Uma

Today, Barcelona based artist Uma releases her new single, the downtempo alt-pop groove number "Tārā", her first bit of new material from her upcoming mixtape due out on Slow Dance at the end of the year.
 
“Tara is a flow of conscious and unconscious thoughts coming in and out of focus, creating their own sonic world” Uma says of the song, which contains some of her most memorable lyricism yet: “Only really trust a man / Who’s been down on his knees weeping.”
 
"Tārā" was self-produced with Uma’s partner Luke Bower at their Barcelona studio, Can Obert, where they host writing camps, residencies as well as write and produce for other artists. Nilüfer Yanya is one of several international artists to have passed through.
 
‘Can Obert’ - or The Open House - was in fact a creation of Uma’s British mother, a community of artists and writers around Uma’s childhood home; growing up there, Uma would be surrounded by people expressing themselves and encouraging her to do the same.
 
Throughout her life, Uma traveled regularly to Thailand as her father and mother lived long-distance for the majority of her youth. Her father lived in Bangkok working for a nonprofit hospice and orphanage, whilst her mother’s work took them to Canada and Greenland. Uma enrolled in York University to study contemporary classical music and moved back to Barcelona where after some experimentation, decided to reinstate her version of the ‘Can Obert’ project.
 
Uma’s earliest work has so far seen her channels cult folk artists Linda Perhacs, Josephine Foster and Sybille Baier alongside classical Spanish guitar and has seen her put out two previous EP’s; 2020’s debut EP Bel-li and 2021’s which caught the attention of So Young, Clash, Loud & Quiet, The Needle Drop, DIY, The Line of Best Fit and Gigwise, and 2021 follow up The Moth and the Dove which was recorded during lockdown with Bower to similar fanfare.
 
Her forthcoming mixtape has truly embraced this creative partnership, leading Uma to a space where she’s leaning into herself more than ever. She started releasing singles last year ‘Crocodile’ and ‘Granada’. Of ‘Granada’ Uma says, ”We wrote it two years ago and it’s about my relationship and navigating that through a pandemic and reflecting on my parents’ relationship and how they were not in the same place for most of my life and how that must have been.”
 
Throughout the first half of 2023, Uma will be dropping a new single a month until the mixtape is fully in the world. "Tārā" is out today on all online platforms on London hybrid label and Management company Slow Dance (PVA , Saint Jude, Glows, Aga Ujma, Tina).