Portland, OR · psych-pop · indie rock

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

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Lo-fi psych filtered through Ruban Nielson's guitar tone — woozy, funk-adjacent, and slightly out of focus by design, 'Multi-Love' warmth throughout.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra began as a largely solo recording project by Ruban Nielson, a New Zealand musician who had previously fronted the Auckland band the Mint Chicks before moving to the United States. In 2010 he posted the track "Ffunny Ffrends" anonymously to Bandcamp with no name attached, and it spread through blogs including Pitchfork before he claimed it as Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The project grew into a touring band with his brother Kody Nielson and bassist Jacob Portrait among those involved.

The self-titled debut album followed in 2011 on Fat Possum Records to strong reviews, and won the Taite Music Prize the next year, with Nielson also named Best Male Artist at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

A second album, II, came out in 2013 after the band signed to Jagjaguwar, and won Best Alternative Album at the New Zealand Music Awards. The record arrived alongside heavy touring, including a stop at SXSW where the band was singled out as a must-see act.

The sound is built on Nielson's guitar playing and compressed, deliberately murky production, blending psychedelic pop with funk and soul rhythms. Multi-Love, released in 2015, brought synthesisers and disco textures further forward, and later records have moved between lo-fi looseness and cleaner arrangements.

Nielson handles most of the recording himself, working from studios in Portland and Palm Springs.

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psych-popindie rock