Today rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra announces the release of the upcoming double album V, which is due on March 17 by Jagjaguwar. Created in Palm Springs, California and Hilo, Hawaii, V is led by Hawaiian-New Zealand musician Ruban Nielson. The album brings traditions of West Coast AOR, classic hits, weirdo pop and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music.
Along with the news about the forthcoming album, the band has also shared the single, “Layla,” along with an accompanying cinematic video, directed by Vira-Lata.
The music video serves as part one of a two part series documenting the adventures of two young women. Last October Unknown Mortal Orchestra released the music video “I Killed Captain Cook” Deedee Aipolani Nielson, Miss Aloha Hula 1973. As for “Layla” the composition shows how Unknown Mortal Orchestra are not afraid to show who are as a band because their musical influences can be felt through the powerful instrumentation and vocals.
V evokes blue skies, beachside cocktail bars, hotel pools and the darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces. The desert resort city’s palm tree-lined streets reminded Ruban of a childhood spent playing by hotel swimming pools with his siblings while their entertainer parents performed in showbands across the Pacific and East Asia where he became aware of the glamorized hedonism he’d internalized since childhood and the darker side of his parents’s lifestyle when they were working as entertainers.
A primary goal of V for Nielson was to make music and art that transcends notions of clout and cultural currency while also aiming to inject having fun back into the process of creating music. For Nielson, V is about having fun while making music and art and by doing so, he reclaims taste as a personal part of selfhood, propelling Unknown Mortal Orchestra to new creative heights.
In the press release Nielson describes how he applied music to his life
“In Hawaii, everything shifted off of me and my music. Suddenly, I was spending more time figuring out what others need and what my role is within my family. I also learned that things I thought were true of myself are bigger than I thought. My way of making mischief – that’s not just me – that’s my whole Polynesian side. I thought I was walking away from music to focus on family, but the two ended up connecting.”
Last October Unknown Mortal Orchestra announced their first tour in 4 years with a headline North American and UK tour that will kick off in March shortly after the release of V. Before heading to the UK, the tour stops in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Detroit and New York City.
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