Barnes was approached by small cassette labels Leftist Nautical Antiques and Woven Tones in the US to do his initial releases, which were then later mastered and bundled by Olde English Spelling Bee for the vinyl EP release, Dagger Paths. The EP also included a hauntingly sad cover of Aaliyah’s "If Your Girl Only Knew" on the b-side. Barnes has remixed the likes of These New Puritans, Gold Panda, The Big Pink, and Burial. and a recently-produced free mixtape led to an invitation to DJ on BBC’s 6music. Barnes is also involved in Dyymond Of Durham, a collaborative project with fine artist Otto Baerst.

A Forest Swords album is slated for release in 2013 on Domino Records.