Interview: Imeanto

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Interview: Imeanto

His debut EP 'Homely' drops on Ablo on this (good) Friday so we caught up with Imeanto to find out more about the man.

AL: First off, the question that no one seems to like to answer…tell us a bit about yourself.

IM: To keep it short and sweet I'm really just your everyday music lover/producer!

I've been producing electronic music/music in general for a little over 10 years with varying levels of success, my main background being in the lounge/ambient music genre.

I have a huge passion for really emotive and dark electronic tracks and honestly strive to make each track I produce a story in their own right.

AL: Who would you say are your main influences?

IM: Coming from a performing/producing background in a few different music scenes I've picked up a lot of influences over the years.

But my absolute go to artists for anything darker/electronic would have to be Burial, Aphex Twin and Trent Reznor.

Trent Reznor © Baldur Bragason

AL: Do you have a set way that you go about making a track?

IM: 90% of the time it starts with a drum beat or layers of percussion. I like to have a good solid rhythm before I start sketching the atmosphere and melodic elements of a track just slowly building it up layer by layer.

AL: Which part of production do you find the hardest?

Tough question, but I'd say the most satisfying yet hardest aspect of producing music in the Imeanto style for me is finding the perfect "lead" character in a track. Specifically, the vocal sample use, it just has to fit perfectly for a track to be truly complete in my eyes.

AL: What's the story behind the EP?

IM: Homely was a way for me to get back to my roots and really explore a side of producing that I had been missing for a long time. The whole story of the tracks as a collective is whatever each individual listener wants it to be really, but for me personally it's an EP that's helped me revive my passion for future garage/techno music again and look at the way I produce music in a different light.

The new Roland SO 404 Mk II sampler

AL: Which piece of your studio gear is currently your top dog?

IM: I try to keep a minimal setup generally but the eurorack modular system I've built over the past few years is a major source of creativity. I'll generally use it for all of my stranger sound effects/ as a way to process samples in a more exploratory way.

AL: And what will your next hardware or software purchase be?

IM: Hopefully a standalone sampler like the Roland SP404 MK2 as a performance tool and as a way to be a little more hands on with my sample manipulation in the studio.

AL: What's up next for you?

IM: Looking to release a few singles asap to explore a few more ideas I have floating around before I start work on a full-length album!