East Forest

Since 2008, East Forest has used music to guide listeners through modern journeys of deep introspection. The electro-acoustic project has remained primarily a solo effort (of Krishna-Trevor Oswalt), straddling the worlds of ambient, neoclassical, electronic, and avant-pop.

At the core of East Forest's work is an exploration of sound as a tool to guide listeners on an inner journey. The music is an emotionally resonant landscape that blends organic and electronic elements into cinematic compositions designed to evoke insight and connection. As a sonic bridge between science and spirituality, it ushers listeners into a direct encounter with the mystical dimensions of their being, intending to democratize access to peak states of consciousness.

This ethos of bridging inner and outer worlds, lies at the heart of East Forest's latest project, the feature-length documentary "Music for Mushrooms." More than just a chronicle of his creative journey, the film offers a compelling testament to the transformative power of psychedelics, music, and community amidst global crisis. The movie highlights how music can be a transformative tool, facilitating deep healing in an increasingly disconnected world. With captivating visuals, powerful interviews (including Ram Dass, Duncan Trussell, Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, Xochitl Ashe, Dr. Leor Roseman), and an original score by East Forest, the film weaves together cutting-edge science, indigenous wisdom, and East Forest's own story of psycho-spiritual awakening, to offer a hopeful vision for the future of mental health, social justice, and human thriving.

East Forest’s latest release, “Lovingly: A Soundtrack For The Psychedelic Practitioner, vol. III” is an immersive long-form album, over six hours in length, and intended to guide journeys of deep introspection from start to finish. The third volume of his Soundtrack For The Psychedelic Practitioner series, the music was recorded and improvised live inside psilocybin ceremonies facilitated between 2020 and 2024. The record is a journey in itself and presents a therapeutic auditory experience that extends beyond psychedelic therapy; it offers music as a catalyst for personal evolution for myriad modalities.

East Forest’s live concerts utilize a skilled, mostly instrumental repertoire to create a space for an emotive journey. The live events have appeared at concert halls, and major festivals, as well as international performances in Europe, Australia, and Asia. The catalog includes over 30 albums, including 2019’s album-length collaboration with spiritual pioneer Ram Dass and collaborations with artists ranging from Jon Hopkins, Laraaji, Dead Prez, Nick Mulvey, Peter Broderick, DJ ANNA and more.

As a trailblazer in the global movement of meditation and inner resilience, he additionally offers guided meditations, retreats, a podcast (Ten Laws w/East Forest with almost 300 episodes), and talks that guide students through a brain-body approach aimed towards non-religious and approachable spirituality; he is a faculty member at the Esalen Institute and has worked with Google and Johns Hopkins neuroaesthetics project, UCSF psilocybin research studies, Wavepaths, Usona, Stanford d.school, SXSW, Yale, TED, Numinus, and more. His work has appeared on Bright Antenna, Domino, Mercury KX, 1631 Recordings, Aquilo, Ghostly, as well as Tender Loving Empire & Universal/Decca.