Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson wrote his newest album in the wake of a relationship’s dissolution, though the falling out is not with his wife. Nielson is a former member of The Mint Chicks, a band he started with his brother Kody Nielson, Paul Roper, and Michael Logie. And so, for a year, they became a family of sorts. His first and second albums, Unknown Mortal … Like previous UMO efforts, Multi-Love was recorded and obsessively tinkered with by Nielson in his basement home studio. At the center of Unknown Mortal Orchestra is Ruban Nielson, a musician raised in New Zealand who has been living in Portland, Oregon, and started the group as a pseudonymous solo project in 2010. They released two EPs and three albums under the Flying Nun Records banner: Octagon, Octagon, Octagon EP (2003), Anti-Tiger EP (2004), Fuck the Golden Youth (2005), Crazy? RUBAN NIELSON is just a couple days home from a long tour. As the frontman and primary songwriter of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Nielson is accustomed to baring his soul in the band’s music. "[15] NME praised Ruban's ability to turn his songs into "works of warm, fuzzy beauty."[16]. The album was released via Jagjaguwar on May 26, 2015. The titular track is a taut and precise example of funk, 60’s pop, and psychedelia fusing elegantly into a complex but simultaneously open and straightforward exploration of… well, there was that ‘multi-love’ thing where singer Ruban Nielson and his wife were seeing another woman together. No!".[5]. UMO's Ruban Nielson on why he almost killed the band and how Sex & Food will save rock 28 Mar, 2018 06:00 PM 6 minutes to read Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Ruban Nielson. Unknown Mortal Orchestra was founded by a New Zealand-American musician named Ruban Nielson. Interestingly, Multi-Love’s themes are based around Nielson meeting a mysterious girl in Tokyo who then moved to Portland to live (!) It’s no surprise that after slowly entering into the world of polyamory with his wife and a live-in fan, Unknown Mortal Orchestra frontman Ruban Nielson would title the band’s third album “Multi-Love” — a theme that both grabs you by the hand and also peeks around the corner throughout the album. He's a little dazed but not too out of it. Portland-based musician Ruban Nielson is bringing his band Unknown Mortal Orchestra home for a New Zealand tour in September. Ruban Nielson and his brother Kody Nielson formed the band in high school in 2001, and began by playing punk house parties and low profile shows before being discovered by acclaimed New Zealand independent record label Flying Nun Records. The title Multi-Love is a reference to the polyamorous relationship frontman Ruban Nielson had with his wife and a younger woman from Tokyo, Japan for a year, before her visa expired and the relationship ended. Soon after, they released the title track as the first single, which was designated "Best New Track" by Pitchfork. The 'Multi-Love' of the title track refers to an emotionally fraught and short-lived ménage à trois between Neilson’s wife Jenny and “Laura”, a fan who took up lodgings at the couple’s Portland home. When New Zealand-born songwriter and UMO visionary Ruban Nielson (who played alongside his brother Kody in the band The Mint Chicks for … The album was produced by Ruban Nielson and rated four out of five stars by AllMusic, 8/10 by Hot Press, four out of five by NME, three out of five stars by The Observer, and 7.3/10 by Pitch Fork. Nielson was born in Sydney, Australia on February 20, 1980. Dumb? After a breakthrough album that exposed his personal life, Ruban Nielson is back with his best work yet – and some hard-won life lessons to go with it. At the time, Ruban was at Elam – the University of Auckland art school – and more focused on painting/drawing than music. Two years ago, Ruban Nielson's life seemed to be idyllic: The musician had just released his second LP, the acclaimed II, with indie-psych band Unknown Mortal Orchestra and … "[7] Nielson eventually claimed the track under the band name Unknown Mortal Orchestra. What began as a casual friendship became more complicated when his wife, Jenny, started carrying out her own long-distance communication with the same individual. The band joined with New Zealand music website MusicHy.pe to promote their next record, the Bad Buzz EP, released in February 2010. Portland, OR-via-New Zealand frontman Ruban Nielson had already released three albums with the shambolic noise-rock group the Mint Chicks. which was produced by the Nielson brothers and their father Chris Nielson at two different home studios. Clash Music gave the album a 9 out of 10, saying "from opener 'From The Sun', which recalls George Harrison-psychedelia, to the tender Family Stone shuffle of the closing of 'Secret Xtians', 'II' displays both a glowing warmth in its production and a deft use of space that illuminate Nielson's superbly crafted compositions. Find the perfect Nielson stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. He's a little dazed but not too out of it. [4] Jeremy D. Larson of Pitchfork labeled it as Nielson's "most accomplished album". Frontman Ruban Nielson explains how insomnia is the biggest influence on his band's groggy psych-pop Gwilym Mumford Fri 13 