In a time when the world feels loud, Benjamin Rizio of Forest For The Trees invites us to pause and reflect. Recently, the Melbourne-based musician has stepped back from digital production to reconnect with songwriting. In this conversation, he shares his reasons for this shift, his journey to let go of perfectionism, the impact of taking long breaks between creative pursuits, and how spending time outdoors helps him find peace.

ROBERT FEHER What have you been up to recently? Are you making any music at the moment?

BENJAMIN RIZIO I am not strictly in music-making mode at the moment, but I have been playing a lot more guitar, just folky stuff on a nylon string. I really haven’t touched Ableton much lately and find I’m not getting locked into a creative flow the way I have in the past. It feels like a shift, which is interesting but kind of scary too. Going from the DAW to guitar can feel almost like a regression. Not finding the motivation to flesh things out production-wise made me a bit frustrated, but I’ve realised that it was nice to write simpler songs with guitar. I think that’s the kind of music I’m enjoying more these days anyway!

JONAH ORBACH Your music feels super intimate, almost like a diary entry. How do you feel about releasing something so personal?

BR It’s spooky for sure! Especially the song ‘Cards’, but I know I have to get it out there. On the other side of that, I’ve been working on these songs for so long and thankfully they still feel authentic and aligned with what I want to say, so I’m just hopeful that that will resonate with people. It’s really nice to still have that feeling so late in the process, to still feel like I can stand by these songs in that way. I don’t feel like I’ve experienced that as strongly with past work.

JO Do you feel like you know what you’re trying to convey musically?

BR Not really. I feel like I often have an idea early on, usually once lyrics start getting involved, but it almost always becomes misleading and kind of frustrating to chase this preconceived idea of what you think the song 'should' sound like or what it 'should' mean. I think with anything creative, it’s important to get the idea of the set process out of your head, as it can close you off to the work's potential. The more open you are to expanding your process, the more authentic it becomes. Each song is going to ask something different of you as an artist, and whatever worked last time may not work this time.

JO What was the process for the two tracks in this release?

BR They both came from very different approaches. ‘Iridescence’ was written over about six months and mostly whilst travelling. It started by combining some drums and synths from two demos, one of which was from 2020. I always love recycling old work. The arrangement took a while to nail and there were a few slower parts of the process. I was trying to work out the energy of the song and when new elements needed to enter. The lyrics came out fairly quickly in a few sittings.

‘Cards’ was basically made in a day but had been premeditated a lot. There were a few drafts of it over the years but they were pretty different. The lyrics kind of went down and then I recorded a few takes throughout the day, between going for walks up at Mt. Buller.

JO How do you know when a track is finished?

BR It’s hard to say, and I think I’m very prone to overthinking it. I often feel like a song needs more substance, a bridge, another chord progression or more variation in the lyrics. But then I catch myself just chasing complexity for the sake of it. I’m not really sure why. That’s partly why I find myself working in these bursts. I just get stuck and don’t know what to do, then come back weeks or months later and more often than not realise that it was much closer to finished than I thought.

RF You don't feel pressure to finish what you start?

BR Oh, I feel that pressure for sure. I have to keep reminding myself.

JO With long gaps between brief creative bursts, what do you feel brings coherence to your work?

BR I’m not sure exactly but whatever it is, I don’t want to close myself off to working within it. Maybe coherence in my work comes from the types of synth patches I use, but I'm not attached to it. I think with any artist, it’s the fact that they made it that makes it sound like them. If they made something honest, then they won’t get away from it.

RF How has your love for being outside and experiencing the outdoors been reflected in your music?

BR I think hiking and exploring and getting to wilder places is important to my process. They’re the most inspiring experiences for sure. I definitely want to make music and art that feels like the experiences nature provides; I want to capture the calmness and contemplation.

RF Is making music a therapeutic process for you?

BR I try not to think too much about how it feels to make music. I think making something honest and exposing, is cathartic and tender. So much of making music can be monotonous and not that fun, editing vocal takes or just feeling like the song is a puzzle. I wouldn’t call all that stuff therapeutic, but on the whole I feel an obligation to make, finish, and share songs, which drives me more than the process itself right now.

JO Do you want it to be a shorter process?

BR Yeah, I think we all want to make more stuff. But I think more than that, I want to work on being less of a perfectionistic. I want to use first takes more, scratch synths and even shitty mics or whatever gear is on me at the time and make do. I used to get stuck in this mindset a lot, making demos while pre-empting that I would rebuild a more polished version of the whole thing later, instead of just recording the idea.

JO What does the future of your music journey look like?

BR I really don’t know! Personally, I don’t think music is the ‘main’ thing for me anymore, even though I love it so much and it will always be a part of my life. There’s a lot of creative stuff outside of music I want to do and also outdoor stuff. Maybe at some point in my life it will be all about music, but that could only be when I’m 45. I’m excited to keep releasing and would also like to make albums and do shows, but I think the pace will be pretty slow for the foreseeable future. I often find it really frustrating dealing with the impatience of wanting to make more music, but I try to be accepting of a slower pace and know that it’s better for my wellbeing in general. Life is hectic!

RF What do you want people to take away from your music?

BR I hope to inspire some sort of growth or willingness to reflect. That’s not exactly what these songs are about but that’s their intention, in some sense. At the end of the day, I just want people to feel more like themselves and give people a reason to come together. Hug your friends!