Yesterday, October 19th, Barcelona-based musician Uma Bunnag released a phenomenal new single featuring the acclaimed British artist Lucy Lu. The track, titled Bring Me The Mountain, is avaliable to stream on all major platforms and was released via the tastemaker London label Slow Dance yesterday morning.
Bring Me The Mountain marks a slight departure from Uma’s previous work. Her debut EP Bel.li, which came out earlier this year, fit more in the indie folk cannon. Filled with ‘intimate lyricism and intricate arrangements’, the album harkened back to the sounds of artists such as Sibylle Baier and Linda Perhacs. Her recent collaborations with Lucy Lu, including a cover of Little Dragon’s Twice, have had a more intense and distinctly modern feel. Perhaps this shift in tone is a reflection of the world in which her more recent music was created.
Uma wrote Bring Me The Mountain with Lucy Lu, whose real name is Luke Bower, during the Covid-19 lockdown, at her house in Spain. The track has a mounting sense of urgency, enhanced by the presence of a pulsating beat and a creeping bass-line which feels like its getting closer and closer. The lyrics, too, have a prophetic feel to them. Uma’s haunting voice sings: ‘Bring me the mountain before the end of the world// Bring me the myrrh and the incense…’
At its heart, the song explores human connection. In Uma’s words, it is ‘about being seen when you are in pain and vulnerable… about the people who help you out of that and the people who stand by and watch.’ When Uma sings ‘Tell me a story… give me a hand’, it sounds like an appeal for comfort and warmth at a time of difficulty. In this way, the track is a beautifully honest homage to being vulnerable.
A mixture of vulnerability and determination has always flowed through Uma’s music, and this song is no different. ‘Life’s too short to run away…’, she repeats twice in the final section, her voice clear and powerful.
The unique sound effects and instrumentation exhibit Luke Bower’s usual playful feel, drawing influences from a multitude of genres such as dance music and jazz. In the words of Uma, ‘there’s definitely an exploration of acoustic and electronic sounds… I think that is a result of the balance of Luke’s style and my own’.
The collaboration between them began at the start of lockdown and gave the pair the ‘time and space to write together’ for the first time. This experience was described by Uma as a ‘real lesson in loving someone, being honest and having a sense of humour’. Bower concurred that ‘Working together, the music develops in a natural yet unpredictable way’. The joy of collaboration can truly be felt in the song. Uma and Bower’s separate verses are given the space to stand alone and breath, but you also get a strong sense of dialogue between them. Their vocals bounce off one another to create a sonic world entirely their own.
