345 is a collection of experimental pop songs by aga ujma, written singing out loudly while: (1)riding on motorcycles, (2)cycling on lime bikes, (3)hiking in Polish mountains and Indonesian volcanoes. Aga accompanies herself with: (1)a prepared harp, (2)toys, (3)a ship-like East Indonesian zither called a sasando, and (4)a percussive brassy shimmer of a xylophone called a gender barung that belongs in the gamelan ensemble. Aga’s vocal experiments extend from (1)pop runs to (2)whistle tones, from (3)whispering into your ears to (4)screaming from the top of her chest, all garnished with (5)stacked harmonies. Lyrics, written while falling in and out of sleep, examine: (1)dancing with ghosts, (2)courage, (3)cowards, (4)finding and losing homes, (5)wet dreams, (6)Tarkovsky, (7)spending time with your inner child, (8)desperately and unsuccessfully trying to follow the thread of your own dreams, (9)dealing with snake people, (10)paying invoices, (11)waking up in unexpected places, (12)peas. Singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Aga Ujma grew up in Poland raised on a diet of folk music from the mountain village where her mother was raised. Signing herself up a music school while only 8 years old to study classical piano and musical theory, Aga became obsessed with Gamelan music. Moving to Java in her twenties to study traditional music and sing at the Indonesian Institute of Arts, she joined an experimental music collective and toured extensively around the Indonesian archipelago. Drawing influence along the way from her studies in Renaissance and Baroque Music, her fascinations with punk and noise, and a contemporary-folk palette of Björk, Eivør, Múm and CocoRosie - Aga released her debut EP Songs of Innocence and Experience in 2021. Supporting Crack Cloud, Black Country, New Road and Hinako Omori on tour in shows across UK, Europe and Asia - in addition to one-off London supports for Marina Herlop, Arooj Aftab, June McDoom, Kelly Moran and Damsel Elysium - she has also performed with members of Caroline and black midi during a free improvisation performance at Southbank Centre, as well as alongside Shovel Dance Collective during their free folk/a capella nights. Aga has also worked far beyond the indie/alternative space. Writing and performing the theme song for 2011’s Resident Evil: Village, Aga’s extensive knowledge of gamelan has lead to a performances at Hyde Park with the Southbank Gamelan Players (commissioned by Boiler Room and Serpentine Gallery), a collaboration with renowned Indonesian composer Iwan Gunawan, as well as reworking and live performance of a film soundtrack for “My Bodily Remains…” by Tai Shani at the Southbank Centre.
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