Umoja

Umoja a quintessential sunshine duo from wet fields of The Netherlands. The name Umoja is a Swahili word meaning unity; the spirit of togetherness a philosophy shared by the two producers. Umoja has over a decade of experience dishing out warm dusty grooves. The duo is part of the Amsterdam based INI Movement, a collective of creative entrepreneurs. The conception of Umoja is not a fable involving neither an A&R exec nor does it involve been stranded in the Amazon rainforest with nothing but two synthesizers. It is rather an organic evolution between two humble groove aficionados whose path crossed over half a decade ago. Both Sjef and Job born and bred in the commuting town of Haarlem in the Netherlands. The duo came to know each other through their individual production and disc jockeying rendezvous. Their musical partnership would not take off until 8 months later when they collectively built a studio in a massive loft then occupied by Sjef Rolet. The studio became known as the Pigeon Hole, with a spin off late-night radio show. It was during this period that the two producers intimately got to know the each other’s work. Sjef was at this period more aligned with hip-hop/beat oriented productions while Job was into trip hop/electronic productions. They shared a similar trait: an intrinsic appreciation and a understanding of world rhythm, the mechanisms of groove and contemporary electronic beats. Regardless of their shared interests the two had yet to collaborate; this was soon to change. In the summer of 2011, Sjef and Job’s individual projects were in hibernation at that time. With time spare they both sought to expand their production skills. Unbeknownst the other, they were both experimenting with sounds from afro-beat and world music traditions. These experimentations later came to be known as the ‘after-pigeon late night sessions’. It was during this period that both producers immensely influenced and learned from each other; the birth of Umoja had arrived. Resulting from after-pigeon late night sessions was the Je–Ka–Lo! ep . The ep constituted 6 tracks pivoting around eccentric afro-beat tracks inspired by west african funk from the ‘70s. Je-Ka-Lo! as a record was subconsciously crafted as a prologue to Umoja, and simultaneously as an epilogue to the pigeon studios era. At the time of its release Umoja was merely a side project for the two hyperactive producers. Slowly, Je-Ka-Lo crept through the ears into the hearts of world music enthusiasts and afro sound connoisseurs. Umoja’s rave reception by the online community coupled with success within Amsterdam nightlife scene prompted the duo to reassess their commitment to Umoja. An attempt to categorically pin down the sound of Umoja is only but a pipe dream. In the spirit of ‘Umoja’, Sjef and Job’s approach to music is to unify grooves across the seven oceans, one record at a time. With a well-received record under its belt Umoja went back into the studio to work on a new record. Eleven moths later Umoja presents ‘Vuelo Nocturno’, the duo’s sophomore record. Vuelo Nocturno is a beat oriented cumbia record oscillating between Columbian & Mexican sounds. Percussion driven and with the rich palletes, dubbed & well crafted effects.