Lydia Ainsworth’s forthcoming release Phantom Forest arrives May 10th. The multi-artist produced all the songs, and wrote and performed everything on the self-released collection outside of a re-imagined cover of Pink Floyd’s “Green is the Color” and two other tracks (“The Time,” “Give It Back To You”), which started as instrumentals written by Survive’s Kyle Dixon (who composed the “>Stranger Things soundtrack with his bandmate Michael Stein), to which Ainsworth wrote melodies and added lyrics. and today she shares its third and final single, the ornate album opener “Diamonds Cutting Diamonds”. “Lyrically, I am singing about the entrance to Phantom Forest and how one must draw from the innate feminine wild within to unlock obstacles along the path,” says Ainsworth

Ainsworth, who’s relocated to Los Angeles from Toronto since 2017’s Darling of the Afterglow, explains that the collection revealed itself to her “as a play taking place in Mother Nature’s vanishing home,” aka Phantom Forest, and that she’s singing from three perspectives: herself, Mother Nature, and Greek Chorus. For instance, of the album’s opener, “Diamonds Cutting Diamonds,” she explains: “The Greek Chorus sets the scene, narrating and offering direction on how to enter Phantom Forest. It’s my hope that the listener will imagine the narration to be directed to them as well, as they begin the journey of the album.”

In line with the classical and historical depths of Phantom Forest, Ainsworth, who holds a Masters Degree in film scoring composition from NYU and studied composition as an undergrad at McGill, notes that although the album might be considered pop, she approached it as an orchestrator. “Even if I’m dealing purely with synths,” she says, “The songs are like a score, each one an evolving journey. I love to use strings so I’ve included my string arrangements on ‘Tell Me I Exist’ and ‘Can You Find Her Place.’ I recorded live musicians on drums, bass, and guitar on ‘Edge of the Throne,’ ‘The Time,’ and ‘Floating Dream,’ and wove those live elements into my programmed elements.”

Lydia Ainsworth
Phantom Forest
Track List

1. Diamonds Cutting Diamonds

2. Tell Me I Exist

3. Can You Find Her Place

4. Edge Of The Throne

5. Kiss The Future

6. The Time

7. Give It Back To You

8. Floating Dream

9. Green Is The Color (Pink Floyd cover)

TOUR DATES

4/17: Vega – Copenhagen, DK

4/26: The Phoenix – Toronto, ON

5/01: Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA

5/02: Elsewhere – Brooklyn, NY

5/03: Elsewhere – Brooklyn, NY

5/04: Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA

5/05: U Street Music Hall – Washington, DC

5/09: El Club – Detroit, MI

5/10: Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL

5/11: Fine Line – Minneapolis, MN

5/14: Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR

5/15: Neumos – Seattle, WA

5/17: Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA

5/18: Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA