An American all-girl trio steeped in medieval and renaissance sounds as well as pop, Sunforest epitomised the variety of the Deram label.
Settling in London after travelling around Europe together, Terry Tucker, Freya Hogue and Erika Eigen quickly attracted the attention of producer Vic Smith (later Coppersmith-Heaven), who was so enamoured of the group that he took them straight to Olympic Studios and spent his own money recording their album (The Sound Of Sunforest).
Done and dusted in a fortnight, Smith hawked the tapes around and Deram took the bait, although the label did nothing to promote the album.
It is difficult, though, to imagine how Deram could have marketed an album which encompasses acid-tinged folk (Magician In The Mountains), riotous country (Old Cluck), faux-1930s balladry (Lighthouse Keeper) and austere medievalism (Overture To The Sun). Yet the mixture worked, due largely to the group’s vocal harmonies, melodies and arrangements.
The album certainly appealed to Stanley Kubrick, who was busily compiling the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange (1971) when it appeared.
He got in touch and, to their delight, put Lighthouse Keeper and Overture To The Sun on the film’s famous soundtrack.
Apart from that unexpected honour, after the album’s release Sunforest endured the usual lot of jobbing bands, playing small gigs, making occasional radio appearances and living out of suitcases until eventually Eigen departed and Sunforest was no more.
Terry Tucker
Freya Hogue
Erika Eigen
