Umami - In Exchange For Everything (2019)

Although Robert and Sam have been doing music together as umami for almost nine years, „In Exchange For Everything“ is their first album. This name is an actual description of what happened. They literally did not release anything else for two years while working on the album. It was like a spaceship with a broken engine that needed to be fixed. But now it is ready to take off.
The tracks and songs on the album are all trying to capture a specific kind of feeling. The way you feel when you are riding up in an elevator made of glass, see the sunrise on the horizon and know that this is the first day of the rest of your life.
Some of them are made for the club, like „Behind The Wheel“ or „Stank“. Others have a more laid-back vibe. „Number Of The Beast“, a cover of an Iron Maiden song, is a dance around the bonfire, summoning devils and demons. „Stars“ is about a journey into the intimacy of really knowing another person, with hammering synths and airy vocals, which are performed by Sam, like all other vocals on the album.
The one exception to this is are the vocals on "Terra Mount". These are written and performed by Monolink, the only other artist featured on the album. Enchanted organs and choirs accompany his lyrics throughout the song.
The album ends with the magical "And Stay With Me There Forever", a song that slowly transforms from a small stream of fragile sounds to an avalanche of bass and synths.
All in all, „In Exchange For Everything“ is the big statement umami wanted to make with their first album. Something that shows the whole spectrum of what they want to achieve with this project and a hint about where the journey goes.