The Underground Forest - Volume 28
Welcome to The Underground Forest; the place where we find some of the most unusual and wonderful releases, and compile them into one place.
Featuring Birdmask, LEATHERS, Arvo Party, Szopa, Kezia Warwood, Ellee Duke, Roisín O Hagan, Kukita, and Carrie Baxter
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This month's edition features; a song that sounds like it could be a pop/rock cassette tape from the 1990s; a lush dreamscape of a song that transports you to a humid day in 1980s Florida; a song that has some serious Massive Attack vibes; a song that will be your companion in your loneliest hour; and more.
If you would like your release to be featured in this ongoing series, please send me an email, I would love to hear from you!
Go Idah - Birdmask
This is so, so good. A burst of experimental, uneasy textures wash over your ears; this sounds kind of like it played over the opening sequence of an iconic independent 90s movie.
The lofi vibe of the instrumental and vocals have the quality of a cassette tape you came across in a 2nd hand music store in the aforementioned 1990s.
Go Idah is unique; and catches your attention and imagination immediately.
Connect with Birdmask
Website / Bandcamp / Spotify / Instagram / X
Daydream Trash - LEATHERS
I love the strong visual aspect present in LEATHERS’ music; each song generates a very specific mood, and the sound selections create a cinematic ambience (some of these songs would not be out of place in a surreal A24 movie).
Daydream Trash feels like an extremely hot and humid summer day in 1980s Florida; the lush soundscape feels dreamy and sleepy; the vocals coming to you from a faded pink motel with an azure blue pool; put this song on, dive in and explore.
Connect with LEATHERS
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / Bandcamp / X
to evening - Arvo Party
This opens with an eerie atmosphere circling your ears, the electronic soundscape shimmering with life.
The subtle sub bass, combined with the slightly dissonant bells all weave together to form something hypnotizing, with a slight woodland from a folklore tale quality embedded into the music.
Connect with Arvo Party
Spotify / Instagram / Bandcamp
Where Do I Go - Szopa, Kezia Warwood
The hypnotic, and vaguely uneasy opening of this song has serious Massive Attack vibes; the layered vocals from singer/songwriter Kezia Warwood are nothing short of entrancing (with a slight Enya quality).
Before being joined by Szopas's voice; this song invites you to ask deep questions about the nature of life and and death.
The visualizer is fantastic.
Connect with Szopa
Spotify / Instagram / Apple / YouTube
Connect with Kezia Warwood
Spotify / Instagram / Website / YouTube
fragile - Ellee Duke
Opening with piano chords and gorgeous crystalline vocals; the lyrics in this hit hard, especially the sentence “All you wanted was power/ But now, a blackout's all you got”.
The string section is subtle, but extremely beautiful before the beat hits you like a tidal wave.
This is cathartic, and will help you in moments when you have to confront something difficult, and will be a companion to help you get through.
On the song the artist says “ "When I stood up for myself I was verbally and emotionally attacked and bullied for months. I was told I was nothing but "weak and fragile," and "that's all I'd ever be." My next single "fragile" is a big cheers to being underestimated. I have immense peace with people thinking they know me and labeling me as such. I know who I am and I need no one's validation but my own. This song helped me through one of the darkest, loneliest seasons of my life, and I hope it will be an anthem for others to stay grounded in who they are no matter how difficult life may get."
Connect with Ellee Duke
Spotify / Instagram / Website
Midnight Indigo - Roisín O Hagan
The name Midnight Indigo caught my attention immediately; a brooding layer of pads and guitars simmer like a cauldron.
The vocals soaring over the musical backdrop, this is absolutely fantastic.
The chorus is an earworm - this is a fun listen.
Connect with Roisín O Hagan
YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / X
Daydream - Kukita
If you love punk/pop/rock with a late 90s/early 2000s feel, you will absolutely adore this.
I came across this on Bandcamp, (it was released alongside three other songs, which you can listen to here.)
This has embedded into it, the feeling of memory, of blue skies; this could have been playing on cassette tape in the car during your childhood, as you looked out the window.
Connect with Kukita
Spotify / Instagram / Bandcamp
Roses - Carrie Baxter
This is divine. Lush neo-soul with some funk elements; Carrie’s vocals are absolutely flawless, as are the lyrics, my favorite line being ‘I never needed roses/Seems like what I wanted was more than you could give”.
The chorus shimmers, this feels like it plays in the evening under a deep blue sky; capturing the sense of anticipation in the air of what the night ahead holds.
Connect with Carrie Baxter
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / Website / Bandcamp
Spotify Playlist
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
In this blog section we host new music releases, artist features and handpicked playlists by the Musicngear staff.
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