The self-described “search-engine-optimised” New York musician umru is at the forefront of a generation of internet artists brought up on Minecraft and Discord gaming servers. After spending most of his teen years online, he began uploading remixes on to Soundcloud, where he was scouted by PC Music head honcho A.G. Cook, who enlisted him to work on Charli XCX’s 2017 mixtape Pop 2. It wasn’t long before umru appeared on the label’s compilation album with 100 gecs’ Laura Les on the track “popular”. Since then, the producer has gone on to work on tracks for the likes of Dorian Electra, Diplo, Eartheater, and Hannah Diamond.
Released earlier this year, umru’s second EP, comfort noise, sees the artist expand his bandwidth across five tracks featuring Tommy Cash, Cecile Believe, and Rebecca Black. Elsewhere, he’s an active member of the New York underground and a regular at nights like Club Cringe, where he can be spotted on the decks donning steampunk goggles that beam light like a bionic wizard. With a Boiler Room in the works and a tour supporting fellow PC Music artist Hyd, umru’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Text Günseli Yalcinkaya
