Matthew Edward Barnes, known by his stage name Forest Swords, is an English record producer, composer, DJ, and artist.

Forest Swords's debut six-track EP, Dagger Paths, was originally released in March 2010, before being reissued later that year with additional tracks.

[4] It was rated 9/10 on music website Drowned in Sound,[5] called "one of 2010's finest underground records" by NME,[6] and chosen as a 'Hidden Gem of 2010' in The Guardian.

[21] Q Magazine gave it a strong 4/5 review and said it "unfolds like a journey through a bustling soundscape of found sounds, instrumental loops and post-dubstep production".

[32] A single, featuring two tracks from the Compassion recording sessions—"Congregate" and "Free"—was released later that year, with all proceeds going to relief work in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

The collection "draws a line between past inspirations and his current peers" and features one exclusive Forest Swords track called "Crow", as well as songs from artists like Dead Can Dance, Orbital, Laurel Halo, and Mira Calix.

In 2012, he co-produced and co-wrote the single "Cold Nites" for How to Dress Well, from the album Total Loss,[43] and went on to produce Barbadian rapper Haleek Maul's track "Lobo".

[44] Dyymond of Durham, a one-off collaborative project with Bavarian fine artist Otto Baerst, released a track on No Pain in Pop's vinyl compilation The Bedroom Club II.

[47] In 2015, the artist collaborated with Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack and Young Fathers on the score for La Fête (est Finie), a short film about climate change.

[50][51] Forest Swords composed the original soundtrack for The Machine Air, a film by director Liam Young, which was released in December 2019 through the Dense Truth label.

[53] In 2020, Barnes composed music for islands, a dance piece choreographed by Emma Portner and performed by members of the Norwegian National Ballet.

[55] Also in 2021, he collaborated with Liam Young once more on a quadraphonic original score for the documentary film installation Planet City for the NGV arts institution in Melbourne, Australia.

[59] Barnes composed original music for an opera production of the Greek tragedy Fedra, directed by Paul Curran, performed at the Teatro Greco in Syracuse, Italy, in 2024.

[65] In 2011, at the Abandon Normal Devices festival, three new pieces, as part of a site-specific sound installation called Ground Rhythms,[66] were cut to 12" X-ray film and performed on turntables at an event in Liverpool.

[70] In 2010, Pitchfork Media posted an article suggesting Barnes was part of a new generation of producer/composers, alongside James Blake, Mount Kimbie, Bon Iver, Burial, and Four Tet.