Preceding the release of her new EP, ‘Bel.li’ on 16th April, Uma’s ‘Astronaut’ is an intimate encompassment of her past and present in one.
Beginning on an intricately layered wall of guitars and strings we at first wonder where Uma might be taking us, but when her delicate vocals swoon into view all doubts are swept aside. ‘Astronaut’ epitomises Uma’s trademark intimate song-writing style, consisting of a mixture of lilting Spanish Guitar lines, quietly elaborate arrangements and an ethereal voice that draws you into the heart of her music. Through her lyrics, Uma tells the story of new love and allowing yourself to be swept along with it into a state of wilful uncertainty. “Every time we say goodbye your blazing blue skies leave me breathless” Uma recants, leaving an image in our mind that affects a whole host of our senses.
Speaking on her lyrics, Uma says, “It is all about home and falling into a great love. Late-night bowls of spaghetti in your belly. Endless summers watching the sunset from my roof. Imminent tragedy and inescapable melancholy…Putting these words to music is an opportunity for me to express these little bits of myself with whoever would like to listen.”
Uma’s childhood is present in every aspect of her work and is the key to understanding her complex and intriguing style. Born in Catalonia to a British mother and Thai father, she was raised surrounded by travel, art and diversity. Her eclectic range of experiences informed her music taste, bringing elements of jazz, bossa nova and even classical to her palate. The young singer-songwriter’s growth as a musician thrived off an equally wide range of ideas, setting up a collaborative residency in her house in Spain with Luke Bower (aka Lucy Lu). Entitled Can Obert, this project brought together shining lights of the next generation of musicians, including Alice Bloomfield, Max Pope and Nilufer Yanya.
Her collaborative spirit and open-mind are intrinsic to her writing. Speaking on her creative process, Uma states that, “writing for me is my way of processing and expressing the world around me and the experiences I’ve gone through. I feel a lot for the people I’m surrounded with and the issues I really care about, such as mental health and the under-representation of females within the music industry.”
Her desire to meld styles and ideas drives at the heart of her music. As much as this track is a demonstration of her past, it is also an indication of what she plans to do
with it.
