UMA is again collaborating with celebrated percussion player Andi Pupato (from ECM band, Nik Bärtsch's Ronin), who performs throughout the album and responsible for a mix and sound as well.
Album is recorded in Estonia in September 2011 and mixed in Zürich in March-April 2012. Music is based on ideas used for the concert on Jazzkaar festival in Aprill 2012. This time UMA using more electronic beats what moves the music more towards smooth, chill, ambient jazz.
Markus Reuter (from Stick Men, Centrozoon) is featuring on touch guitar in "Meeting Unknown", and known estonian classical singer Iris Oja in "Thirst for Light".
"...with its lilting piano notes, heavenly vocalize and dramatically dropped percussion loops Meeting Unknown takes flight in remarkable ways beyond that of more common synthesizer albums. From enchantingly dreamy and ceremonial to the climactic heated duet of the last track, Uma makes music of extraordinary beauty and drama."
Chuck van Zyl / STAR'S END
"Now augmented by Andi Pupato, best known for his work as percussionist in Nik Bartsch’s Ronin, Estonian outfit UMA curate another exquisite series of lushly evocative portraits in sound on their third album. There’s a yearning spirit moving within each of the six pieces presented here. Guitarist Robert Jürjendal’s delicate but assertive chords and sustained lines prove to be the perfect foil for Aleksei Saks’ ephemeral, misty trumpet. Mixed with Pupato’s gently percolating percussive counterpoints, though their work might be described as ambient, they maintain a tight grip on the movement, detail and dialogue throughout. "
Sid Smith`s blog
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