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The Underground Forest - Volume 42

Welcome to The Underground Forest! 🍄

Featuring Lloren, Neggy Gemmy, Mathman, 22° Halo, Stacy Gruber, vōx, Pearl Charles, Desvelada & Jetty.

By Eimear O SullivanMusicngear Editor

Follow The Underground Forest playlist on Spotify

This month's edition of The Underground Forest features; a song that sounds like it could be from a surreal 1970s fantasy movie set in a magical forest; a song that will bring you back to the alluring, dark glamour of Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die era; an alt indie song with lofi textures that sounds like being in a garden after a summer rainfall, the sunlight illuminating the raindrops; an electronic song that has early 00s rave nostalgia saturated into its euphoric pads; a song that will remind you that you are not alone; a song that sounds it is from a desert rock vinyl from the 1970s; and more!

Mysterious Girl - Neggy Gemmy

I think Neggy Gemmy is one of the best and most creative DIY music producers and artists in the music industry at the moment; her album CBD Reiki Moonbeam was one of my favorite albums of 2023.

Mysterious Girl is the first single from her upcoming album (She Comes from Nowhere, coming in June), which opens with music that sounds like it could be from a surreal 1970s fantasy movie set in a magical forest (or from a fantasy computer game). This is blended with a 90s house bassline and drums, accompanied by lush electronica-style pads, the vocals glittering and shimmering to your ears.

This feels like lying in a meadow in the forest, looking up at the deep blue of the sky.

Connect with Neggy Gemmy
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Facebook

Reward - 22° Halo

Artwork by Sami Martasian: www.instagram.com/puppy__problems/

Taken from the upcoming compilation album True Names: A Benefit for Trans Youth (brought to you by the New York-based independent label Worry Bead Records), which will raise funds for the Trans Youth Emergency Project (see more information here and below).

The name is derived from a concept explored in Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series, beginning with the 1968 book A Wizard of Earthsea (I recently read this book and it is one of the best fantasy books I have ever read).

On this, Worry Bead Records say, “True Names are sacred, holding incredible and transformative power. To know your True Name is to know yourself. And to share your True Name is an extreme act of vulnerability and courage.”

Reward is the first song to be released from the album. It has a divine DIY indie pop vibe to it; making it sound like the sun breaking through the clouds, illuminating the raindrops in a lush green garden, and also, for some reason, I can fully picture this song being from the world of a Bryan Lee O Malley comic (specifically Seconds or Scott Pilgrim).

New York-based independent label Worry Bead Records brings artists like Remember Sports, Squirrel Flower, 2nd Grade, 22° Halo and Pink Navel together for ‘True Names,’ a benefit compilation to raise funds for the Trans Youth Emergency Project. The compilation will be released on May 2nd, and pre-orders are now live with an instant download of "Reward" by 22° Halo.

Connect with 22° Halo
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram

Connect with Worry Bead Records
Bandcamp / Instagram 

LA LA Love - Lloren

Lana del Rey’s 2012 album Born To Die:The Paradise Edition is, in my opinion, one of the best albums ever made; so anything that is reminiscent of this era I will automatically love.

This song opens with rich piano chords, with haunting reverbed vocals floating to your ears, opening with the line ‘Mama says she saw me spitting diamonds’ - this exudes the glamour and darkness of Hollywood, and it is gorgeous. 

On the song, the artist says “I was really inspired by Lana Del Rey on this one—her ability to paint a romanticised picture of her relationships while also seeming to ask bigger questions, at least in my experience. La La Love is a fictional story that plays with elements of truth, based on my time in L.A. I wanted to lean into that classic Hollywood romance on the surface while also addressing the more sinister side of having big aspirations. It’s easy to be taken in when someone promises to make all your dreams come true. There are plenty of devils in the City of Angels.”

Connect with Lloren
YouΤube / Facebook / Spotify / Instagram

Your Touch - MathMan

Very few people can produce electronic music that evokes the sense of memory and nostalgia quite like Dublin-based producer MathMan can.

The immediate rush of euphoria and feeling of early 00s youth present in the warm pads that rush to greet your ears, combined with the addictive vocal line; result in something that will sweep you off your feet and send you into the stratosphere. 

Connect with MathMan
Soundcloud  / YouΤube / Spotify / Instagram

All My Best Friends Are Ghosts - vōx

Taken from the album of the same name, which you can listen to or buy here; the muted, rich piano chords and haunting vocals sound like they come from an empty room in an old, peeling, pastel pink gothic mansion.

This feels ghostly, it feels like dark, shadowy corners. I love the twisted electronic textures that exist at the edges of the soundscape of this song as it progresses - this is a work of art.

Connect with vōx
Bandcamp / YouΤube / Substack  / Spotify / Instagram

Just What It Is - Pearl Charles

Another glorious Bandcamp discovery; this is taken from the feature-length album Desert Queen (out April 25th, 2025).

This shimmers like a mirage or lucid dream; it feels like a surreal drive through Nevada in the 1970s. The blend of desert rock and folk/pop makes this a lavish listening experience; the vocals being luxurious, but vaguely haunting, in a way that is reminiscent of some of Lana del Rey’s most captivating vocal deliveries.

I would recommend the whole album, which you can buy via Bandcamp here. 

Connect with Pearl Charles
Bandcamp / Facebook / Χ / Spotify / Instagram

Desvelada, Jetty - Do It for U

Taken from the New York City/Houston-based producer’s EP Jetty+,  Do It for U opens with entrancing, pulsating pads, sprinkled with Desvelada’s cloud-like vocal textures.

This feels like something from the early 00s, it feels like a memory, the soundscape being a perfect blend of warmth and melancholy - the results being truly bewitching. 

Connect with Jetty
Bandcamp / Spotify / Instagram

No One Is Alone - Staci Gruber

This sees singer- songwriter Staci Gruber team up with Michael Orland (American Idol) and producer Avli Avliav (Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Ray J), the results being a glorious and uplifting song that will remind you of the warmth of humanity, that you can reach out to others, something that we all need to remember from time to time. This has a 90s vibe to it also that I love. 

Staci shares, “Every day, I meet people who feel absolutely alone in their experiences—disconnected or left behind. No One Is Alone is a reminder that even in our most solitary moments, we can find solace in one another, in places, in pets, or in any form of companionship. It’s a call to remember that we each have something valuable to contribute, especially in times of distress.”

Connect with Staci Gruber
YouTube / Spotify / Instagram

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

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