by Jason

Ummagma is Shauna McLarnon and Alexander Kretov. Ruby Tambala of A.R. Kane lends his remix stylings to the track in what could be called two B-sides to the single. Here, Ummagma brings a simple, stripped down dreampop piece for the holiday season. This track was on their Frequency EP but is here presented with these new remixes from Tambala.

“Winter Tale” begins with electronic, understated beats with McLarnon’s ghostlike vocals floating on top. Beautiful drones and soft textures fill out the soundscape. The beat gallops along, pulling the drones forward with it along with the spaced-out accents that fill small voids in the musical composition. “Winter Tale (A.R.Kane Mix 69 Style)” sees Tambala taking the spacey, blissed out song and slowing the vocals down a bit, adding fuzzed out guitars, and stripping down the drones to sparse tones and textures. The guitars weep, melancholy in their feedback and dissonant phrasings. Shoegazy elements are also a part of the myriad of tones. “Winter Tale (A.R.Kane Mix Radio Edit)” takes the prior 6:55 remix and reduces it to a radio manageable 2:43. There are less of the quiet spaces here, with more attention to the fuzzed out guitars and spacey bleeps that dot Tambala’s added sounds.

“Winter Tale” is a welcome composition for the winter season. It is dreampop perfection with a stripped-down aesthetic. McLarnon’s vocals are angelic and ethereal and Kretov’s compositions masterful. Tambala’s remixes are great reimaginations of the track, creating other sonics around an already brilliant piece. What’s more, the single is free at their bandcamp below. Go download it before they change their minds!

Ummagma Official Site