New Music: MAMI UMAMI – IN YOUR FACE

Malmö-based MAMI UMAMI tackle the nature of generational decay in the hard underground anarcho-electro-pop of IN YOUR FACE.

MAMI UMAMI members Jaquelin Elamiri (Miss Mami) and Leonard Furby were joined by Alex Lopez on writing and production duties, as IN YOUR FACE goes full throttle into the adrenaline-fuelled anarchy that is the band’s signature sound.

It’s a thrill a minute as London grime squares up to the full-on politicism of Atari Teenage Riot as MAMI UMAMI get ready to rebel against whatever you’re throwing their way. It’s noisy and anarchic but not noise: IN YOUR FACE has something it wants you to hear, live and direct, and as the title suggests, in your face, and wants you to have a good time along the way.

 “This song is about the clash between old and new generations,” they say. “The feeling of waking up one day and you’re no longer twenty. The realisation that comes with the hangover of youth and really seeing the world that you’re supposed to inherit.”

“But it’s also about seeing what your own generation are falling victim to: buy, work, consume even more, rinse and repeat, salvation is on sale; and at the same time contributing to. The song reflects on how both generations, old and new, are crumbling, and neither is inherently morally superior to the other; they are both doing what they have to do to survive and stay relevant. A song belonging to the younger generation, written from the perspective of the younger generation. It’s about throwing hands at problems that we don’t have any answers to either.”

It’s something that they also wanted to come through in the storyline for the video that complements IN YOUR FACE. Continues the duo: “The idea was simple: two of us in a boxing ring, fighting each other until reality, hidden behind his signature red mask, steps in and knocks us both down. We’re all trying to compete, survive and stay relevant, caught in a cycle of work, consume and repeat, while fighting problems we don’t really have the answers to. The boxing match became a metaphor for that struggle, and for the realisation that sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, life will always find a way to hit you in the face.”

“Together with our art director Salomé Elliot and animator My Sundström, we brought the idea to life with a small budget, a few hours in a local boxing ring, a Sony DCR-VX1000 and a lot of energy. We wanted to keep things hands-on and spontaneous, combining the nostalgic look of the camera with animations to push the video into the world of old action movies and video games.

“During post-production, Salomé even went down to our local pub to film the footage playing on an old TV. This added another layer to the video, creating a sense of tension between watching the action as an outsider and feeling like you’re right there in the room with us.”

Get all the latest news from MAMI UMAMI as it happens by following them on their Instagram or Facebook socials. IN YOUR FACE is out now and can be heard on Spotify and SoundCloud.