Portland, OR · psych-pop · indie rock

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

1 upcoming festival

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 in Portland, Oregon around 2010 as a largely solo recording project by Ruban Nielson, a New Zealand musician who had previously played in the Auckland band the Mint Chicks. Early tracks circulated anonymously online before the group became a touring band, with Nielson's brother Kody among those involved over the years.

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 continued to move between lo-fi looseness and cleaner arrangements. Nielson handles most of the recording himself and has worked from studios in Portland and Palm Springs.

psych-popindie rock