Dec 2013 09.00 EST … Retrieved on December 7, 2012, "Exclusive Interview: Unknown Mortal Orchestra", "Volume of band brings house down at St James", "Mint Chicks prepare to take on the world", "The Mint Chicks nab major awards at NZ Music Awards", "Ffunny Ffrends by Unknown Mortal Orchestra", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra – "Ffunny Ffrends, "Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II | Reviews | Clash Magazine", "Watch Unknown Mortal Orchestra Play Fallon", "NME Album Reviews - Unknown Mortal Orchestra - 'II, "30 Must-See Acts at SXSW 2013 - Photos - South by Southwest - Festivals - Fuse", "ALBUM ANNOUNCE // Unknown Mortal Orchestra Announces Acoustic 'Blue Record' EP, Out 10/29 Blog :: JAGJAUWAR", https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17321-unknown-mortal-orchestra-multi-love/, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/unknown-mortal-orchestra-multi-love-20150724, https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20590-unknown-mortal-orchestra-multi-love/, https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/e2305342-0bde-4a2c-aed0-4b88694834de, https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/watch-unknown-mortal-orchestra-bring-soulful-multi-love-to-late-night-20150813, https://www.easports.com/fifa/news/2015/fifa-16-soundtrack, "The Kiwi muso making it big in the States", Unknown Mortal Orchestra official website, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruban_Nielson&oldid=1002195739, New Zealand emigrants to the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 23 January 2021, at 07:51. Unknown Mortal Orchestra's second album, II, was released on February 5, 2013. Fast forward past some internet correspondence for a prolonged time and, a grown interest from Ruban’s wife and this new friend was now living with the Neilson family. During the winter of 2012, Unknown Mortal Orchestra capitalized on the success of II and embarked on a world tour. He talks to Duncan Greive. In September 2012, Unknown Mortal Orchestra announced that they had signed to Jagjaguwar and were working on their second full-length album. pre-order Unknown Mortal […] Ruban Nielson of psych-rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra has gained something of a reputation for chasing adventures. They connected and stayed connected—after months of correspondence, Nielson and his wife invited the fan to live with them and their two kids in Oregon. [17], 2015 studio album by Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "Unknown Mortal Orchestra announce new album, Multi-Love", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra: 'I can't tell what I'm supposed to keep private now, "Multi-Love by Unknown Mortal Orchestra reviews", "Reviews for Multi-Love by Unknown Mortal Orchestra", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Multi-Love review – a breakup record with a difference", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Multi-Love | Album Review", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Multi-Love review – a squelchy update of UMO's nagging groove", "Review: Unknown Mortal Orchestra Welcomes the Private Into Public on the Kaleidoscopic 'Multi-Love, "Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Multi-Love Review", "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s", "Australiancharts.com – Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love", "Ultratop.be – Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love", "Dutchcharts.nl – Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love", "Charts.nz – Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra | Artist | Official Charts", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Chart History (, "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Chart History (Independent Albums)", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Chart History (Top Rock Albums)", "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Multi-Love&oldid=1001335536, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Album chart usages for BillboardIndependent, Album chart usages for BillboardTastemaker, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 January 2021, at 06:54. All were produced and recorded by the band's core members Ruban and Kody Nielson, with the exception of Crazy? Fresh from his old rock band, Nielson formed a new rock band with Jake Portrait in 2010. On February 5, 2015, the band announced their third studio album, Multi-Love. The show, originally a fundraiser for MusicHy.pe, ended in chaos after Kody Nielson destroyed the two drumkits and equipment, imploring the crowd to 'start your own fucking band'. To counter this Shihad's bass player, Karl Kippenberger, filled in for several more popular songs. Ruban and Kody Nielson grew up in Auckland, kids of a Kiwi jazz musician father and a Hawaiian mother. [2] They have also played support slots for The White Stripes, Death From Above 1979, TV on the Radio, The Blood Brothers, The Black Lips, and The Bronx. Multi-Love - For Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s third album, frontman and songwriter Ruban Neilson didn’t have to go far for inspiration. No! Ruban Nielson is sitting outside a cafe in Paris when he suddenly pauses mid-sentence, somewhat perplexed. While