Nearly two decades ago, Maarius81 and Rob Banks Beats (collectively known as Sword of a Giant) rented a series of houses and apartments together. These spots were also headquarters for our music creation. It was common in those days to make songs with a wide variety of friends and associates, and we used to talk about how we all fell under one giant umbrella. One day, we said, we'd turn it into a business to professionally release our art.

Fast forward to the height of the pandemic, Maarius had an epiphany: if it were all to end tomorrow, what would we want to have left behind? The answer was art. He immediately contacted Rob Banks and established Umbrella Union LLC as a vehicle for this pursuit. We then designed the logo that you now see at the top of the page, depicting an umbrella made of sound waves or brain matter and an audio cable and jack as the handle.

Since then Umbrella Union has released three Maarius81 solo albums, one Sword of a Giant album and visual EP, teamed up with the great Baits E. Cherryhill to create and release several singles as Fequent Flyer Society, and connected with our brother Rajnii to produce his new solo project--three songs are already available everywhere. We have many additional collaborations and projects in the works.

We also brought on our lifelong friend, Chad, to help us develop a line of clothing to represent the brand and simultaneously finance future creative projects (primarily music but certainly not limited to it). Chad's enduring passion for skateboarding and collectibility has heavily influenced our aesthetic.

Beyond fueling creative output by selling merchandise, we hope to help put a little money in the pockets of our artist's and team, and to expand our business to help create and promote likeminded creatives. We know that streaming platforms offer little profit to musicians, so we hope to leverage platforms like Shopify and Bandcamp to monetize art more effectively.

Please support our vision and our team, and don't hesitate to get in touch!

UU