Following the AFTERwork EP (released earlier this year via Bad Wednesday), Malmö duo MAMI UMAMI have moved into a noticeably poppier space with their newest single ‘(Don’t) think I like you’. Written by Jaquelin Elamiri (Miss Mami) and Leonard Furby after both their partners moved to other cities for work, the track captures the strange emotional limbo of being genuinely happy for someone while quietly struggling with their absence.
Together, these two artists turn romantic separation into something bright, restless and gloriously conflicted. It’s all about emotional misdirection, as the song sounds energetic enough to dance through the heartbreak, but its core is unmistakably about longing. In this way, the playful dancefloor experimentation harks back to their earlier work, but it’s’ also evolved into a tighter, more focused songwriting approach, without sacrificing the gritty electronic textures that have become part of their identity.
Co-produced with Alex Lopez, the production is synth-heavy, hypnotic and charged with momentum. The chorus brings a burst of defiance, as though frustration might be easier to handle than vulnerability, while beneath it sits a more complicated progression through denial, anger, bargaining and eventual acceptance.
MAMI UMAMI don’t seek to resolve the emotional tension at the heart of ‘(Don’t) think I like you’, instead they use it as the song’s engine, pushing forward into a hedonistic electro-pop explosion.
You can also listen to ‘(Don’t) think I like you’ in our Outsiders Club playlist.
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