Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Background information
Origin Auckland , New Zealand / Portland, Oregon, United States
Genres psychedelic rock, R&B, garage rock, lo-fi
Years active 2010–present
Labels Fat Possum, Jagjaguwar
Website unknownmortalorchestra.com
Members Ruban Nielson
Jake Portrait
Riley Geare
Quincy Mcrary
Past members Julien Ehrlich
Gregory Rogove

Unknown Mortal Orchestra is an American and New Zealand rock band composed of singer, guitarist and songwriter Ruban Nielson, bassist Jake Portrait and drummer Riley Geare. The band was started by Nielson (formerly of The Mint Chicks).

History

Formation

Singer and guitarist Ruban Nielson released the track "Ffunny Ffrends" on his Bandcamp profile in the spring of 2010. It was paired with no further information and notably no mention of who created it. Soon, popular bloggers got hold of the track. Through their reposting and attempts to hunt down the creator,[1] Nielson eventually claimed the track as Unknown Mortal Orchestra's.[2]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

The band's debut self-titled album was released June 21, 2011 on Fat Possum Records. The album quickly received critical acclaim. Pitchfork gave the album an 8.1, describing that with "an expert use of space rare for such a lo-fi record, UMO manages a unique immersive and psychedelic quality without relying on the usual array of bong-ripping effects."[3]

In the spring of 2012, the band won the Taite Music Prize for the album.[4] Although the nominated Unknown Mortal Orchestra did not win Best Alternative Album, Nielson took home the title of Best Male Artist at the 47th annual Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

II

In September 2012, Unknown Mortal Orchestra announced that they had signed to Jagjaguwar and were working on their second full-length album. Unknown Mortal Orchestra's second album, II, was released on February 5, 2013.[5] The first single from the album, entitled "Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)", was first available as a 7" on their tour with Grizzly Bear.

II has received widespread critical acclaim. In November 2013 it won Best Alternative Album at the New Zealand Music Awards. II was nominated for the Taite Music Prize 2014, an annual music prize awarded for the best album from New Zealand. Clash Music gave the album a 9 out of 10, saying "from opener ‘From The Sun’, which recalls George Harrison-psychedelia, to the tender Family Stone shuffle of the closing of ‘Secret Xtians’, ‘II’ displays both a glowing warmth in its production and a deft use of space that illuminate Nielson’s superbly crafted compositions.”[6] Paste Magazine called the album "a modern, beat-heavy take on ‘60s psych, with plenty of hooks and fuzz to get you hooked and feeling fuzzy.”[7] NME praised Ruban's ability to turn his songs into "works of warm, fuzzy beauty."[8]

During the winter of 2012, Unknown Mortal Orchestra capitalized on the success of II and embarked on a world tour.[9] The tour started off with shows in Australia, and hometown shows in New Zealand, followed by several stops in Europe. The band then toured extensively throughout North America with opener Foxygen. In March 2013, Unknown Mortal Orchestra was named one of Fuse TV's 30 must-see artists at SXSW.[10] Unknown Mortal Orchestra consistently sold out shows in both the UK/Europe and in North America, and as a result of their success on the road they announced in early April that they would extend their tour through the end of 2013. That summer the band performed at a number of major European festivals, including Roskilde Festival, Pukkelpop and Lowlands.

On February 25, 2013, Unknown Mortal Orchestra made their American television debut, performing "So Good At Being In Trouble" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[7]

On October 29, 2013, the band released an EP titled Blue Record.[11] It included three acoustic versions of songs taken from their previous album.

Multi-Love

On February 5, 2015, the band announced their third studio album, Multi-Love. Soon after, they released the title track as the first single, which was designated "Best New Track" by Pitchfork.[12] Multi-Love was released on May 26, 2015. It was well received by critics. Rolling Stone commented that "Multi-Love sees Nielson coloring outside the lines for a vibrant vision of connection" [13] and Pitchfork praised Nielson's ear for how something should sound and referred to the album as his "most accomplished".[14] Singles "Multi-Love" and "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" were both A-listed at BBC's 6 Music.[15]

