Umru

umru
Umru opening for underscores in 2026
Background information
Born	Jaan Umru Rothenberg (1999-04-02) April 2, 1999 New York City, U.S.
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	Pop1 hyperpop
Occupations	Musician DJ record producer
Works
Years active	2016-present
Labels	PC Music LuckyMe SONG Music LLC Atlantic Lakeshore EMI RCA Trekkie Trax
Partner	Petal Supply

Jaan Umru Rothenberg (born April 2, 1999), known mononymously as Umru,^a is an American musician, DJ, and record producer. To date, he has released 3 EPs and numerous singles and remixes.

His first major breakthrough came in 2017 with production on Charli XCX's song "I Got It" from her mixtape Pop 2. He gained a strong following within the experimental music community via works with record labels such as PC Music,² including many compilation albums from the label,³ and collaborations with artists such as Underscores, Dorian Electra, 100 Gecs, Alice Longyu Gao, and Charli XCX. He is considered an influential figure in the hyperpop scene.⁴

Jaan Umru Rothenberg was born on April 2, 1999⁵ in New York City to a Jewish father, music and philosophy professor David Rothenberg,⁶ and an Estonian mother Jaanika Peerna, who is an artist.⁷⁸ He spent a year in Estonia for school when he was seven,⁹ but otherwise was raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he still lives today.² He played drums in elementary school, and took up music production after becoming a fan of various electronic music producers such as Mr. Carmack, Sam Gellaitry, and Cashmere Cat.¹⁰ He began making mashups on Ableton, using his father's old laptop, at the age of 10.⁹ He performed regularly in Brooklyn music clubs prior to being noticed by record labels.¹¹ Umru attended City University of New York from 2017 to 2021,¹² rooming with the musician Underscores, designer Tiam Schaper and illustrator Emile Fortune.¹³¹⁴

Umru spent much of his teenage years connecting with other DJs and music producers via the Internet.² His first remixes were uploaded via SoundCloud. In 2017, he was discovered by British producer and PC Music label founder A. G. Cook, with whom he began producing for artists such as the British singer Charli XCX. His first major production credit was an appearance on her 2017 mixtape Pop 2,¹⁵ on the song "I Got It".²

In November 2018, he released his debut EP Search Result on Cook's PC Music label featuring artists such as Laura Les from 100 gecs, Lewis Grant & Ravenna Golden.¹⁶ In March 2022, he released his second EP Comfort Noise on PC Music, featuring Tommy Cash, Rebecca Black, 645AR & others.

Following the suspension of new releases on PC Music in 2024, his third EP Matter of Time was released in April 2025 on the Scottish label LuckyMe, featuring collaborations with Jacques Greene, Nikki Nair & Warpstr. Later in the same month, he also released a collaborative single, "Poplife" with Underscores.

He is a frequent collaborator of and producer for artists associated with the hyperpop scene & experimental pop, such as Ericdoa, Laura Les and Dylan Brady from 100 gecs, Gupi and Fraxiom from Food House, Alice Longyu Gao, Ninajirachi, Chase Icon and Petal Supply.²

In May 2018, Umru created the Minecraft event space Open Pit Presents with graphic designer Max Schramp and other friends. The group started with a birthday party event for Schramp, then went on to host events such as Coalchella, Fire Fest, Mine Gala, Square Garden, and Lavapalooza throughout 2018-2020, featuring the artists Anamanaguchi, 100 gecs, Y2K, and numerous others.⁹ Some of these virtual events were done in collaboration with record labels such as Atlantic Records, PC Music, and Bitbird.

In 2019, the lead organizers of Open Pit (Umru, Max Schramp and Emma Segal-Grossman) started a design firm called Parent Company, which has had clients such as Rina Sawayama, Elton John, Chuck Sutton, Balenciaga, Charli XCX, Kim Petras, Laura Les, A. G. Cook, Namasenda, Dorian Electra, Alice Longyu Gao and Mura Masa.¹⁷ In September 2020, Umru started a New York-based music label with Parent Company called SONG Music LLC, which was billed as an "antiindustry record label and music distroverification platform."¹⁸

Umru was hired in 2022 by the sample distribution platform Splice to curate a sample label called Moment with Cody "Daywaiter" Mar.⁹ The label launched in April 2022 with a pack from Underscores, and has continued successfully with Umru "commissioning packs from all the talented sound designers I know."⁹

Although his sound is often labeled as hyperpop, Umru prefers not to be labelled with any specific music genres,² or rather simply as a pop musician. Allison Harris from Ringtone Mag called his music "so fascinating", stating that a few of his songs portray "a sense of vulnerability" and that "[he’s] driven by creating something completely unique, although he does cite what he refers to as “obvious influences” to his music, one of them being the legendary SOPHIE."¹⁹

Aside from his musical projects, Umru has also been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian liberation movement in the United States. In 2023 he, along with other musicians, pulled his music from German streaming platform HÖR after its apparent censorship of clothing and other depictions of support for Palestine in the midst of the resurging Israel-Palestine Conflict.²⁰ He has also performed at several charity events supporting Palestinians, raising funds for mutual aid and a variety of other services.²¹ In 2025, he signed a pro-Palestine petition from Artists Against Apartheid after the cancellation of a Kehlani concert due to her vocal opposition to the Palestinian genocide.²²²³²⁴

Official remixes

Unofficial remixes

(As executive producer)