UMI: The Full Moon Songwriter
Next Story
Some people spend their entire lives seeking out and learning the different facets of themselves to understand why they were put on this earth. For singer/songwriter UMI, it has only taken her twenty-one years to lean into her purpose: to create music that heals people. Tierra Umi Wilson was born in Seattle at the end of the ‘90s to a Japanese mother and a Black father. UMI, which translates to ‘ocean’ in Japanese, moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California as a music major but dropped out after realizing how she was diving her energy up between school and her creativity. Since then she released her second EP Love Language, an exploration of the act of love intertwined with themes of race, intersectionality, and her own upbringing as a mixed-race woman in America. True to her calling, speaking with UMI is like talking to an old soul; immediately she pulls you in with her softness, vulnerability, and desire to make sure everyone she touches feels safe.
Although UMI has been on a number of ‘ones to watch’ lists and has already released a number of hit tracks, the path to music wasn’t particularly easy. “When I was growing up, music was always around me,” said UMI, “I was always singing as a kid, my mom plays piano and my dad plays the drums, and they were always playing music. I was writing songs from a young age, too, but I was terrified of singing in front of other people.” Refusing to let her own fear deter her need to create, UMI chose to do the next best thing: create a YouTube channel. After she uploaded covers and a few copyright flags appeared, UMI decided to take what she knew about music and songwriting and started producing her own original songs. “It was a slow process, but it really felt like I was stepping into my purpose. Then, over time, my channel grew and I moved to LA. That was when I thought, Okay, now it's time to get over my fear.”
After finally getting over the fear of performing in front of others UMI wasn’t going to let anything else stand in her way, which is when she found herself dropping out of university. “To me, music is energy,” states UMI. “When I was in school my energy was being split between school and music, so creatively I didn't feel like I was giving myself the space to make music.” It’s a tale of trying to do the task that society expects of you, but choosing to pursue the thing that lights a fire inside of you. “Being out of school has allowed me more time to live and grow and like figure myself out just by being and I feel like I have lived and experienced more, so I have more to write about.” After going on tour with Conan Gray at the tail end of last year, she found her footing as a performer. “I decided I wasn't being held back by that fear anymore. I wouldn't feel anxious and shaky before going on stage; I would feel very excited because I shifted my perception of my performance from feeling like I need to perform perfectly to using that time on-stage as a way to heal others and sing so that people can raise their vibration and feel better, which is the best thing I can do as a healer.”
The music industry can be a toxic, exhausting place for rising artists; labels can expect artists to conform to stereotypes that are more marketable, dulling the artist’s original shine and uniqueness. For a woman of colour, it can be even more difficult to carve a place out in an industry that is used to catering to white bodies. “In the beginning, I definitely had that stereotype going in where I felt I had to make a certain type or genre of music and I have to fit this specific mold,” says UMI. “But as I've grown, I've realized my power comes from being myself.” Always a positive thinker, UMI feels the music industry is changing in a good way. “I think now's a really beautiful time to be an artist because what helps you grow as an artist is being so authentically yourself. There is so much music out there and if you're like everybody else or if you're trying to be like someone else, it's just not going to cut through the sound.”
As a mixed-race woman, UMI’s own heritage has helped influence her art and how she creates it. “I think the coolest thing about being mixed-race and being half-Black and half-Japanese is that the kind of music I grew up on was very diverse,” said UMI. “I grew up on gospel music, J-pop, Japanese jazz, classical music, R&B, and neo-soul, so subconsciously I feel like those melodies are still in me and I channel when I'm writing and creating.” A track on Love Language called Sukidakara is sung completely in Japanese, aside from one verse. It was UMI’s way of embracing both sides of who she is: half-Black, half-Japanese. “It was how I was able to show the world for the first time that you can create art in both forms and in both languages and you can communicate it to anybody,” UMI states. “It doesn’t matter if someone doesn’t understand it, it’s about the energy and emotions behind it. I feel like I felt really inspired by how much K-Pop had made its way into America; it shows you that really anything can translate because it's all about the energy of the music.”
When listening to UMI’s Love Languages, it’s apparent how deeply she feels and how in tune she is with the world around her. A true empath, UMI doesn’t just incorporate her own lived experiences; she internalizes the lives of those around her. “I would go out into the world and ask myself, "why am I so sad?" I realized it's because I soak up other people's energies around me or I'm feeling anxious in crowds because I'm just feeling everybody's energy,” states UMI. Spirituality is what grounds UMI; she feels it is what has helped her realize why she’s on the planet: to heal others. “I've learned to navigate that with my writing and expressing, also meditating more and just like practicing protecting my aura and my energy. I know I can hold my energy and then be with other people and they can have their own energy. I feel very grateful to be an empath; I think it's my superpower because creativity comes from it and my desire to save the world.”
Although she’s just starting out in her professional career, UMI is solidifying herself as a socially conscious and empowering singer/songwriter who is aware of the platform she has. She wants her own listeners to ask the same questions she does when she meditates: Who am I? Why am I doing the things I’m doing? Why do I buy the products I buy? And What difference do I want to make in the world? Seeing as it is an election year, these questions are even more important than ever. “As an artist I feel you have no choice but to stand up for what you believe in,” she states. “Although I’m releasing lots of new music centered around the Full Moons throughout the year, I’m planning on hosting more community events and opportunities to get people involved in more political activism.”
At the end of our chat, we discuss everything from star signs (she’s an Aquarius, I’m a Scorpio), to what we are manifesting for the next year, and what UMI aims to do when people hear her music. “I just want people to feel connected to my music. I want to continue channeling my own ancestors when I’m writing songs, feeling the energies around me, and I want to share that love to the world and to as many people as possible.” I think UMI will do just that.
