Uamh Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the soo project?

Uamh is an atmospheric black metal project located out of western Montana. I started working on the first Uamh songs during Autumn of 2021 without a clear direction about what I wanted it to sound like but was very influenced for years by artists such as Panopticon and Cosmic Church. Essentially it started with wanting to create sounds that felt open, vast, and vulnerable.  

2.In July you have your first full length coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous ep's?

That's a good question, I actually had to go back and re-listen to the ep's to think about this. Well the most obvious thing that will be noticeable right away is that it features live drums and that the vocals have a lot more presence in the music than in the previous ep’s. I spent much more time hammering out bass guitar parts for these new songs and so I feel as that has more of a presence in the mix as well. It features the longest Uamh track to date at a little over 15 mins and the shortest track to date at around 3 mins. In addition I pushed myself to work with some different song structuring styles which I think helps the flow of the album as a whole.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?

The biggest most prevalent theme in the music is nature, but nature has always been the jumping off point to talk about other things. In Windswept River's Edge I put a lot of focus on discussing the topic of culture and tradition and how these things are in fact important but have been used as tools of destruction and hatred. Raithean discusses the interplay between seasonal changes and the changes of self with an emphasis on capturing the landscape during these moments of change. The new album revolves heavily around the theme of the passage from life to death; with this theme, I used what we know about the ancient Scottish people's ideas and traditions involving the cycle of life to inform my writing. During the time I was making this album, this theme was consistently being presented to me in my life as a thing to be dealt with and understood which is how it ended up being the center of focus.      

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Uamh"

Uamh (Pronounced: oo-av) is the Gaelic word for "Cave". I think the name is very fitting for the music because stepping into a cavernous space is a somewhat mystical experience. These spaces distort what we see and hear and they are in a sense a doorway to a new world that is completely unfamiliar.      

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

The art featured on the album cover for "At the Edge of the Loch" is a painting of Loch Coruisk at dawn on the Isle of Skye, by George Fennell Robson, painted between 1826 and 1832. It's a really fantastic image that I think really helped to inform some of the themes and ideas presented in the new album. 

6.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

I do a bit of collaboration with my brother and father but nothing major really. With this project I really prefer to work solo as far as writing and recording goes as I think that it presents a lot of freedom to create from a space outside of my outward facing self. I would be possibly interested in working with others down the road but at the moment I feel content with the current process. 

7.Do you have any experience playing in other bands or musical projects?

My brother and I worked pretty closely on music together when I was a teenager. After that in my early 20’s I played in several different bands mostly playing drums. Touring and playing live is a lot of fun but is socially exhausting for sure. 

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of post black metal?

It’s been really positive which has been really amazing. It’s been really rewarding to have people reach out and tell me how much they enjoy the music. A lot of that is due to promotion from Fiadh so I give a lot of credit to them for allowing me a space to share the music. 

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

Well I would expect more Uamh stuff obviously in the future. I’m interested to see how I can build the sound in different ways beyond where it’s at now. I’m also currently working on a side project attached to Uamh that is much more fast and aggressive. 

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I mentioned Panopticon and Cosmic Church earlier so those are big ones for me. Specifically Autumn Eternal by Panopticon had a huge impact on me when it came out. Some other big ones as far as black metal goes are Grift, OMITIR, and Fluisteraars. Outside of black metal, old Scottish folk music has always had a big influence on this project as well as stuff like Built to Spill and The Chameleons.

Lately I’ve been listening to Igatsus, Svrm, the new Afsky record, this really great Scottish small pipes player Brighde Chaimbeul, and this blackened folk project Olshanoe. 

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Outside of work and music I tend to spend as much time as I can being outside, so hiking and fishing are big ones. Visual art is also very important to me but something I’m finding is hard to fit into the schedule lately. 

12.Befoire we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? 

Mostly just want to give thanks to anyone who listens, it means everything to me.

Bandcamp

Instagram

Spotify