Following the release, UMO embarked on a tour through the UK, Europe, the US and Canada, with many sold out dates. They are currently back touring in Europe through November, before heading to Australia and New Zealand for a string of headline shows in December. On August 12, UMO performed Multi-Love on Late Night with Seth Meyers.[16] On August 25 they performed "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" on Conan. "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" also appears in the association football video game FIFA 16.[17]

Awards and nominations

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result Ref.
2015 Ruban Nielson and Kody Nielson for "Multi-Love" APRA Silver Scroll Won [18]
2015 "Multi-Love" Best Alternative Album, New Zealand Music Awards Won [19]
2015 "Multi-Love" Best Single, New Zealand Music Awards Nominated [19]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions
NZ
[20]		 AUS
[21]		 BEL (Fla.)
[22]		 BEL (Wa.)
[23]		 NLD
[24]		 UK
[25]		 US
[26]		 US
Heat.
[26]		 US
Indie
[26]		 US
Rock
[26]
Unknown Mortal Orchestra 35 — — — — — — 39 — —
II
  • Released: February 5, 2013
  • Label: Jagjaguwar
  • Format: CD, LP, download
 38 — 120 — 96 122 170 2 26 48
Multi-Love
  • Released: May 26, 2015
  • Label: Jagjaguwar
  • Format: CD, LP, download
 14 45 70 158 37 44 98 — 7 12
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Extended plays

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released as single and album name
Title Year Peak
chart
positions		 Album
BEL
(Fla.)
Tip
[22]
"Ffunny Ffrends" 2010 — Unknown Mortal Orchestra
"How Can You Luv Me" 2011 —
"So Good at Being in Trouble" 2013 — II
"Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)" —
"From the Sun" —
"Multi-Love" 2015 25 Multi-Love
"Can't Keep Checking My Phone" 84
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

  1. ↑ "Who Is Unknown Mortal Orchestra?". The Corner. Retrieved on February 27, 2012
  2. ↑ Hyman, Dan (December 4, 2012). Listen Up: Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Elle. Retrieved on December 7, 2012
  3. ↑ Cohen, Ian, (June 22, 2011). Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Pitchfork. Retrieved on December 7, 2012
  4. ↑ "UMO Wins Tate Music Prize". stuff.co.nz. April 20, 2012.
  5. ↑ Young, Alex (November 28, 2012). Unknown Mortal Orchestra announces 2013 tour dates. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved on December 7, 2012
  6. ↑ "Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II | Reviews | Clash Magazine". Clashmusic.com. 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  7. 1 2 "Watch Unknown Mortal Orchestra Play Fallon". Stereogum. 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  8. ↑ "NME Album Reviews - Unknown Mortal Orchestra - 'II'". Nme.Com. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  9. ↑ "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Plot Tour". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  10. ↑ "30 Must-See Acts at SXSW 2013 - Photos - South by Southwest - Festivals - Fuse". Fuse.tv. 2013-02-28. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  11. ↑ "ALBUM ANNOUNCE // Unknown Mortal Orchestra Announces Acoustic 'Blue Record' EP, Out 10/29 Blog :: JAGJAUWAR". Jagjaguwar. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  12. ↑ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17321-unknown-mortal-orchestra-multi-love/?utm_campaign=search&utm_medium=site&utm_source=search-ac
  13. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/unknown-mortal-orchestra-multi-love-20150724
  14. ↑ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20590-unknown-mortal-orchestra-multi-love/
  15. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/e2305342-0bde-4a2c-aed0-4b88694834de
  16. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/watch-unknown-mortal-orchestra-bring-soulful-multi-love-to-late-night-20150813
  17. ↑ https://www.easports.com/fifa/news/2015/fifa-16-soundtrack
  18. ↑ "'Nielson Brothers Awarded 2015 APRA Silver Scroll'". Under the Radar. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  19. 1 2 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11548028
  20. ↑ "charts.org.nz – Unknown Mortal Orchestra albums". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  22. 1 2 "ultratop.be – Unknown Mortal Orchestra albums". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  23. ↑ "ultratop.be – Unknown Mortal Orchestra albums". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "Discografie Unknown Mortal Orchestra". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "Chart Log UK 2013 - Zobbel". zobbel.de. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 16 May 2014.

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