Artists You Should Know: Drift Dreamily to Uma's Yearning New Single "Cicadas"

Catalonia-based singer/songwriter Uma continues to share new previews of her forthcoming mixtape Jai with the release of her latest beguiling single “Cicadas.” The collection is due out next month on September 15th and was both written and produced by Uma and frequent collaborator Luke Bower (a.k.a. Salpa). With seven songs already unveiled the mixtape is gearing up to be a monumental effort, one that will explore the artist’s latent nostalgia for childhood, as well as the memories and wisdom her parents cultivated within her.

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“Cicadas” arrives as the first song Uma has written and performed in Spanish, representing a culmination of the evolution her sound has undergone since she first released her debut EP Bel-li. With its sparse atmospherics, the track is punctuated by brisk percussion and a sonorous tangle of guitars. One that echoes the traditional folk acoustics and swelling emotion of her early releases yet also glistens with electric sonics.

But the heart and soul of any Uma song lies in the tender and lush intimacy of her lyricism. With “Cicadas,” she paints a landscape of spellbinding ardor as she sings of lovelorn hopes of a reunion and the hum of the summer cicadas that deliver it.

“Cicadas” follows the release of her previous singles “Send Me Off” — which finds Uma dueting dreamily with Salpa — and the ethereal reprimand of the greedy “Filthy Rich.” Naturally gravitating toward collaboration and experimentation, the songs she’s shared thus far reveal the eclecticism Jai will be rooted in. From the electronic tones that oscillate within “Muay Thai” to the riveting textures that shudder against her ghostly transmissions on “Tārā.”

While you await the arrival of Jai you should absolutely immerse yourself in Uma’s previous EPs. Her debut is a must listen while her follow-up The Moth and the Dove leans towards more euphoric pop that’s still heavily informed by lilting folk. With standouts including the coasting and glimmering “Nebula” and breezily uplifting “Talking Walls.”