Uma basks in renewal on the funky and hypnotic “Rain on Dancing Men”

There’s something freeing about going against the grain in creative pursuits, even if it could be equally as anxiety inducing. For Thai-British artist Uma, this meant stepping away from the contemporary classical music genre she set out to study and opting for a freeform, genreless approach to her music, pulling from all points of inspiration to create her own distinct sound. On her full-length debut, 2023’s Jai, this meant leaning into pared-down bossa folk in conjunction with thicker electronic drum-and-bass textures, bridging the gaps between these sounds to highlight just how little Uma intends to play by the rules.

Uma has doubled-down on this songwriting approach for her forthcoming mixtape, Luther, out in September. Her newest single, “Rain on Dancing Men,” is a shimmering, enchanting track that evokes images of renewal, release, and grounding. It’s the kind of song that makes you want to laze in the sun (or the rain?); a perfect summer release that leans into R&B pop with a hypnotic bassline that propels the track forward. With lush vocals texturized by glittering synths, Uma takes after the likes of Raveena and Cleo Sol in producing a warm and engulfing track that is just as much neosoul as it is indie pop. On the track’s outro we hear a mix of acoustic bossa and pared-down funk, with Uma’s distorted, whispery vocals carrying us to the end.

“Rain on Dancing Men” centers on themes of nature and love, leaning into the idea of renewal with lines like “Rain came down to start again.” The love Uma is singing about takes many forms: lightning strikes through the heart, an eye of a storm, a bird finding its place on a branch. Uma takes a half-spoken word approach to the verses, with lines like “Call it bliss, call it love, call it what it is” packing a different punch than the cascading hook “And all this love / I don’t ever wanna give it up.” By the outro, the distortion on the repeated vocals (“Keep a green branch in your heart / And a singing bird will come”) adds a faraway yet immersive feeling to the entire track, pulling us deeper into Uma’s world.

Luther intends to display a narrative of love and loss, leaning into all the different facets of a love story. The mixtape was recorded and produced in a home studio in Catalonia called Can Obert (‘Open House’) that’s been visited by the likes of Rosie Lowe and Nilüfer Yanya, among others. “Luther is all about romance. The romance of losing something and finding yourself,” Uma says. “Each track explores the different stages of romance: infatuation, the first fight, forgiveness, understanding, lust and finally, the happy ending.”