Uboa

Last updated
Uboa
Origin Melbourne, Australia
Genres
Years active2010–present
Labels The Flenser
MembersXandra Metcalfe

Uboa is the musical project of the Australian drone, ambient and noise rock artist Xandra Metcalfe. She began in 2010 during a period when Metcalfe experimented with doom metal textures and home studio equipment, and gradually moved towards noise, experimental and abstract compositions. [1] [2]

Contents

Metcalfe has collaborated as Uboa with several other noise artists including Slumber Kitty, Muddy Lawrence, Solus Varak [3] and has produced a split EP with Bolt Gun.

Career

Xandra Metcalfe is based in Melbourne, Australia. Uboa's debut album Sometimes Light was released in 2010, followed by Jouissance in 2013 and The Sky May Be in 2018. [4] In 2019, she released her fourth album The Origin of My Depression, which was recorded amidst her suicide attempt via drug overdose. The album cover was taken from her point of view in a hospital bed following the attempt, which in her words, "could have been the last thing I saw before I died. Nothing glorious, but something boring and accidental." [5] She released an EP The Flesh of the World in 2020, which Toronto-based queer publication Xtra Magazine praised for its "punchy ’80s synths, layered vocals and absolutely massive blasts of raw noise." [6]

In February 2023, Uboa signed to San Francisco-based record label The Flenser, which released The Origin of My Depression on vinyl for the first time. [7] She opened for Liturgy on their first Australian tour in November 2023. [8] Uboa performed three sets at the 2024 Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands, including the live debut of The Origin of My Depression in full. [9]

Music

In a very positive review of The Origin of My Depression by the critic Anthony Fantano, her sound was described as a "cerebral dive" into Xandra's most negative and intense feelings of being a transgender woman...via "intense feelings of abandonment...expressed through intense soundscapes...and walls of distortion", culminating in a wide expanse of styles and soundscapes. [1] Metcalfe has said of the album's sound, "I always associated sadness in music with sparseness, barrenness and quietness. I wanted to signify empty space musically. Hence why the harsh noise is few and far between, and I think a little more effective because of all the sparseness it contrasts with". [2] Comparing the two albums, Metcalfe has said "Originally I was worried 'The Origin of My Depression' wasn't "Uboa" enough because of how restrained and sparse it is as a record."

She describes the writing process for My Depression as having "little conscious intentionality, it was mostly an intuitive process of writing. Nothing was planned out, and a lot of the songs were improvisations refined into compositions, usually after several attempts. “Detransitioning” took countless attempts to get right, whereas “An Angel of Great and Terrible Light” came out of nowhere." [10]

Uboa named Jenny Hval, Planning for Burial, and producers Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury's collaborative score for the 2018 film Annihilation as influences for The Origin of My Depression. [2]

Personal life

Uboa's music often reflects her struggles with her transgender identity, reflected in her music via the juxtaposition of emotional ambient music and harsh white noise. [10] In an April 2019 interview she described the sources of her mental pain as including "mistaken identity, failed relationships and inability to love, joblessness, boredom, structurelessness, psychosis...[and] anxiety." [10] Shortly after the release of The Origin of My Depression, Metcalfe was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. She has said, "the origin of my depression was nothing other seeing myself as 'broken' for being autistic, ADHD and trans." [11]

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details
TitleDetails
Sometimes Light
  • Released: December 1, 2010
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Uboa
Jouissance
  • Released: October 1, 2013
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Uboa
  • Note: Recorded between 2011 and 2013.
The Sky May Be
  • Released: October 18, 2018
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Art As Catharsis Records
The Origin of My Depression
  • Released: February 14, 2019
  • Format: Digital, Vinyl (2023 Reissue)
  • Label: Uboa
The Flesh of the World
  • Released: May 20, 2020
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Uboa
Impossible Light
  • Released: June 28, 2024
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Uboa

