Listen to the three winners of Doves ‘Forest House’ competition
••• Forest House •••
Three ‘winners’ take home the prize in the #dovesleak contest, with Jimi Goodwin’s vocals added to three fan’s versions of Doves’ ‘Forest House’.
Before celebrating their third number one album following the release of the widely-acclaimed, ‘The Universal Want’, Manchester three-piece, Doves called on creatives of any creed to interpret a, then unreleased track, ‘Forest House’, using only ‘leaked’ sheet music appearing online. Versions from cathedral organists, rising musicians and hobbyists creeped out on social media under the #dovesleak hashtag, with the spoils to the ‘winner’ the opportunity to have Jimi Goodwin’s vocal added to their version.
The choice as to who should run away with the sought-after, one-off prize became difficult owing to the quality of the responses, with fans and the band agonising over the decision. The outcome is a three-way split, with fans choosing one favourite and Doves finding themselves with two, ‘band choice’ versions.
Listen to all three versions here: https://soundcloud.com/dovesmusicblog/sets/dovesleak
Goodwin, Andy and Jez Williams, true to their word, have added the lead vocal to all three interpretations, as well as sending each winner a signed, ‘The Universal Want’ Box Set as a ‘thank you’ for taking part. The chosen Doves x The Fans versions of ‘Forest House’ can be heard here…
FAN CHOICE: Nathan Sinclair
Multi-instrumentalist graduate from Glasgow Kelvin College, Nathan Sinclair, from Livingstone, Scotland, releases music sporadically under his own name, swapping between guitar, bass, piano, drum and synth programming. In a poll run via Doves’ social media fans groups, Sinclair’s evocative version came out on top.
He says:
“I’m absolutely honoured to be picked by Doves. The band mean so much to me and my family. My mum, step-dad, uncle and I all went to see them in 2019 at SWG3 (nearly nine years since last seeing them) and it was truly a great experience.”
BAND CHOICE: Sean Bechhofer
By day a Reader in Computer Science at The University of Manchester, by night a musician with wide-ranging interests, from long-standing guitarist in ceilidh band Albireo, to prog-rock alter-ego, Prögford and onwards into motorik-synth under his own name. Sean Bechhofer’s investigation of the Doves track involved synthesised pianos and the sounds of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
He says:
“I’m well chuffed! Even if my version hadn’t been highlighted, it was a lot of fun and an interesting challenge. Great idea!”
BAND CHOICE: Mark Lang
https://m.soundcloud.com/dovesmusicblog/foresthouse-reimagined-jimi-vocals
Self-taught multi-instrumentalist previously working under the nom de plume, Dial Molotov and serving bassist in hometown, Glasgow band, Neonwaves, Mark Lang’s expansive version of Forest House was recorded on the humble iPad. Working around work and family commitments, Lang took the basics of the sheet music, wrapping his own ideas around the basic chord structure and piano melody.
He says:
“Doves are one of those special bands that are so rare these days and to have them back after such a long break was amazing. It means so much to me that my version of ‘Forest House’ has been picked out by the band and I can honestly say I enjoyed every single minute of being involved.”
‘Forest House’ appeared as the closing track on The Universal Want, closing Doves’ long-awaited fifth album after a gap of ten years had kept fans waiting patiently for new music.
Read our review of ‘The Universal Want’ here: https://theindiemasterplan.co.uk/album-review-doves-the-universal-want
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