Unknown Mortal Orchestra

About Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Created by the Hawaiian-New Zealand artist Ruban Nielson and a cast of close collaborators (including his father and brother, Chris and Kody Nielson), V evokes blue skies, beachside cocktail bars, hotel pools and the darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces. Recorded between the dry freeways of Palm Springs, California and lush coastlines and Hilo, Hawai’I, it draws deeply from West Coast AOR, classic hits, weirdo pop and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music. V is the first double album in the storied Unknown Mortal Orchestra discography, and joins mid-career classics like Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation, Pulp’s Different Class, and Prince’s 1999 as a breakthrough album that proves and expands the extent of the band’s creative power. V is about family, Nielson's interrogation of his earliest musical influences and the joy of having fun while making music. The result is a career-defining album that, song by song, recontextualizes and enriches the lifelong musical journey that has led Nielson to this watershed moment while making a case for itself as his masterpiece.