“Not a single artist is going out and saying they make ‘bubble gum bass’ or ‘deconstructed club’ or whatever,” says Umru Rothenberg (aka umru), about his role as one of many reluctant representatives of the too broad and indeterminate musical catchall referred to as ‘hyperpop’, “It’s really wild how big these completely curator-created genres are, rather that whatever artists choose or don’t choose to call their music”. Speaking to editor Steph Kretowicz for AQNB’s latest Artist Statement podcast, the New York-based producer, is one of a younger generation of so-called SoundCloud artists signed to A.G. Cook’s PC Music label.
Based in New York with Estonian roots, Rothenberg recently dropped single ‘check 1’ from a forthcoming release that features vocals by 645AR and Tallinn-born emcee Tommy Cash. The music presents a more song-oriented approach to the maximal EDM experimentation of 2018’s search result. At 22-years-old Rothenberg has already worked with Charli XCX and had a credit on a Diplo track, he co-runs design firm Parent Company and co-organises Open Pit’s Minecraft music festivals. He’s an artist born, raised and residing on the internet, which means he has some pretty interesting insight when it comes to how it all works.
‘The Aesthetic of Evil’ is the latest in our Artist Statement podcast series, with past episodes featuring Jam City, Coby Sey, Tianzhuo Chen, Maria Minerva, and more. The full episode is accessible to our subscribers right now on Patreon. Sign up now: www.patreon.com/aqnb.**
