Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Ruban Nielson: My music has made me braver

Ruban Nielson of psych-rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra has gained something of a reputation for chasing adventures. His first and second albums, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and II, placed him as a partygoer – with lyrics inspired by sleepless nights and self-medication.

His third, Multi-Love, documented the story of his unorthodox relationship: between himself, his wife and their shared girlfriend. And his fourth, Sex & Food, has been defined by his travels around the globe (with stints in Berlin, Mexico City, Hanoi, South Korea, Auckland, and Reykjavik).

But the New Zealand native is keen to steer away from the idea that he puts himself in situations in order to be able to write.

“I used to think that’s what songwriters do, but I’m now very much against the idea of putting myself in a grassy experience just to write a song about it,” he says. “My music has made me braver, though. It’s made me no longer terrified of negative things happening; because if it does, then I can write about it and it’ll be fine.”

In that sense, music has clearly made Nielson less wary of life’s consequences. Yet he suggests that his blasé attitude perhaps went further than anticipated for the last album, Multi-Love. In 2015, the Portland-based singer’s year long polyamorous love affair was dissected in eyebrow raising detail in a Pitchfork interview, with Nielson admitting to a three-way relationship with his wife and a young woman, after meeting her at a club while touring in Tokyo.

“This time, I’ve deliberately chosen not to tell people the things that are going on in my life. I’ve realised that I don’t have to give people that story, and that I don’t owe people that,” he says.

That being said, Sex & Food, seemingly rooted in the ills of the outside world, is actually about the singer’s private life. According to Nielson, if he were less guarded (as he were with Multi-Love), the album would appear less abstract, and more personal. Despite this, I suggest that there are a couple of songs that seem deliberately relatable.

He laughs: “That was exactly the point. I wanted people to be able to mould their own thoughts into the album. I didn’t want it to be dominated by what’s going on in my life.

And that, he admits, is why two of life’s pleasures grace the title. “I wanted people to hear the name of the album and be instantly thrown into their happy place,” he says. “My ideas about life are really dumb and simplistic. It became too serious. I wasn’t trying to make it like that. ”After all, work on Sex & Food became progressively more complicated, recording in Hanoi, Vietnam during monsoon season, and in Mexico City when the earthquake hit.

Did the political climate have an impact, too? “No, there’s of course a bunch of psychological things going on in our culture right now that are manifesting in political ways, but I don’t think it had anything to do with my music. I think we artists and musicians float on the outside of political things. To me, music is a lot more important than politics. I think of myself as a socialist, but I don’t want people to think about politics when they’re listening to my music.”

Actually, he says, quite the opposite. Nielson hopes that his music provides people with an escape from the chaos of the world. He stresses that he just wants people to enjoy his work, regardless of what may be happening around them.

I ask if the desire to escape is what leads him to write. “Partly,” he mutters. “There are a lot of dark and sad things in this world that overwhelm me; and what I really want is all of these things to be considered okay to talk about. Not in a melancholic sort of way, but in a way that brings the sadness to the party.”

Despite the darkness and sadness, he is easy to talk to, cracks jokes about his home life, and is very happy to answer questions, no matter how personal. Does he struggle to balance his family and his career?

Not particularly, though he admits that since he grew up with a father that was a touring musician, the blend of family and music is all he’s ever known. Has his wife, Jenny, had to make sacrifices? He’s cautious to answer on her behalf, but says that they both have, just in different ways, by bringing different things to the table. Does he worry about what his children will think of his work when they grow up? “Absolutely," he says. "They’re the main motivator for what I do.”

Unknown Mortal Orchestra tour the UK 24-27 May. New album 'Sex & Food' is out now