Unknown Mortal Orchestra: "It’s important to have a cohesive album." | Interview | Louisiana Channel
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- čas přidán 11. 10. 2023
- "Making albums, to me, is the rhythm of what makes a musician. It gives a musician's life a bit of shape." Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra shares what has shaped him as a musician.
"I was always more of a music fan, so I didn't have any instruments for a long time." When Ruban Nielson was 19 years old, he got his first guitar. "My dad was doing the 12-step program, and one of the steps was to make amends. And to make amends to me, he bought me a guitar." At the time, Nielson was attending art school, but playing music quickly became a more significant part of his life. "One thing about painting was that it was very meditative. I think, for my mental health, it's really good. But the feedback doesn't come until later. And it's a lot less satisfying, I think," Nielson explains. When playing a show, you get the audience's response right away. "I think music seemed more democratic," Ruban Nielson says and continues: "I found in the art world that I personally had a problem with how few people decided what went. I like the idea that you put your music out, and it attracts how many people it attracts."
At one point, Ruban Nielson decided to put his music on band camp. The music blogs at the time quickly picked up on the music, and eventually, the renowned music media, Pitchfork, wrote about it. This is when the Unknown Mortal Orchestra was formed. "When I start recording music, my approach is usually something like sitting down with an acoustic guitar or sitting down at the piano and writing it like it's a folk song." But Ruban Nielson wouldn't call Unknown Mortal Orchestra's sound 'folk'. "The genre that I would describe my music changes a lot. But I have a few I come back to," he says and continues: "Sometimes I call it 'depression funk' or 'dad wave'. I always come up with genres that are kind of like jokes. That's the best way to describe it because I really don't know what it is."
“My attitude towards the album is that it’s one of the best things that came out of the music industry.” The album has always been essential to Ruban Nielson and has given him structure as a musician: "I still believe it’s important to have a cohesive album. Not everybody does that these days, and it’s not necessary. But it’s just how I enjoy music, and it’s how I understand it."
Unknown Mortal Orchestra is a New Zealand band formed in Auckland. It consists primarily of Ruban Nielson, Jacob Portrait and Kody Nielson. The band was formed by Ruban Nielson in 2009. The band's first album was released in 2011 on Fat Possum Records; four subsequent studio albums have been released on Jagjaguwar, the most recent being V (2023).
Ruban Nielson was interviewed by Malte Bruun Fals in June 2023. The interview was recorded in connection to Unknown Mortal Orchestra's participation in Brodie Sessions, a non-profit CZcams platform of curated live music sessions. For more, visit / brodiesessions
Camera: Simon Wehye
Concert footage: Brodie Sessions
Produced and edited by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2023
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Man Rueben is just so so special. Truly pulling inspo from what he loves and making music for himself. Not to mention, it’s hard to argue that he has, easily, one of the best live guitar tones I’ve ever heard consistently (if you’ve seen them live you know); seen him 3-4 times over the years and his tone is just SO chaotic yet dialed - hard to do, very Zappa influenced. To think he started playing at 19 is insane. He deserves every ounce of credit and hype but I still think he is overlooked as a guitarist and maybe even still as a songwriter - he gets his writing cred forsure but man some of the early stuff is just bizarre and odd while also throwing in a couple tasteful and easily digestible pop tunes. Just a true master of songwriting through and though without giving a shit if anyone likes it.
Ahhh, man. I love his old weird stuff. Boy witch especially.
The diversity of artists covered on here is wonderful. Thanks for interviewing with UMO!
'Swim and Sleep Like A Shark' was a GIGANTIC influence on how I now record my guitar sound.
One of my favorite songs by them 🦈✨
Wish I could meet you guys. UMO is my favorite band ever but i can't ever talk about it with people. All my music friends can't get with it. They are too busy listen to fucking Deftones
@@shanchi1869Same. My friends are supportive but noones really involved. They like hearing my umo covers/remixes tho so i can't complain
such a great recollection from someone who allows life to guide him, while not forcing his ego on the world. CLASSIC MUSIC
Ruban is my idol and UMO is the best band of the planet, thank you for the interview ❤
One of the best musician and songwriter out on the scene.
