Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO) is a New Zealand psychedelic rock band formed in Auckland, primarily composed of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Ruban Nielson, and bassist Jacob Portrait. The band is based in Portland, Oregon, US. Nielson started the band in 2009. The band's first album was released in 2011 on Fat Possum Records; four subsequent studio albums have been released on Jagjaguwar, the most recent being V (2023).
History
Inception
After some success in his native New Zealand with the band The Mint Chicks, Ruban Nielson moved to Portland in 2007. The singer and guitarist released the track "Ffunny Ffriends" on his anonymous Bandcamp profile on 17 May 2010. No further information was provided and no mention of who created it. Within a day, the song had received significant coverage from independent music blogs such as Pitchfork. Through their reposting and attempts to hunt down the creator, Nielson eventually claimed the track as Unknown Mortal Orchestra's.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
The band's debut self-titled album was released 21 June 2011 on Fat Possum Records. The album received critical acclaim. Nielson promoted a 'Kiwi Edition' of the album on his Instagram, which includes a bonus track. 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."
In the spring of 2012, the band won the Taite Music Prize for the album. 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 5 February 2013. 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 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." 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." NME praised Ruban's ability to turn his songs into "works of warm, fuzzy beauty."
In late 2012, Unknown Mortal Orchestra capitalized on the success of II and embarked on a world tour. The tour started off with shows in Australia, and hometown shows in New Zealand, followed by several stops in Europe. The band 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. Unknown Mortal Orchestra consistently sold out shows in both 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 25 February 2013, Unknown Mortal Orchestra made their American television debut, performing "So Good At Being in Trouble" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
On 29 October 2013, the band released an EP titled Blue Record. It included three acoustic versions of songs taken from their previous album.
Multi-Love
On 5 February 2015, the band announced their third studio album, Multi-Love. They released the title track as the first single, which was designated "Best New Track" by Pitchfork. Multi-Love was released on 26 May 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" and Pitchfork praised Nielson's ear for how something should sound and referred to the album as his "most accomplished." Singles "Multi-Love" and "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" were both A-listed at BBC's 6 Music.