Joe Forestell is a Forestry major in his fourth year at UNB. When he’s not learning all about trees, he is UNB’s in-house DJ.
“Music in general is such a weird concept. The fact that sound and vibrations can make you feel emotions and create an impact on someone’s life is really cool; I think that’s why I’m drawn to it,” Forestell said.
Influenced by Martin Garrix, Forestell became a DJ when he first got to UNB in 2017 and has loved it ever since.
“The best part of it is when you are able to create a special night out for lots of people. Seeing the reactions of a crowd when you choose the right song for the moment is priceless.”
When he first started out in the field, the main challenge was getting into clubs and getting his name out there. Now, his challenges have shifted to the music production side of things.
“If I want to take DJing to the next level, I have to have original music that is getting played and added to playlists,” he explained.
For most artists, originality is preceded by a phase of learning from and emulating others. Forestell described his development as an artist and transition towards his own voice.
“Copying or emulating can be a great tool at first to learn how music is created and the fundamentals of the style you wish to make. Creating your own style is much harder but is necessary to stand out in a world where there are so many people making music. I started making music in high school as a hobby, but once I got to university and started DJing, I saw the potential in making your own music. I’ve been working ever since to create my own style. Copying was a big part of learning the basics, and now I’m experimenting and continuing to learn.”
For some time now, Forestell has played weekly shows at S-Club, and has opened for big names including Grand Theft, Jazz Cartier, 88glam, and DJ Nina Las Vegas. However, the pandemic has had its effect on the entertainment industry, and business has been slow for him.
“Since the pandemic began last school year, I haven’t had a gig,” he said. “It was especially weird coming back to UNB and not having a gig during orientation week; it is usually a big time of the year for me. The UNBSU has done a lot of work to create events and concerts that I have been lucky enough to be invited to play at. Between those gigs and weekly Thursdays at S-Club, the pandemic has definitely taken a toll on the amount of available shows.”
However, he hasn’t been doing nothing.
“The lack of gigs has allowed me to focus more of my time on music producing rather than playing music live. I’m lucky to have that outlet for my creative side, and I’m really excited about the type of music I have been creating recently,” he said.
In the winter, he thinks things will stay pretty similar to now and has put thought into trying out the increasingly popular live stream sets, but he hopes that there will be some opportunities for live events come January.
Art can be a purpose in its own right, but it can also directly feed back into everyday life, take on a social and political role, and lead to more engagement. Forestell talked about his approach to being an artist.
“I want my music to create emotion. At the end of the day, music can be someone’s escape or someone’s happy place, and if my art can someday be that for someone then I’ll be very happy.”
Art and the concept of art, especially music, changes every day. What is considered good music today will most likely change tomorrow, especially with the help of apps like TikTok.
“TikTok is such a big app right now and has already started to impact big playlists on Spotify and Apple Music. It is creating new music trends daily, and I don’t think that’s going to slow down.”
A Spotify playlist put together by Forestell for The Bruns with some of his favourite songs, as well as songs he would currently be playing live if there were still shows, is available here.