*I saw UMO play in Dallas around a decade ago, when their first album released, and the most memorable part was their sick ass drummer. Some Bonham dude with a headband just ripping the shit out of a drum set. It’s great to see how, much like Tame Impala from back in the day, these artists who were fairly obscure a decade ago are now crushing it globally. Well deserved!*
i love this channel. thank you for all that you do.
so good at being in trouble is honestly one of my favorite songs ever - this is great!
Before I watch this video, I have to say. I found them in 2017 and fell in love with their sound. Cant wait to watch
Ruban seems like a really chill and good natured guy, and with an inspiring story. Great musician too of course. Thanks for sharing
They were so good in 2019. I saw them last week. They were even more amazing then. They were so good live. I wish I could have gone to more shows this tour.
Saw them for the first time ever this year and it was one of the best sounding shows I've ever been to. Their sounds was clear and full even at the volume they were playing at. Achieving that sounds must've been a herculean task and some.
Really cool to see UMO on here, big fan of his music
agreed 100%: The Art World is for the few who control it.
Was just reading an interview with him about guitar pedals! Really cool dude.
Do you have a link to the interview?
Check out “rig rundown” by premier guitar with Ruben on CZcams
very enjoyable!
UMO!!! Best band ever!!!
This channel is very interesting. All the uploaded videos explore art in vert interesting and different ways, I'm always telling myself I gotta make time to watch some of these more often.
V was cohesive as **** top 5 artists
big umo fan here, i like describing the sb series at least as dystopian chill wave 🎉😅
"I've just crash landed.. Some dude just gave me a pair of headphones and sent me in a direction." That's how I hear the Sketch Books. :)
totally agree with the album thing he talks of, hate singles
ka rawe tō mahi! Such a talented, humble musician!
It is a cliche to say an artist is underrated but in Ruban’s case….underrated x 10!
Also, ‘depression funk’ is brilliant, but honestly it is Art Pop (however much Ruban might not like the genre title) because it’s pop music that is evidently deeply thought about and crafted but not polished like most pop music. The artistic sensibility is there in the playing, writing and the music production.
Ruban = top of the art poppers.
Not in Love ... Just High !
“Depression funk” is so accurate for me tho 😂
so sad that bandcamp is on its way out considering how it facilitated the blowing up of great artists like UMO
🤎
Jony Ive changed, dude
A cohesive Album? I can’t even make a coherent song! I am a fan of UMO but you wouldn’t know they were an inspiration by the weird music I put out
Strange Police You don't have to put on the red light. Calling it another iconic name Layla ... nice though Good vibes
Ruban’s in denial saying it’s not psych rock 😂
He just explained why its not! Their early stuff grew out of that but Id say its leaps away currently
Nah, he's probably just hear the 1969-1972 stuff where it went shiny and pop, and not thinking the 1964-1967 stuff that was exactly muddy and dark. Traffic, Moody Blues, Vanilla Fudge. Metal came out of that Psych, and that Psych came straight out of white artists listening to Motown/Stax ie. Northern Soul. Shit's dark, moody, and felt.
Remove that one eye tattoo, it’s disturbing
Bothers me too. Like, what's it for?
@@maIwaldronfun
Freemason
@@livery9tard
@@quasimoto5656 “Today, the Eye of Providence is often associated with Freemasonry, first appearing as part of the standard Freemason iconography in 1797 with the publication of Thomas Smith Webb's The Freemason's Monitor.
In this use, the Eye, representing the all-seeing eye of God, serves as a reminder that humanity's thoughts and deeds are always observed by God-who is referred to in Masonry as the Great Architect of the Universe. Typically, the Masonic Eye of Providence has a semicircular glory below it, and is sometimes enclosed by a triangle.”