Malmö-based duo MAMI UMAMI shares the new single ‘belly dancer’. A sharp, gritty hyperpop meets hip-hop offering which brings edgy production, danceable beats and active melodies, the single is taken from the upcoming EP AFTERWORK.
Emerging from Sweden’s cold, concrete underground, MAMI UMAMI have built a reputation on contradiction. Fusing jazzy pop sensibilities with distorted hip-hop elements, sub-heavy 808s and melodies which fit a more commercial sound, the result is a sonic landscape that feels both seductive and confrontational. ‘belly dancer’ pushes that duality further, unfolding as a triptych of pressure, friction, and release.
Physical, immediate, and unafraid to provoke the single is abrasive, intense and experimental whilst still keeping its accessible edge. Their live shows are less concerts and more controlled collisions, shifting unpredictably between performance art, dance-floor euphoria, improvised jams, and moments of near-collapse. The new single captures the essence of this perfect – bringing a murky underground feel to the pulsing beats and driving energy.
At the core of the project are Jaquelin El Amiri (Miss Mami) and Leonard Furby, who write and produce music shaped by life inside hyper-connected, surveilled systems. What began as a loose collective in a rat-infested industrial basement has since evolved into a tightly focused duo. Their process now is fast, instinctive, and deliberately unpolished, a rejection of perfection in favor of immediacy.
Their 2024 debut album Söndagsångest marked that shift, stripping their sound down to its essentials. With ‘belly dancer’, they continue in that vein, embracing rawness without sacrificing intent.
Listen below:
