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Sixty affirmations can pour out of UMI in a single sitting.
But sometimes, she has one that cant wait.
Ill deadass text people at 2 a.m., she confesses.
But Im like, theyre my friends!
UMI grew up making songs in the majestic, Narnia-like forest of her hometown, Seattle.
I feel like my music feels so calming because Im really tuning into: What does nature feel like?
And how can I turn that into a song?
It gives you the same feeling as a walk in the park.
I know when Im meant to be making music and its time, she says.
I feel it in my bones, and so Im just excited to let it out.
When we started talking, I was like, wait, whoa, youd be my friend.
We have very complementary energy.
What parts of the collaborative process surprised you?How detail oriented he was.
I like my first take the best, usually.
Has she heard it yet?Yeah!
She loved it from the beginning.
But my grandma … she understands what I do, but she doesnt fully get the extent of it.
So she was like,Wow, so great!
Dont forget to keep practicing your voice lessons.
Very Japanese of her.
How would you describe your relationship with the BTS ARMY?
And like you said, theyresoorganized.
I was blown away and heavily inspired, because it opened my perspective.
After getting to know ARMY, I was like, oh, it just takes community.
It takes mobilizing and organizing.
So Im like, whoa, this is the future.
This is how I want to do all my releases.
It takes the power out of the corporations and puts it back in the fans.
And I feel like Im, like, besties with the ARMY now.
I mean, we be talking on Twitter every day.
Wherever u r hit No.
But these days, Im feeling excited for and confident about the future.
So if that can happen, what else can happen?
Also, I very much believe everythings gonna happen exactly how its supposed to happen.
I cant stop it and I cant force it, either.
Are there any K-pop idols besides V you keep in touch with or want to collaborate with?
Sana, Kim Lip, Choerry, and members of P1Harmony came to your show in Korea last year.Yes!
Everyone you listed I keep in contact with.
And that was really surprising to me.
But theyre so sweet.
They love music and connecting.
Weve been sharing music and were talking about making music.
And its so organic.
Same with the V song theres no labels, theres no companies involved in our friendship.
I dont want to say too much, so Ill just say Im so open to a collab happening.
I feel like were all open to it.
Youre an independent artist now.
Yes, it was on my vision board.
And I think its really cool how visions evolve.
Thats the nature of manifesting.
And I think it did help me grow a lot.
I deeply value that experience.
I dont foresee myself forever being independent.
So Im grateful that my label let me do what was best for me.
I didnt feel like there was an excitement at my label for me.
So it was a little bit of a shock.
My ego definitely was like,Fuck you, youre gonna drop me?
That happened in January of last year.
Just me and social media, thats all I had.
The EP was made during that unknown time.
The wind kept telling me,UMI, just trust.
Its also a pretty romantic EP.
And I think its really new.
And Im like, why?
I dont really like all the rules and norms.
We can just look at each other and feel like we need to make a song.
Thats how a lot of these songs are made.
For Happy im, I was cleaning her room and folding laundry.
She was on the computer making a beat, and I was just like [Gasps].
Shes a great producer, and regardless of our relationship, I see that ability in her.
She can do it.
Thats what really drew me to her.
So making music came first, and then we fell in love.
One of your biggest hits, 2018s Remember Me, was inspired by a friends experience.
About my own experiences, where I am in my life, my own memories.
Since I got this out of my system, Ive been going back to storytelling about other people.
[Laughs]
This interview has been edited and condensed.
