Umi Exclusive Interview
Hailey’s House Imnida had the exciting opportunity to interview the artist UMI days before her return to the Head In The Clouds LA Stage! Below you can get to know UMI more and hear all about her music and what you can look forward to seeing at her main stage performance at HITC LA @ 5:45 on August 8th!
HHI: Can you introduce yourself to the HHI fans?
UMI: Hi everyone! It’s me, I’m an artist and healer! My music feels like a warm cup of tea, or that feeling when you’re hanging out with your friend and you haven’t seen them in a really long time and it just feels right. My music is for people who wanna feel better, and people who want music to help them feel better!
HHI: What got you into music? What were some of your earliest memories where you thought “Wow I'd love to do this forever”?
UMI: I can’t lie, I came out the womb wanting to do music! You know, kids play with toys or dolls, I played with a microphone and a guitar I made out of cardboard and rubber bands! I’d just sing all the time! Sing in the mirror or my reflection, sing to my sisters! But I also had really bad stage fright at the same time! So it’s been a really interesting and cool journey to have this big dream live inside of me and have to actively overcome my fear to see it come true, which I think is where I’m at now!
HHI: This isn’t your first HITC, what can fans expect to see from you this year?
UMI: I think fans can expect to be surprised. Whatever you think UMI is gonna do, it’s gonna be 5 times bigger than that! Meaning that, that i’m just really really excited to share and express very freely this love and this peaceful space that exists within me. I want to expand it out and wrap everyone in it! I think something like that is just something you have to be in person to experience.
HHI: When it comes to performing live in-person, what are all of your inspirations when it comes to executing your concepts, and sets of performances?
UMI: I have literally folders and folders and folders full of inspo and Pinterest inspo. I do so well with inspiration, it starts with the inspo, but then it turns into something completely different. This show, I don’t wanna say what it is, but this show is kind of alluding to the next project I’m making and the concept and the world I'm building, and is me introducing that to the world, so I’m going to keep it simple with that! Also books! I spend hours at the book store just collecting art books, I have a huge book shelf of art books! And a huge collection of printed art, I just love printing and making them into tactiles. So, I have binders of references and things that I like and I'll just flip through them! It's a very tedious and amazing process!
HHI: On a similar wave length, you have a very distinct sound and vibe to your music, what goes into your process of making music?
UMI: I’m a feelings girl! I just feel everything! Usually I’ll be like, “Today I want to write about this feeling,” and a feeling has a color and a color has a sound, So, it’s just about explaining my feelings and color enough to get everyone in the room to understand this thing I’m trying to express, which is a feeling! It’s always a feeling! Sometimes it’s my feeling, and is often time feelings and stories from other people which is what I made my last project, People Stories!
HHI: If you could suggest only one release to someone who’s never heard of UMI, as an introduction, what song would you suggest?
UMI: Oh my gosh! Right now I’ve been seeing butterflies literally everywhere so I would say, “Butterfly” I know I should probably say something new, like off my recent album, but I gotta honor the signs!
HHI: Is there an artist, dead or alive, that you would LOVE to collab with?
UMI: I would love to collaborate with Frank Ocean! And I would love to collaborate with D'Angelo and Erykah Badu. I would also love to collaborate with SZA! And Jhene Aiko! I’d also love to collab with Cleo Sol!
HHI: Are you working on anything you want to talk about or tease for fans?
UMI: Yes! I’m working on a new album!! It’s coming along a lot quicker than I expected. It feels like a horse and it’s running and it’s amazing and I can’t wait to show people that! I won’t be teasing any of the album, because I just want to surprise people! But, I think you’ll like it!
HHI: What’s something you want fans to take away from listening to your music? What’s your message?
UMI: I think something I want people to take away from my music is that they’re not alone! And I want people to really know the only reason I write the songs I write is because I’ve lived and experienced the things that I write about. If you feel deeply connected to my music, and even if you’re isolated out alone in the middle of nowhere, the fact that you resonate with the music means that you’re not alone! That feeling, and I think my message is a message of freedom and a message of peace that music is not just about entertaining people and not just about numbers and being flashy. It’s not about hypnotizing people into listening to your music. Music is an ancient, forever form of connection between humans to humans, a form of making life easier to live. And my message is wanting to preserve, and continue to expand the art of making music. Making music is an art form and I want to preserve that method of making love!
We are so thankful to UMI and her team for taking the time to answer our questions! Be sure to catch her set at Head In The Clouds LA on August 8th!
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