UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA Shares New Single + Video For 'Nadja'

Unknown Mortal Orchestra shares 'Nadja,' another taste from the forthcoming double album V, due March 17th via Jagjaguwar. Arriving alongside the new single is the second of the Vira-Lata-directed videos documenting the lives of two young women which began with the visuals for recently-released single 'Layla,' which the New York Times described as "full of warmth, with a soulful vocal melody." In October of 2022, the group shared -- "I Killed Captain Cook" -- with a video featuring Nielson's mother, Deedee Aipolani Nielson, Miss Aloha Hula 1973.

Speaking about the creation of the videos for both 'Layla' and 'Nadja,' Vira-Lata shares, "We were in awe of the power of the songs' simplicity; how its beauty rises without pretension, creating an honest and poetic testament that reaches into the heart. We wanted to match the poetic tenderness of the songs with a visually intimate storyline that felt extremely honest and showcased fleeting moments of a true friendship."

Conceived in Palm Springs, California between the dry freeways and the lush coastline of Hilo, Hawaii, V is led by Hawaiian-New Zealand musician Ruban Nielson and draws from the rich traditions of West Coast AOR, classic hits, weirdo pop and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music. With V, UMO's first double album, Nielson reframes and enriches the road that led him to this moment. During the pandemic’s early days, Nielson’s brother Kody flew from New Zealand to Palm Springs to help him with his recordings. One of their Hawaiian uncles began displaying health issues, and Nielson realized he was facing a sharper and more acute sense of mortality. To be with him, he put aside his recordings and helped his mother and another of her brothers move from New Zealand and Portland, respectively, to Hawai'i. He reunited with his brother at his cousin's wedding in Hawai'i and together they traveled back to Palm Springs, where the fourteen singalong anthems, cinematic instrumentals, and mischievous pop songs in V were brought together with the help of his father, Chris Nielson (saxophone/flute), and longstanding UMO member Jake Portrait.

V evokes blue skies, beachside cocktail bars, hotel pools and the darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces. The desert resort city’s palm tree-lined streets reminded Ruban of a childhood spent playing by hotel swimming pools with his siblings while their entertainer parents performed in showbands across the Pacific and East Asia, and he became aware of the glamorized hedonism he’d internalized since childhood and the darker side of his parents' lifestyle when they were working as entertainers.

“In Hawaii, everything shifted off of me and my music,” Nielson said. “Suddenly, I was spending more time figuring out what others need and what my role is within my family. I also learned that things I thought were true of myself are bigger than I thought. My way of making mischief - that’s not just me - that’s my whole Polynesian side. I thought I was walking away from music to focus on family, but the two ended up connecting.”

A primary goal of V for Nielson was to make music and art that transcends notions of clout and cultural currency while also aiming to inject having fun back into the process of creating music. For Nielson, V is about having fun while making music and art and by doing so, he reclaims taste as a personal part of selfhood, propelling UMO to new creative heights.

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