II was made when Nielson was raw in his recovery from a stretch of … [1] The track "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" was featured by EA Sports on FIFA 16. No! Fresh off his old rock band, Nielson formed a new rock band in 2010, along with Jake Portrait. This amazing illustration of Ruban is by Savannah Bennell. “Multi-Love” is the first song, lead single, and titular track from UMO’s third full-length studio album, Multi-Love. [12] Although the nominated Unknown Mortal Orchestra did not win Best Alternative Album, Nielson took home the title of Best Male Artist at the 47th annual Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. His father was a longtime musician, but also a recovering addict. [24] On August 25 they performed "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" on Conan. Pitchfork. Pitchfork gave the album an 8.1, describing that with "an expert use of space rare for such a lo-fi record, UMO manages a unique immersive and psychedelic quality without relying on the usual array of bong-ripping effects."[11]. (2006) and Screens (2009), as well as one EP on a minor label, Bad Buzz (2010). For six weeks, Nielson and his wife pined for Laura as she worked on a project in the Peruvian rainforest, while also trying to carry on with their lives. It was released on 26 May 2015. [19] It included three acoustic versions of songs taken from their previous album. with Ruban, his wife and two kids. "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" also appears in the association football video game FIFA 16. Like previous UMO efforts, Multi-Love was recorded and obsessively tinkered with by Nielson in his basement home studio. Multi Love is an autobiographical record, about Nielson’s brief but intense experience with polyamory. That summer the band performed at a number of major European festivals, including Roskilde Festival, Pukkelpop and Lowlands. Portland-based musician Ruban Nielson is bringing his band Unknown Mortal Orchestra home for a New Zealand tour in September. Select from premium Nielson of the highest quality. In October 2009 the Mint Chicks performed a rendition of Ray Columbus and the Invaders' classic hit She's a Mod at the New Zealand Music awards as a four-piece band, later released as a standalone single. The band played a free show in Portland on 29 June 2008, in which they played their then-upcoming third album from beginning to end live. Ruban Nielson still sounds lost. On February 25, 2013, Unknown Mortal Orchestra made their American television debut, performing "So Good At Being In Trouble" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[15]. Nielson had become very specific about what type of record he wanted to find for inspiration and, with that specificity, began making that record himself instead. [23], Following the release, UMO embarked on a tour through the UK, Europe, the US and Canada, with many sold out dates. In November 2013 it won Best Alternative Album at the New Zealand Music Awards. The band later supported Shihad on the July 2008 Beautiful Machine Tour and tested their new songs in front of a home audience. Yes! The word bootleg is often used now as an adjective to brand an inferior version of something else. Ruban Nielson, frontman of the indie-rock quartet Unknown Mortal Orchestra, does not like Thanksgiving.In fact, he hates it so much he took his wife and two children to a remote log cabin in Oregon this year to escape the festivities. The volume of the show was reportedly so loud that part of the St James theater complex fell down, injuring two concert goers. The art accompanying the song was made by Jenny Nielson, Ruban’s wife. [20] Multi-Love was released on May 26, 2015. [26], Cohen, Ian, (June 22, 2011). [8] Within a day, the song had received significant coverage from independent music blogs such as Pitchfork.[7][9][10]. Rolling Stone commented that "Multi-Love sees Nielson coloring outside the lines for a vibrant vision of connection" [21] and Pitchfork praised Nielson's ear for how something should sound and referred to the album as his "most accomplished". 0. Unknown Mortal Orchestra is an American and New Zealand band comprised of singer/guitarist Ruban Nielson, bassist Jake Portrait, keyboardist Quincy McCrary, and drummer Amber Baker, with Nielson serving as the only recording member of the band. When New Zealand-born songwriter and UMO visionary Ruban Nielson (who played alongside his brother Kody in the band The Mint Chicks for … Ruban Nielson, frontman of the indie-rock quartet Unknown Mortal Orchestra, does not like Thanksgiving. "[16] In October 2019, Multi-Love placed at no.18 on Happy Mag's list of "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s". Portland, OR-via-New Zealand frontman Ruban Nielson had already released three albums with the shambolic noise-rock group the Mint Chicks. They were also part of the New Zealand line-up for Big Day Out 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009. At the center of Unknown Mortal Orchestra is Ruban Nielson, a musician raised in New Zealand who has been living in Portland, Oregon, and started the group as a pseudonymous solo project in 2010. The band then toured extensively throughout North America with opener Foxygen. 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