UJI
THE FUTURE IS HUMAN
BIO
Uji is an artist, electronic music producer, and ethnomusicologist from Buenos Aires, Argentina whose trance-inducing creations fuse ancestral and natural soundscapes with the design and aesthetics of our modern times.
Uji's most recent work, TIMEBEING, explores the creation of new myths and symbolism in: a multi-platform conceptual album (ZZK Records); an 8-part short film (dir. Jazmin Calcarami); and an immersive live experience; acknowledging the need to embrace ritual technology to deepen connection in the physical, virtual and spiritual realms.
His powerful and energetic live performances have taken him on extensive tours around Europe, the US, Asia and Latin America playing prestigious festivals such as ADE in Amsterdam and Mutek Montreal to play alongside top electronic artists such as Sabo, Satori, Mira, Nu, and Hot Since 92. Uji has also released collaborations with artists from all over the world such as Carlos Vives, Nicola Cruz, Petrona Martinez, La Chica, Philippe Cohen Solal and El Buho to name a few.
His releases include Alborada (ZZK 2018), Marimbas del Guapi EP (2020), Ser Tiempo Documentary (2020). Previously, Uji spent 17 years digging into his South American traditions and the last 22 years exploring electronic music, most notably as half of electronic folk pioneering duo Lulacruza (2005-2016)
Ser-Tiempo (Being-time) is an in-depth portrait of Uji; an artist in search of altered states of being, a musician who has delved both into the ritualism of indigenous cultures and the intricacies of electronic music. This “artist manifesto” brings the viewer into Uji’s world; his research and travels throughout Latin America, his exploration into the roots of culture, and his fascination with sound. He shows us that by celebrating tradition and diversity through music, we are able to both recognize where we come from and influence where we are going.
Inspired by the Japanese Buddhist concept which gives Uji his name, often translated as being-time, the film portrays Uji's perspective of using music as a portal to modify time. By being-time, we embrace that we in fact are time itself, by bringing together past, present and future into one “presence”, we re-write our reality and define our future.
SER tiempo
PRESS
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"La música es el arte del tiempo" - SOUTHPLUG
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My music blends deep vocals, synthesizers, tribal rhythms and natural soundscapes into hypnotic, ultra-danceable tracks. As a Japanese fan once told me, “your music is both extroversive and introversive simultaneously.” - RHYTHM PASSPORT
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Soaked in celestial waves as if somewhere in outer space, Uji places minimal electronic arrangements and a disembodied drum beat to the fore of “Lunay,” ... The song is an evocative, meditative affair that drifts into the abyss. - BILLBOARD
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Hypnotic, compelling - BROOKLYN VEGAN
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…. a powerfully authentic commitment to ancestral explorations, and ritualistic practices to contemporary beat-making. - KCRW
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Uji drops airy, beatless number "Lunay" - EARMILK
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Uji returns with “QuemaQuema,” an enthralling track featuring a kinetic beat and bold vocals by South Sudanese recording artist Nyaruach - COOL HUNTING
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With 'Kinto,' Uji shows off his ability to blur the lines between musical and spiritual experiences - WONDERLAND
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'Kinto' captures the expansive possibilities of human consciousness and existence, with Uji using his layered instrumentals as a bridge to the limitlessness of the world and the life within it. - EARMILK
