A Night Walk in The Underground Forest - August 2025
Welcome to A Night Walk in The Underground Forest! 🌙
Featuring Nadia Sheikh, Dynasty, Bunny White, Cowgirl Clue, DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ, Devours, Fruit Music, Mel 4Ever & DEV.
This week's edition features; a song that sounds a blue skied rodeo in Texas in the early 00s; a song that is a blend of Jazz, doo-wop harmonies and alt pop; a song that feels like an azure blue beach from your favorite early 00s movie; a song that is the song of the summer; a song that sounds like an MTV hit, a song that could play over the opening credits of a 1980s VHS and more!
A Night Walk in The Underground Forest 🌙 Synth Pop • Electronic Pop • Alt Pop & Electronic
Hearts That Run - Cowgirl Clue
I first discovered Cowgirl Clue as a result of her 2023 album Rodeo Star. One of my favorite songs from this album is a track called Hometown Hero; just to give you a sense of what is in store for you, one of the comments under the YouTube video is “ashley put some drugs on this bc wow im obsessed i love this song”.
Her style utilizes the expert, minimalist production techniques of the most addictive pop hits (think PinkPantheress), but applies this to a unique, dreamy electronic world; one that sounds like it plays through the blue skies of the dusty plains of the south in the early 00s.
The chord progression in the opening of the new song is gorgeous, with Cowgirl Clue’s vocals floating above them like a lucid dream, a beat slowly creeping in, the full percussion having a trap element to it. There is a dreamy nostalgia at the core of this, and to all of her music - Cowgirl Clue possesses a genius level understanding of arrangement and production.
Connect with Cowgirl Clue
Website / Youtube / Spotify / Instagram / X
Bunny - Bunny White
I was scrolling through the pop tag on Bandcamp, when the album The Higher the Hair, the Closer to God came up as a recommendation.
I was immediately interested; it turned out that this is a concept album; one that was fully written, produced, and performed by Bunny White, which “follows Bunny through the processing of the grief of losing her mother as a young child” (via Bandcamp).
The album is fantastic, soaked, much like a 1970s sponge cake in dark liquor, with a specific era of Americana, there is a deep sadness present in the fabric of the album, but also, an inherent glamour and elegance.
One of my favourite songs is Bunny,a vintage blend of jazz, doo-wop style harmonies and alternative pop, it kind of feels like walking through an Antique shop (I feel like Cole Escola would like this), the line “I didn’t know that I’d never see you again” hitting you like a punch in the gut.
This is one of my favourite albums from this year, serving as a reminder that when you actively look for new music, as opposed to relying on an algorithm, a whole wonderful world of art awaits (I find Bandcamp and YouTube to be my personal favourites for uncovering new music).
You can buy the full album here.
Connect with Bunny White
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram
Nadia Sheikh - Just A Shadow
This puts me somewhere between the years 2001 and 2002; The Princess Diaries movie is in cinemas, Avril Lavigne has just released Let Go, and Busted have arrived on the scene.
This has the grit of the MTV alt-pop rock blend of the early 00s; the chorus hitting you like a wave of nostalgia. There is also a bit of a Smashing Pumpkins’ vibe to this (specifically the song 1979), in addition to a dash of Poe’s 2000 album Haunted.
“Just A Shadow’ is about that fragile moment when you’re finally starting to feel better — but still haunted by the fear of falling back into the darkness. It’s a song for anyone who’s ever battled their own mind and come out stronger, even if the scars are still there,” Nadia says.
Connect with Nadia Sheikh
Website / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Facebook
Sunset Years - DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ
The day always feels more warm and blissful when there is a new DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ song.
Sunset Years feels like a balmy beach breeze, possessing a deliciously smooth groove, transporting you to the orange sunshine soaked, azure blue beaches from the movies of the early 00s, the ones you visit in a lucid dream.
Connect with DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ
YouTube / Bandcamp / Spotify / Instagram / X / Facebook
Sleaze On It - Mel 4Ever, DEV
This blends a Satisfaction Benny Benassi style bassline, with a Perfect (Exceeder) style bass that comes at the chorus - you are not prepared for this fusion of mid-00s electronic perfection.
This will send the club into a black hole; the search for the song of the summer is over, in my opinion.
Connect with Mel 4Ever
Spotify / Instagram
Connect with DEV
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube
Combative Heart - Dynasty
Dynasty is a duo made up of singer-songwriter Jenni Dreager and producer/musician Roman Marcone. Combative Heart plays over the opening credits of a 1980s VHS classic, as the sun sets, a blend of blood red and orange hues filling the sky, over the glittering silhouette of the LA skyline.
On the song they say “This was actually the second song we ever worked on together, and kind of the nail in the coffin of deciding to release this project. We felt this intense excitement as it started to build, and it almost brought tears to our eyes. It was like, okay… we have to share this. We wanted it to feel like a journey. Emotional, open – like you could close your eyes and just be on the ride”.
Connect with Dynasty
Spotify / Instagram
Larsson - SYNTHIENT
SYNTHIENT is a duo consisting of producers Kbob and Aran Sheehy; their newest release has the vibe of an electronic gem you would have discovered on Disc Two of Now That’s What I Call Music! (the best part, in my opinion).
This has an underground 90s vibe to it, with an uneasy bassline, a rising soundscape of industrial textures, the arrangement consuming you in an eerie, concrete landscape.
Connect with SYNTHIENT
Spotify / Instagram
XY (Fruit Music Remix) - Devours
This is a remix of Vancouver-based artist Devours track XY (taken from the 2025 album Sports Car Era) by Fruit Music.
A warm wave of electronic textures with some 90s house chords descends to your ears - this reminds me of some of the remixes I came across on Soundcloud in its 2010s heyday - I absolutely love this.
Connect with Devours
Facebook / Bandcamp / Spotify / Instagram
Connect with Fruit Music
Spotify / Instagram
Spotify Playlist
If you would like to be featured in the next edition, please email your release to eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com
About Eimear O Sullivan
Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)
Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com
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