Lyrics came out of it before I had time to think about them. I recorded the vocals, mixed it, then left it alone for a month. When I came back I knew it needed bass — called a friend who can play like Jaco Pastorius, mumbled the rhythm I had in my head, and he delivered something beyond what I imagine

The song carries some drama. Relationships. The weight of them and even has some taste of Santana - Maria Maria. But the brass bridge lifts all of that and goes somewhere else entirely — toward the kind of freedom you feel when you finally stop explaining yourself.

SWEETY is out now.

Photo - Dalia Mikonytė

Graphic design - Eglė Fern

Bass guitar - Augustas Genutis

Music, Rec, Mix, Master - UMIKO Kotori

This is something I’ve wanted for a long time — a direct line. No algorithm deciding who sees what. No feed to fight. Just music, hot from the studio, straight to you.

I’ve spent two years making something I believe in. Singles are coming. An album is coming. And I want the people who actually care about what I do to hear it first, hear it closest.

Starting from zero is scary. I’m up to it.

Welcome.

— UMIKO Kotori

P.S. POLITE is out now. This is where it begins.

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