Battle of the 1Bands

Umi

Umi leads with peace. With this intention, the 23-year-old singer builds a space for healing in her music. Umi’s voice is soft and feather-like as her vocals gently call listeners to be reflective and embrace the range of their emotions. She’s been releasing music since 2017, including an earlier EP Introspection, and a refined edition Introspection Reimagined last year. Since the start of her career, she’s accrued a loyal fanbase with 112M YouTube views and 2.8M monthly Spotify listeners. Now she arrives with her debut album Forest in the City, after releasing the single, “Sorry.” Over 14 tracks, Umi offers an ode to returning to the peace we all have within us.


The album has taken four years of Umi’s life experiences to create. It’s been that long since she moved from her nature-filled hometown of Seattle, Washington to Los Angeles, California. At first, it was hard to adjust to her new city environment and without the woods and tall trees, she had to go inward to connect with the comfort that buildings couldn’t provide. “Having to re-find myself was a really big theme over the past four years. I learned a lot from being in relationships that didn't really mirror who I really was or questioning if the decisions I was making aligned with my truth. I had to let go of a lot to find my center Umi says.
Forest in the City is evidence of this journey as it explores the highs and lows of her growing pains. Tempered with moments of heaviness and levity, Umi lets us in on what she’s explored and endured. She describes the older songs as more about “pain and heartbreak” and the newer tracks as “uplifting.” “I wanted to put a range on the album because they're both parts of the human experience,” she says.


Umi didn’t rush the process and was patient in finding the collaborators who resonated with her spirit and vision. This time around, Umi was hands-on with a lot of the production and collaborated with producers like Vron , Logiksmind, Danny Parra, Psymun, and Fisticups. Whether it was spearheading the arrangement of a song or playing guitar, keys, or drums on a track, she felt empowered to play a strong role in the creative process.


It’s important for Umi not to be bound by genres. She shows off her musical dimensions within this album by playing with a range of sounds. There’s “Whatever You Like,” which is a super fun track about unconditional love and freedom. She’s always envisioned singing this one at a music festival. Umi also loves “Moonlit Room,” a moody R&B groove that gives her the chance to slow down and explore the questions that love may bring. On the single, “Sorry,” whirling harmonies take off as Umi gets transparent about her inner thoughts.


She explains the meaning of the song: “It is an anthem for self-forgiveness and also a song about manifesting. It's like a reminder for people to stop the spiraling, don't be so hard on yourself. If you’ve found something you want to change about yourself, meet it with love.”


On Forest in the City, Umi is welcoming us to build our own sanctuaries and strengthen our communities. “We have the peace. We have the essence. We have all the answers that we're seeking. It's all in here,” she says.”


“I was going through this healing journey of finding myself and came to realize that this peace I’m seeking resides in me. No matter where I am, city or nature, the essence of the forest is always here,” she says as she points at her heart and smiles.


“We're all just little forests in the city.”
112M YouTube Views
2.8M Monthly Spotify Listeners

Condensed Version

Umi leads with peace. With this intention, the 23-year-old singer builds a space for healing in her music. Umi’s voice is a soft landing as her vocals gently call listeners to be reflective or embrace the range of their emotions. She’s been releasing music since 2017, including an earlier EP Introspection. Now she arrives with her debut album Forest in the City, after releasing the single, “Sorry.” Over 14 tracks, Umi offers an ode to returning to the abundant safe havens we all have within us.


Forest in the City is evidence of this journey as it explores the highs and lows of her growing pains. Tempered with moments of heaviness and levity, Umi lets us in on what she’s explored and endured. She describes the older songs as more about “pain and heartbreak” and the newer tracks as “uplifting.” “I wanted to put a range on the album because they're both parts of the human experience,” she says.


On the single, “Sorry,” whirling harmonies take off as Umi gets transparent about her inner thoughts. “It is an anthem for self-forgiveness and also a song about manifesting. It's like a reminder for people to stop, don't be so hard on yourself,” she explains. “If you’ve found something you want to change about yourself, meet it with love.”


With Forest in the City, Umi is welcoming us to build our own sanctuaries and strengthen our communities. “We have the peace. We have the essence. We have all the answers that we're seeking. It's all in here,” she says.”


“I was going through this healing journey finding myself and came to realize that peace resides in me. No matter where I am, city or nature, the essence of the forest always resides within. We're all just little forests in the city.”


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