MAMI UMAMI channel the emotional turbulence of separation into a vibrant collision of alt-pop, hip-hop and dance on ‘(Don’t) think I like you’. Co-produced with Alex Lopez, the single pairs synth-driven production with an energetic, genre-blurring approach that turns heartbreak into something immediate and cathartic.
Following their AFTERwork EP, Jaquelin Elamiri and Leonard Furby continue to push their collaborative sound forward, tracing the shifting emotions of missing someone through denial, anger, bargaining and despair. The track’s bright, high-octane chorus offers a moment of release, balancing its darker emotional undercurrents with an infectious sense of momentum. At its core, ‘(Don’t) think I like you’ captures the complicated process of coping with distance and lost connection, finding both vulnerability and relief in the chemistry of two friends making music together.
Now, we sat down with MAMI UMAMI at LOCK to learn all about the new single, the story behind their craft and much more.
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Hey MAMI UMAMI, welcome to LOCK! How are you doing?
Hi LOCK! Thank you! We´re doing great!! Welcome to mami umami
Sum up your new single ‘(Don’t) think I like you’ in three words for our readers?
Nostalgic, lifecrisis and heartache
‘(Don’t) think I like you’ grew out of a pretty specific emotional moment. How did you turn the experience of missing your partners into something so energetic and sonically vibrant
We didn’t really realise that song was about that before we were done with it and they were really not that far away which kind of made it a funny and relatable topic to go full och melancholic, energetic, epic synth hook on.
There’s something quite liberating about turning frustration into a big, synth-charged chorus. What is it about making music together that helps you process feelings you might otherwise struggle to articulate?
We are both good friends that have written music for a long time together nowadays both of us use it a little bit like a therapy session where we can rant about al kinds of different scenarios, emotions and weird thoughts. Since we ben writing for such a long time together we have created a good platform for us to just fuck around and find out.
You’ve described the song as something that practically wrote itself in around 20 minutes. Does that kind of spontaneous songwriting capture the essence of MAMI UMAMI, or do you usually take a more considered approach to building a track?
Its different from track to track but those songs that writes themselves over a 20 minute sessions like this one is always fun to make and often turns out good because you didn’t over think shit while making it.
You co-produced the single with Alex Lopez. What did that collaboration bring to the track, and how did you develop its balance of emotional vulnerability and high-energy production?
It was great working with Lopesz on this track! It felt like we have combined our differences and pooped out a wonderchild.
The song finds humour in an emotion that can be pretty uncomfortable to admit: feeling angry when someone you love is simply moving forward with their life. How important is that element of self-awareness to your songwriting?
It’s everything for us and it often comes after you’ve puked out you’re thoughts in a song which makes it very therapeutic.
Looking ahead, what are you most interested in exploring creatively? Are there sounds, subjects or collaborations you’re keen to bring into the MAMI UMAMI universe next?
Also a couple of new things:
There will definitely be more fun blends and a lot more releases in a near future.