NYC Artist Umfang Captures The Nature Of Human Feelings On “Quickly And Softly”

The gentle shiff-shiff of a shaker sounds for a full 30 seconds before a couple of other small sonic objects make themselves heard on NYC artist and Discwoman collective member Umfang's "Quickly And Softly." Then, out of nowhere, a blunted organ melody blinks itself into existence, flooding the senses with a warm glow. It's the most minimal of songs, really, but it seems to say so much about the nature of human feelings and how they always seem to sneak up on us when we're looking in the opposite direction.

"I was deep in my study of polyrhythms across different ancient cultures when I made this," Umfang told The FADER. "I love how in the sample you can hear the sound of the organ pedal being pressed—it's my version of a slow jam. 'Quickly and softly' is a line from this sci-fi book where two people trek across the ice together trying to survive and not get caught and there's a lot of sexual tension—I hear it in this song." Vancouver label 1080p will release Umfang's Ok album in cassette and digital formats on August 4th.