Imanu – Cheren [Vision]

IMANU’s music has gone from strength to strength since moving away from his previous Signal moniker, and his latest work for Noisia’s Vision imprint sees him branching out into more experimental pastures.

Nagow and Cheren deliver the heavyweight neuro workouts that have become his trademark, with the former bringing a more colourful vibe via some deft melodic touches; Cheren by comparison pursues a more industrial aesthetic for pure sonic punishment.

The back half of the EP takes in some tempo drops; Whatever It Takes explores vaguely dubstep-adjacent territory with crunchy beats and grimy bass that’s sure to get your head nodding. After all that stiff competition it’s a pleasant surprise then that closing track Music To Stay In Your House To is potentially the strongest on the EP. Beautiful sound designs, wonky vocal textures and crazy drum rhythms combine on a genre-defying track that blends everything from hip-hop to IDM into a joyously chaotic melting pot.

IMANU’s new title (and doubtless a lot of encouragement from Noisia) seem to be inspiring some of his best work yet this year, and we can’t wait to hear what he comes up with next. In the meantime, you can check out the Cheren EP below – hit up your favourite store to grab it right now.

Top Tracks of 2014

Following our run down of our favourite albums of the year, we felt it was only right to put the spotlight on our top tracks. These are the ten tunes that haven’t left our record box since their release…

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In The Mix…The Upbeats

Kiwi neurofunk legends The Upbeats bring us a mix full of brand new cuts and huge double drops to celebrate their appearance at Playaz x Fabriclive last Friday. The tracklist is 100% Upbeats material, featuring cuts from their recent album alongside older beats such as their remix of Ewun’s Screw Up and some of the releases from their own Non Vogue imprint. Fans of the heavier end of D&B should definitely check this one out!

The Upbeats – Primitive Technique [Vision]

After weeks of hype and several single releases the date draws near…The Upbeats’ long awaited 4th LP for Noisia’s Vision Recordings drops April 29th. In anticipation the full audio is now up on their soundcloud, and they’ve saved plenty back, with some of the previously unheard tracks proving to be the best on the album.

Collabs are the order of the day, with Armanni Reign stepping in to provide vocals for the monsterous halfstep of Drum Stop and the hip-hop infused Again I. Elsewhere fellow Kiwis Trei and Dose provide additional production on Thrasher and Tangerine respectively.

Better still, while the album provides neurofunk tearers in ample measure space is still left for a few explorations of other territory, such as the natural drum breaks and melodic emphasis found in Falling Into Place and the hypnotic, techno infused vibes of Monogram. Definitely one of 2013’s must have albums!