UMIKO Kotori is the solo project of Lithuanian musician, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Elena Neniškytė. Her musical background moves from classical and jazz vocal training through the Vilnius alternative scene into electronic music. Working with vocals, drums, bass, guitar, synthesizers and trumpet, she has developed an independent practice in which she writes, produces, records, mixes and masters her own music.

Before beginning her solo work, Elena was already active in the Vilnius alternative music scene. She founded and fronted Magic Mushrooms (2006–2010) as vocalist and songwriter, combining jazz, funk, drum & bass, rap and soul; the band was recognised at Vilnius Jazz Young Power and performed at Kaunas Jazz. She later co-founded the electronic duo Left I Right (2008–2010), working as vocalist and composer.

Her solo project UMIKO began in 2011, followed by her first album, Wave, in 2012. Since then, UMIKO has remained a continuous line in her work, developing alongside bands, touring, composition for stage and screen, and production for other artists.

The UMIKO catalogue now spans eleven albums, from Wave (2012) to UKA (2026). Among them are the independently home-recorded lo-fi IF (2014), Aftermath (2017), recorded with a live band at Big Jelly Studios in the UK, and the audiovisual In the Nowhere Without the No (2020), accompanied by five contemporary-dance music videos. Later releases include the collaborative SAKE (2022), Sorry to be You (2023) and Spitting Supernovas (2024). Across the catalogue, electronic production meets live instrumentation, grunge, krautrock, hip-hop, soul, punk and experimental music, with genres functioning more as creative material than fixed boundaries.

As UMIKO/KOTORI, she has performed internationally in Portugal, Poland and Germany. Her solo appearances include Halfway Festival in Białystok, on a programme that also featured Julia Holter, My Brightest Diamond and These New Puritans; concerts in Portugal, including Casa da Música in Porto; and opening for Efterklang in Vilnius. She has also performed solo in Berlin on several occasions, including shows at ACUD Macht Neu and Donau115.

Throughout the same period, she remained active in other bands. With Ministry of Echology, she worked as vocalist, songwriter and later trumpet player, contributing to four studio albums — Notes & Quotes, Wanderer, Mixed Feelings and Horizon. By 2020, she had played more than 120 concerts with the band, primarily in Lithuania, as well as in Latvia, Poland, Germany, Russia and France.

From 2017 to 2020, she co-founded and actively shaped shishi, playing drums, singing and co-writing the band's music. She contributed to the creation and recording of the band's first two albums and a series of music videos. Songs she helped create, including Hush and Na Na Na, remained part of shishi's repertoire after her departure. During her time in the band, shishi toured extensively, appeared at international showcase festivals including MENT Ljubljana and BUSH Budapest, performed across Europe and in Israel, and opened for Franz Ferdinand in Vilnius.

Alongside her UMIKO catalogue, Elena's collaborative work includes the two-album Mommy's Karma project with drummer Mantas Augustaitis: Mommy's Karma (2018) and Mommy's Karma II (2023). She also works as a recording engineer and producer for other artists. Between 2022 and 2024, she recorded and produced three solo releases by Tadas Ambrazas, a member of Kosmetika, and is currently completing the recording and production of Gediminas Mačiulskis' (Afrikos būgnai) debut EP.

Her work also extends into film, animation, theatre, contemporary circus and visual art. She has composed music for the short films Aš tave žinau (dir. Dovilė Šarutytė), Nesiseka šiandien (dir. Linas Dambrauskas) and Šanxai Banzai (dir. Jūratė Samulionytė); stage works including Nėra laiko, Druska, SEEN, KIOKIA and Kanta Company's 107 Ways to Deal with Pressure; and Antanas Skučas' animated film Grybų karas. In 2024, she created the soundtrack for Jurgita Juodytė's visual project Takelis. Other sound projects include the Trakų Vokė Manor audio guide and soundscapes for the historical application Bėgantis kunigaikštis.

From 2022 to 2024, Elena also hosted her monthly author programme Kokie nelygūs Vilniaus šaligatviai on Radio Vilnius, exploring music, movement and the city.

Her eleventh UMIKO album, UKA (羽化), is released independently on September 25, 2026. Elena wrote, produced, mixed and mastered all eleven tracks herself, inviting selected musicians to contribute to individual pieces. The album also marks a new visual phase for UMIKO Kotori: for the video POLITE, she created the mask at the centre of the project's new visual language and directed and edited the video herself. The track received airplay on LRT OPUS, while the audiovisual direction around UKA continues to expand through moving image, performance and real-time visuals.