Extended plays and other releases

List of albums, with selected details
TitleDetails
Coma Wall
  • Released: September 24, 2015
  • Format: Digital, Cassette
  • Label: Void Worship
  • Release Type: Composition
Hook Echo
  • Released: July 27, 2017
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Uboa
  • Release Type: Composition
Please Get Home Safely
  • Released: December 23, 2017
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Uboa
  • Release Type: Split EP with Slumberkitty
The Apple of Every Eye
  • Released: June 15, 2018
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Uboa
  • Release Type: EP with Muddy Lawrence
Uboa & Bolt Gun
  • Released: June 4, 2019
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Uboa
  • Release Type: Split EP with Bolt Gun
The Absolute
  • Released: July 10, 2019
  • Format: Digital, Cassette
  • Label: Polar Wounds
  • Release Type: EP with Solus Varak
Dead Time's Broken Arrow
  • Released: November 4, 2022
  • Format: Digital, Cassette
  • Label: hyperchaos tapes
  • Release Type: Spilt EP with vi a.

Awards and nominations

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
Music Victoria Awards of 2019 Uboa (Xandra Metcalfe)Best Experimental/Avant-Garde ActNominated [12] [13]
The Origin of My DepressionBest Heavy AlbumNominated

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Fantano, Anthony. "Uboa - The Origin of My Depression". theneedledrop, 19 July 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019
  2. 1 2 3 Parr, George. "Xandra Metcalfe on Melancholia, Eclecticism and The Origin Of My Depression. Astral Noize, 11 March 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019
  3. Farmer, Boddhi. "Uboa and SolusS Varak: The Absolute". 4zzz. Retrieved 17 October 2020
  4. "Interview #13". Archive Hate. Retrieved 3 August 2019
  5. "Profile: Xandra Metcalfe of UBOA (2019)". 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  6. "Angry, noisy, powerful, hardcore queer music | Xtra Magazine". 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  7. Orzeck, Kurt (2023-02-17). "News: Australian Experimental Project Uboa Sign to The Flenser". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  8. Gallagher, Alex (2023-05-22). "Liturgy Announce Debut Australian Tour". Music Feeds. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  9. Kennelty, Greg (2023-12-07). "BLOOD INCANTATION, HEALTH, CLIPPING & More Added To Roadburn 2024". Metal Injection. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  10. 1 2 3 Vellucci, Justin. "Interview: Xandra Metcalfe of Uboa (2019)". Swordfish, 15 April 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019
  11. "UBOA – Roadburn Festival" . Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  12. "Previous Nominess". Music Victoria. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  13. "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2020.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Imbruglia</span> Australian singer and actress (born 1975)

Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian-British singer-songwriter and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zola Jesus</span> American singer-songwriter

Nika Roza Danilova, known professionally by her stage name Zola Jesus, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music has been noted for combining elements of electronic, industrial, classical, and goth. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, she spent her formative years in northern Wisconsin, where she began writing and recording music independently while attending college. During her second year of studies, she released two singles through the independent label Sacred Bones, followed by two EPs. Her debut album, The Spoils, was released in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roadburn Festival</span> Dutch experimental music festival

Roadburn Festival is an annual music festival held each April in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was founded by Walter Hoeijmakers and Jurgen van den Brand in 1999, who ran a stoner rock blog of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Blasko</span> Australian indie rock musician (born 1976)

Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow, known professionally as Sarah Blasko, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. From April 2002, Blasko developed her solo career after fronting Sydney-based band, Acquiesce, between the mid-1990s and 2001. She had performed under her then married name, Sarah Semmens, and, after leaving Acquiesce, as Sorija in a briefly existing duo of that name. As a solo artist Blasko has released six studio albums, The Overture & the Underscore, What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have – which peaked at No. 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart, As Day Follows Night – which reached No. 5, I Awake – which made No. 9, Eternal Return, and Depth of Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Fantano</span> American music critic and YouTuber

