Uboa

Uboa is the musical project of Australian drone, ambient and noise rock artist Xandra Metcalfe. She began in 2010, initially experimenting with doom metal textures and home studio equipment, before gradually moving towards noise, experimental and abstract compositions.Fantano, Anthony. "Uboa - The Origin of My Depression ". theneedledrop, 19 July 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019Parr, George. "Xandra Metcalfe on Melancholia, Eclecticism and The Origin Of My Depression ". Astral Noize, 11 March 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019

Metcalfe has collaborated as Uboa with several other noise artists including Slumber Kitty, Muddy Lawrence, Solus Varak, teeth dreams and has produced a split EP with Bolt Gun.Farmer, Boddhi. "Uboa and SolusS Varak: The Absolute ". 4zzz. Retrieved 17 October 2020

Career Xandra Metcalfe is based in Melbourne, Australia. Uboa's debut album Sometimes Light was released in 2010, followed by Jouissance in 2013 and The Sky May Be in 2018."Interview #13 ". Archive Hate. Retrieved 3 August 2019 In 2019, she released her fourth album The Origin of My Depression, which was recorded amidst her suicide attempt via drug overdose. The album cover was taken from her point of view in a hospital bed following the attempt, which in her words, "could have been the last thing I saw before I died. Nothing glorious, but something boring and accidental." She released an EP The Flesh of the World in 2020, which Toronto-based queer publication Xtra Magazine praised for its "punchy ’80s synths, layered vocals and absolutely massive blasts of raw noise."

In February 2023, Uboa signed to San Francisco-based record label The Flenser, which released The Origin of My Depression on vinyl for the first time. She opened for Liturgy on their first Australian tour in November 2023. Uboa performed three sets at the 2024 Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands, including the live debut of The Origin of My Depression in full. Uboa's fifth album Impossible Light was released on 28 June 2024.

Music In a very positive review of The Origin of My Depression by the critic Anthony Fantano, her sound was described as a "cerebral dive" into Xandra's most negative and intense feelings of being a transgender woman...via "intense feelings of abandonment...expressed through intense soundscapes...and walls of distortion", culminating in a wide expanse of styles and soundscapes. Metcalfe has said of the album's sound, "I always associated sadness in music with sparseness, barrenness and quietness. I wanted to signify empty space musically. Hence why the harsh noise is few and far between, and I think a little more effective because of all the sparseness it contrasts with". Comparing the two albums, Metcalfe has said "Originally I was worried 'The Origin of My Depression' wasn't "Uboa" enough because of how restrained and sparse it is as a record."

She describes the writing process for My Depression as having "little conscious intentionality, it was mostly an intuitive process of writing. Nothing was planned out, and a lot of the songs were improvisations refined into compositions, usually after several attempts. "Detransitioning" took countless attempts to get right, whereas "An Angel of Great and Terrible Light" came out of nowhere."Vellucci, Justin. "Interview: Xandra Metcalfe of Uboa (2019) ". Swordfish, 15 April 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019

Uboa named Jenny Hval, Planning for Burial, and producers Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury's collaborative score for the 2018 film Annihilation as influences for The Origin of My Depression.

Etymology

The name "Uboa" is taken from a name given by fans to a secret character in the 2004 video game Yume Nikki. When asked about the influence of video games on her music, Uboa stated in an interview with New Noise Magazine that "the baseline drones in "Phthalates" and "Jawline" were inspired by Nine Inch Nails’ soundtrack to the original Quake", and that she "accidentally started making music by trying to write soundtracks for [video games]."

Personal life Uboa's music often reflects her struggles with her transgender identity, reflected in her music via the juxtaposition of emotional ambient music and harsh white noise. In an April 2019 interview she described the sources of her mental pain as including "mistaken identity, failed relationships and inability to love, joblessness, boredom, structurelessness, psychosis...[and] anxiety." Shortly after the release of The Origin of My Depression, Metcalfe was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. She has said, "the origin of my depression was nothing other seeing myself as 'broken' for being autistic, ADHD and trans." On the 26th of May 2026, Metcalfe announced her ME/CFS diagnosis to her Instagram account.https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY6bZCyznLU/?igsh=eHZ4aGo2dHcxaTZ1

Discography Albums + List of albums, with selected details Title Details Sometimes Light Released: December 1, 2010 Format: Digital Label: Uboa Jouissance Released: October 1, 2013 Format: Digital Label: Uboa Note: Recorded between 2011 and 2013. The Sky May Be Released: October 18, 2018 Format: Digital Label: Art As Catharsis Records The Origin of My Depression Released: February 14, 2019 Format: Digital, Vinyl (2023 Reissue), Cassette Label: Uboa Impossible Light Released: June 28, 2024 Format: Digital, Cassette Label: Uboa All The Dead Melt Down As Rain Released: June 19, 2025 Format: Digital Label: The Flenser

Extended plays and other releases + List of albums, with selected details Title Details Coma Wall Released: September 24, 2015 Format: Digital, Cassette Label: Void Worship Release Type: Composition Hook Echo Released: July 27, 2017 Format: Digital Label: Uboa Release Type: Composition Please Get Home Safely Released: December 23, 2017 Format: Digital Label: Uboa Release Type: Split EP with Slumberkitty The Apple of Every Eye Released: June 15, 2018 Format: Digital Label: Uboa Release Type: EP with Muddy Lawrence Uboa & Bolt Gun Released: June 4, 2019 Format: Digital Label: Uboa Release Type: Split EP with Bolt Gun The Absolute Released: July 10, 2019 Format: Digital, Cassette Label: Polar Wounds Release Type: EP with Solus Varak The Flesh of the World Released: May 20, 2020 Format: Digital Label: Uboa Dead Time's Broken Arrow Released: November 4, 2022 Format: Digital, Cassette Label: hyperchaos tapes Release Type: Spilt EP with teeth dreams

Awards and nominations Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.

Notes

External links Bandcamp

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