Malmö’s MAMI UMAMI continue to carve out a space entirely their own, transforming chaos, humour and emotional honesty into an explosive genre-blurring sound. They first popped up on our radar with recently single ‘belly dancer’ and now the duo have shared their new seven-track EP. Shaped by two years of late-night sessions, evolving conversations and relentless experimentation, AFTERwork further expands their unpredictable world. Rooted in their city’s fiercely creative underground scene, the EP balances absurd internet-inspired satire with sharp reflections on identity, capitalism, pressure, burnout and modern adulthood. Focus track ‘Conor’ really summarises how MAMI UMAMI move fluidly between genres, ideas, images and chaos. Now, for On The Record, the up-and-coming pair discuss the making of AFTERwork, their creative process, Malmö’s influence and the cathartic energy driving their live shows.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with MAMI UMAMI, can you each introduce yourselves?
Thank you lovely to be here! Hello everyone, I’m Jackie im singing, producing, doing the occasional trumpet playing and stand in the front with the mike when we’re live.. I also really want a volvo xc90 to drive my crew around in when we’re on tour and unfortunately I’m very addicted to snus, but that’s life I guess we all have our habits.
Hi there fabulous people! I’m Leo, the blond guy sitting behind the drums and screaming, singing out different types of verses frantically to not get overheard by my own drumming! I produce, write and sing besides ugah buging on the drums. I really like going to my local corner store to buy different types of snacks and gadgets such as folkbeer which is a little bit like a beer you can’t get drunk on, only if you drink a lot of them!
Congratulations on the recent release of your EP! For those discovering you through AFTERwork, how would you describe this song in three words?
This EP is somewhere between internet gouling and completely uncompromised distorted madness.
These songs were shaped over two years, so how did the sound or message evolve during that time?
PAPER was made first and we didn’t just fall in love with it, but it also got us thinking about the world, what state it is in and how to cope with everyday life when everything is so fast paced. For 2 young adults this subject had been boiling for a while but it was like PAPER brought it up to the surface so that we could touch it for the first time. After that life just kind of happened the sound grew and the expectations of what this project was gonna be changed over time, we had to let ourselves just write and see what happened. One day we´d had enough of waiting and seeing what would happened, it felt like the sound, the subject and foremost the clarity was there and we gave ourselves 1 week to write the rest of the project, it kind of felt like doing the reading before writing an essay or something. That week everything just poured out of us, one of the most intense but also fun weeks ever spent in our rats nest of a studio.
Focus track ‘Conor’ mixes absurd humor with deeper reflection. Why is it important for the project to find a balance between those two states?
It’s just easier dealing with life that way, and this ep is about dealing with life, society and the standards that we think are put on us by others but are really just our own. If you’re always all deep and reflecting you’re never getting anywhere but if you’re always hiding behind humor you never get to yourself so you’ll always need both to cope.
Are there specific recording tricks, limitations or happy accidents that ended up defining the sound of this record?
All recorded drums are always on maximum 3 mics, if we use distortion we use at least 2 distortions and when we produce it’s never allowed to hoard the computer for too long.
How do you approach blending genres like hip-hop, punk and drum & bass without losing cohesion?
You’re always gonna be you even if you jump between different genres or not. The project’s identity will always shine through whether we like it or not because it’s us doing it.
Did your late-night sessions influence the mood and tone of your music?
We were pretty much absorbed by the world of the ep once we really saw it all in front of us so the timing of the day didn’t really matter.
Does Malmö’s underground scene also shape your identity as artists and the overall sound of your music?
Definitely, you have to be here to understand I think but it’s very…. like free, everyone is creating somehow, everyone is so different but coexist so well, it doesn’t have to become anything it’s all about doing, no one really cares if you have a distinct pitch before you start anything which gives you a lot of freedom creating whatever you want.
What else do you hope that listeners will take away from AFTERwork?
That no matter what you’ll always have to sell your time in one way or another so don’t waste it where you don’t wanna be, no one really cares if you’re rich or famous just live and hang out with your people.
Following the release of this EP, what will be next on the horizon for you?
A lot of travelling around and screaming our songs in people’s faces in different types of situations and then also way more music to come very soon.
You can find focus track ‘Conor’ in our Electro Feels playlist.
Follow MAMI UMAMI:
UNRECORDED 