The Underground Forest - Vol 10
This month’s edition of The Underground Forest features; eerie, entrancing electronica, that has the deep sadness of Irish folklore and storytelling woven into its fabric; a song that is a burst of citrusy fresh air, nutritious for your mind and ears, and should be one of your five a day;a psychedelic auditory escape, flavored with the lush textures of the late 90s; early 2000s flavored pop punk and more.
Featuring The Cope, Mereki, Satin Sheets, Stalking Gia, Hallie, Liza Bec, Spiral Dial, Belau, and Sarah Jay Hawley.
Follow the Underground Forest playlist on Spotify
I Am Stretched On Your Grave - The Cope
This is one of those songs that hits you immediately; the eerie synthesis drawing you into a dark, mountainous world; the haunting way in which the vocals are sampled; the beat coming in and thoroughly entrancing you. This has the deep sadness and beauty of Irish folklore and storytelling woven into its fabric; the results being a true work of art.
The title and lyrics of “I Am Stretched On Your Grave” come from an anonymous 17th Century Irish poem, translated to English by Frank O’Connor and set to music in 1979 by Phillip King. It is a live performance of King’s rendition that is sampled here.
Connect with The Cope
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter
Presence - Mereki
The newest release from Indie Australian/English artist Mereki opens with piano chords, accompanied by powerful vocals proclaiming I am alive! - this is the burst of blue water freshness that you may need in order to power you through. The lyrics are delightfully soothing “Presence/Reality is just as it's meant to be/It's heaven”, ‘Presence’ is nutritious for your mind and ears, and should be one of your five a day.
On the release Mereki says, “I’m not saying that I’m enlightened and I live in ‘Presence’ all the time, far from it, I’m just trying to say that I know what it is when I can, and it's so beautiful. I want to share that with people because I truly believe that when I can pull myself back into the present moment, really ‘be here now’, then everything is so lovely. I want that for me, and for you, and for everyone. My mind gets the better of me all the time and I need to train it not to, and I guess this song is kind of an anthem for that.”
Connect with Mereki
Website / Spotify / Instagram / Facebook
Summer Storm Romance - Satin Sheets
The music of Satin Sheets’ can only be described as auditory escapism of euphoric proportions; the magical, lush quality of early 2000s electronic music omnipresent throughout. ‘Summer Storm Romance’ is taken from the newly released St Francis II - Deluxe Edition. It shimmers and gleams like a blue lagoon at the edge of your consciousness. A wall of hallucinogenic pads and synths await you, laced with electronic drums a la late 90s alternative - this will whisk you away to another dimension. Pure bliss.
Connect with Satin Sheets
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter
Happy Birthday! - Stalking Gia
Upon seeing the artist name Stalking Gia, I was immediately interested ( one contributing factor being that I recently listened to a podcast about the world’s first supermodel Gia Carangi, on Lumarinary Podcast ‘The C Word’). Happy Birthday! is a true delight - possessing a confessional feel, spun like a diary entry (a sign of a very skilled songwriter/protagonist) drawing you in right away. The bridge has a slightly psychedelic 70s feel, the chorus having a beautifully bittersweet aftertaste.
Connect with Stalking Gia
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter / Tiktok
Bad Habit - Hallie
Grungey pop punk with early 2000s vibes (my favorite era of music) this hits you immediately with a powerful wall of guitars and earth shattering drums - the textures present in this remind me of those in Avril Lavinge’s 2004 album Under My Skin (one of the best albums of all time in my opinion). The lyrics in the chorus are gut wrenching “Never took a pill for the high/ Only took the ones that keep you alive/ Cause my brains got a bad habit/Of wishing life away”. This is a truly powerful song from an incredibly skilled artist - you need to hear this.
Connect with Hallie
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
Revenge of the Dragon Cat - Liza Bec, Spiral Dial
As imaginative and alive as the name suggests - this is like the music from a kaleidoscopic tale you read as a child, listen to this and embark on a wonderful adventure.
Connect with Liza Bec
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter / Website
Unimaginable - Belau, Sarah Jay Hawley
The newest release from Belau features Sarah Jay Hawley, who was the vocalist of the iconic Massive Attack album, Mezzanine. ‘Unimaginable’ opens with a gorgeous RnB/neo-soul flavored chord progression delivered on warm electric keys, with gentle soulful vocals, before dissolving into a magical chorus that will simultaneously soothe and awaken you.
The vocals were recorded by Martin Smith, who also worked with Bombay Bicycle Club, Bob Sinclar, Jarvis Cocker, and Groove Armada. On the song, the electronic duo say: "As long as we give it to ourselves, there comes a point when we realize how much more difficult it is to sustain the unsustainable illusion around us than to simply become ourselves. Beyond this point we simply no longer wish to be other than what lies within us. From the starting perspective of this process - as the title of the song states - the end result is unimaginable, but the path of the anxious person can be purification itself, and there is certainly a way out of the infinitely hopeless. The music video sets a fine example of this process. For us, it was a huge honor that Sarah said yes to our request and we could have a really special underwater video for it. We feel that the song, the lyrics, the music video and the creators are now in a wonderful harmony"
Connect with Belau
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
Connect with Sarah Jay Hawley
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / Website
Spotify Playlist
Want to be featured in next month’s volume of The Underground Forest? Send your press release and links 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
In this blog section we host new music releases, artist features and handpicked playlists by the Musicngear staff.
Interested in a music feature, writing a story as a guest or joining the Musicngear team as a Contributing Author? Contact us at info+blog@musicngear.com
