01/07/2026
New Year, new moniker, new mix
Forest Bump was never meant to be my permanent DJ alias. As a master of fact, “Forest Bump Sessions” was actually supposed to be a name for a podcast series under my original alias “Neritic Life”. Back then I was mostly spinning liquid dnb until this podcast series, but after my first time playing in front of a crowd and the organizer announcing me as “Forest Bump” I decided to take on the name as I was transitioning out of dnb and into house/techno.
The name forest bump came to me before I moved to college out in Northern California. I told myself, “hopefully I can get it bumpin in the forest” and my adhd brain went straight to “Forest bump”. I can definitely attribute some of my early bookings to the originality of the name - with a creative name like that, what’s he going to do behind the decks? After 12 years and having the name pop up in tv / movies, the name has lost its originality with all the For(r)est bump(s) out there now.
According to my Grandpa, when my ancestors came to America through Ellis Island, they came with the last name Peffer (or pfeffer). The Americans writing their documents Americanized their last name to Pepper to make it easier for themselves. This mirrors my dj journey as the name “Forest Bump” is a lot easier to digest and remember, but in the end it’s not about me, it’s about the music.
Dropping Forest Bump was not an easy decision to make, especially after all these years and the resume built under the name, but I never wanted to keep the alias permanently. My dad offered multiple times to trademark the name, but I always declined knowing I would eventually move on from the name. People still call me “forest” or “bump” and would even surprise people when they found out my actual name wasn’t forest, but it’s time for a new chapter. If you’ve made it this far into reading I just want to thank you for all the support over the years, and hopefully continued support on this new project 🫶
