Fever Aches, an instrumental incarnation of Philly’s trippy Forest Kids Collective, crafts pastoral atmospheres in a digital space

When Dan Drago of Philly’s 25 O’Clock Podcast guest DJ’d on the WXPN Local Show this spring, one of the tracks he spun was by the mysteriously-monickered Forest Kids Collective. Drago described the project of songwriter Paul G. Marchesani as prolific and multi-dimensional, with a vast variety of releases and personas under its umbrella.

He wasn’t exaggerating; Marchesani has shared four new releases — either single tracks or short song collections — in the past ten days alone. His discography numbers 70 releases in total, dating back to April of 2015, and employing almost 30 distinct names. (That’s not counting the names of collaborators, like Sami Rahman of Mattress Food.)

So, where to begin?

One of the releases that grabbed our ear this past week comes from Fever Aches, one of Forest Kids’ earliest personas. A collection of three vibrant instrumental tracks, the Thirst EP takes acoustic guitars, bells, brushstroke drums, and other analog instrumental flourishes, and deconstructs them, rebuilding them with loops.

“KT” takes a slow rhythm with a vaguely hip-hop inflection — kind of in the way The Avalanches or Lemon Jelly incorporate hip-hop — and wraps it around a bright and breezy guitar solo. “RN” incorporates warm, inviting keyboards reminiscent of Tortoise, while “KA” is the most rhythmic, bringing a snapping beat and a pumping high-end pulse to the forefront.

An immersive, yet efficient collection of songs, Fever Aches’ Thirst EP arranges organic sounds and instruments on a digital canvas, creating worlds of both artifice and intimacy, and providing a jumping-off point to the vast Forest Kids Collective catalog. Listen below, and dig in further here.