emer feat. Ugnė Uma - you and me - STROOM

STROOM label, run by Belgian producer and DJ Ziggy Devriendt aka Nosedrip, has become a true tastemaker since its founding in 2016. Over the last ten years, the label has unearthed music from the 80s, 90s and 00s across all genres — from sweet R&B (Keysha’s “Stop it!”) to heartmelting Synthwave (Saskia’s “Eeuwig Op Reis”) and timeless Trance anthems (CJ Bolland’s “Camargue”). But beyond that, the imprint has provided a platform for exciting contemporary artists and their projects, such as Florian T M Zeisig, Oko DJ's live project, or the incredible Voice Actor. Now, two artists who have previously released on the label return as a duo for their debut album.

In case you’ve been following this blog for a while, you might be familiar with emer as well as Ugnė Uma. Both artists represent a talented new generation of Lithuania’s underground scene. Besides their collaborative single, they both have released solo material (on Short Span & Somewhere Press) and worked on other collaborations (ugne&marija / Sam Gendel & Ugnė Uma). On “you and me”, their unique yet kindred styles unite for an exceptional twelve-track album.

Ugnė Uma’s soft and gentle voice appears in English as well as in Lithuanian. Besides her unparalleled vocals, a call-and-response between differently pitched voices is a common thread in her previous work and throughout this whole album, too. She is joined by her good friend Marija Kudabaitė aka emer, who took excellent care of the production side of this project. Her unique mix of wonky beats, warm and enchanted soundscapes, and powerful but never harsh basslines is the core of her sound. Together, these two perfectly matching styles unleash their full power on twelve incredible tunes, spanning from Ambient / Experimental pieces like Vasarė, Going Places, Same Thought, or Gentle Motion, to contemporary R&B / Trip-Hop infused jams like A Little Bit Of Sun, Time Test, It’s Just A Phase, Nuanced Gaze, or Familiar, and even rhythmic, Dub-leaning pieces like Is It, Love Can Be So Easy, or Perfect Strangers.

It would be as surprising as it would be disappointing not to see this album at all the big AOTY gatherings in a few months. Big recommendation!