Ümlaut - Same But Different (2023)

In Japanese, Yūgen signifies “a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe… and the sad beauty of human suffering.” Yūgen suggests that which is beyond what can be said, but not as an allusion to another world. It is about this world, about this experience. The album cover and musical tracks were inspired by a piece of art that hangs in my bedroom. For weeks, as I lay on my back after surgery, I looked at the painting every day. It became a sort of meditative practice. Up until my recuperation, the meaning of the painting had eluded me. But over time, a closer focus on the artwork brought forth a revelation. The painting was about being reborn. New life, with no attachment to the past and no expectation of the future. A profound liberation of the spirit overtook me. Electronic sparks, intonations, chords, arrhythmic percussions, chimes and whooshes of sound free floated through my imagination… and “same but different” was born.