Ummagma, ‘Lama’ – Free MP3 Download

Between getting married, moving back and forth between Ukraine and Canada (multiple times) and having a baby, Alexander Kretov and Shauna McLarnon of Ummagma have still managed to create some astounding dream-pop, resulting in two LPs and a split LP with Finland’s Virta.

The duo seems like a match made in heaven, as Kretov (originally from Kremenets in Ukraine) started out experimenting with guitar in the studio, and McLarnon (hailing from Whitehorse, Yukon) focused her endeavors as an a cappella vocalist. So when they met at a concert in Moscow in 2003, it was only a matter of time before they started making music together.

You’re in for a treat when you listen to today’s free MP3, ‘Lama.’ It's a lovely example of Ummagma’s ability to perfectly combine Kretov’s spacey shoegaze with McLarnon’s ethereal vocals, which have earned her comparisons to the Cocteau Twins and Sigur Ros.

“The composition and recording of this song happened ‘in layers,’ and various stages of relationship, spanning about five years from our pre-baby era until well after she was in kindergarten,” McLarnon told Diffuser.fm. “Composition began in Ukraine and then additional layers were put down after moving to Canada and again after moving back to Ukraine. You know the expression ‘all in good time’… well that was a real ‘chunk of good time.’”