Anthony Nicholas Fantano is an American music critic and internet personality who runs TheNeedleDrop, a YouTube channel with a tie-in website and Twitch streaming channel. Self-appointed as "The Internet's Busiest Music Nerd", Fantano discusses and reviews music from a variety of genres online. He has a presence on X, where he discusses music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Christmas</span> American vocalist

Julie Christmas is an American musician from Brooklyn, New York. Christmas is her legal middle name; she was named so after the fact that she was born on Christmas day. She is the former lead singer of defunct Brooklyn-based noise rock band Made Out of Babies and the former lead singer of defunct post-metal supergroup Battle of Mice. In 2010, she released a critically acclaimed solo album titled The Bad Wife, and in 2016, she became a featured member on the Swedish post-metal band Cult of Luna's album Mariner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea Wolfe</span> American singer-songwriter and musician

Chelsea Joy Wolfe is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her work blends elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mree</span> American singer-songwriter

Marie Hsiao (born November 1, 1993), better known as Mree, is an American indie folk singer-songwriter. She is of Taiwanese and Bulgarian descent. Mree began writing her own songs at the age of 14 and released her debut studio album, Grow, in October 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flenser</span> Experimental music record label

The Flenser is an American record label founded by Jonathan Tuite in 2010 from San Francisco, California. It describes itself as a "dark music" label and a "dark experimental record label".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Ruth Rundle</span> American singer

Emma Ruth Rundle is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and visual artist based in Portland, Oregon. Formerly of the Nocturnes and Marriages, she has released five solo albums and is a member of Red Sparowes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Wonderland</span> Australian musician

Alexandra Margo Sholler, known professionally as Alison Wonderland, is an Australian electronic dance music producer, DJ, and singer. Her debut album, Run, was released on 20 March 2015, which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold by ARIA. Her second album, Awake, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums. She was listed at No. 96 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs in October 2018. She is also the highest billed female DJ in Coachella history. Outside of being well-known for her music, she is outspoken about her support for mental health and frequently shares her experiences with her fans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tkay Maidza</span> Musical artist

Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drowse</span>

Drowse is the musical project of American musician and producer Kyle Bates. Based in Portland, Oregon, Bates founded the project in 2013 and released the debut album, Soon Asleep, in 2015.

Street Sects is an American experimental band from Austin, Texas formed in 2013, composed of vocalist Leo Ashline and multi-instrumentalist Shaun Ringsmuth. Their style is extremely abrasive, characterised by industrial rhythms, use of screamed vocals, samples of both noise and synthesizers, and nihilistic lyrics. Following two EPs released in 2014, the duo's debut album End Position was released in 2016 on The Flenser to generally positive reviews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tones and I</span> Australian pop singer

Toni Watson, known professionally as Tones and I, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her breakout single "Dance Monkey", which reached number one in over 30 countries including her home country Australia. In 2019–20, "Dance Monkey" completed 24 weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart, beating Bing Crosby's all-time Australian record for his version of "White Christmas", which spent an equivalent of 22 weeks at the top in 1943. "Dance Monkey" was certified 19× platinum by ARIA for shipments of over 1,330,000 units by June 2023.

Tia Gostelow is an Indigenous Australian singer-songwriter from Mackay, Queensland. Gostelow released her debut studio album, Thick Skin, in 2018 on Lovely Records. Thick Skin was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2019 National Indigenous Music Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chat Pile</span> American rock band

Chat Pile is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band is composed of four members using the pseudonyms Raygun Busch (vocals), Luther Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap'n Ron (drums). Their debut album God's Country was released on July 29, 2022.

Sprain was an American experimental rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 2018. Its final lineup consisted of Alex Kent, April Gerloff, Sylvie Simmons (guitar) and Clint Dodson (drums).

Ragana is an American black metal duo from Olympia, Washington formed in 2011. In 2014, the band relocated to Oakland, California. As of 2024, both members have moved back to Olympia. The band has been described as a “queer antifascist black metal/doom duo".