Unknown Mortal Orchestra is a bit of a conundrum, at least when it comes to classifying them. Not really a "band," UMO is really the project of Ruban Nielson, who wrote and recorded songs in his bedroom and even posted the insanely catchy "Ffunny Ffrends" first online anonymously. Not really a local group, Nielson is based in Portland, OR, though he hails originally from New Zealand. And harder to pin down yet, UMO is loosely an "indie band" but Nielson, along with bassist Jake Portrait and drummer Riley Geare, blend a variety of styles and genres, layering within their winding jams, R&B inspired vocals, psychedelic guitar riffs and driving rhythmic propulsion. What is easy to identify, though, is the irrefutable appeal of the songs' melodies and and the downright catchiness of II, the band's aptly named second album. While we were fortunate to feature the UMO a year and a half before, at our 2011 MFNW broadcast, we were eager to see and hear just how far along Nielson's songwriting had come. Based on Unknown Mortal Orchestra's performance on our stage at Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop during SXSW, and we can say without a doubt the band is worth the hype!
Full Performance:
New tracks from PJ Harvey, Frankie Cosmos, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and more
As if the music was reflecting off the bicycles, Gliss' afternoon set at during our SXSW broadcast was a shimmering cooldown after Jovanotti threw a vibrant Italian party in Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop. As the group ran through a set of tunes from their latest LP, this year's Langsome Dans, frontwoma…
All photos and text by Alex Crick
It's been hard for us to forget the beautiful and intimate session we had with Ólafur Arnalds during our Iceland Airwaves broadcast last year at KEX Hostel. This year, when we saw that the young Icelandic composer and songwriter would be performing at SXSW, we wanted to get him live on air again, n…
Celebrating 25 years as not only a Seattle but a national institution, local label Sub Pop is throwing a party on Saturday, July 13th, in the historic (and industrial) Georgetown neighborhood and we're all invited. The Silver Jubilee is free to all and features, as was announced today, an incredibl…
