Following the exciting release of his Entangled EP earlier this year, Amsterdam-born producer IMANU returns with the cinematic new single BLEAK featuring A Girl Named Sue. Now available via the Deadbeats imprint, this track takes listeners on a dark, emotional journey through bass. With emotive melodies, powerful breakbeats, and a touch of chaos and menace, BLEAK beautifully pushes the limits of genre blending and invites you into a deeply immersive experience.
Ahead of his Mixmag Lab De Verte showcase, his conceptual project and event series that merges sound, design, and community. Translating to “the depth” or “the distance” in Dutch, De Verte represents IMANU’s commitment to pushing creative boundaries while remaining grounded in his cultural roots. The single arrives ahead of his upcoming Asia tour and a special De Verte showcase during ADE 2025, part of the Mixmag Lab series, which will be filmed and recorded live.
IMANU’s future is anything but Bleak.
Opening with ominous undertones and a heavy reverb low-pressure filter, A Girl Named Sue’s emotional lyrics gently signal a takeoff on this chaotic journey. It isn’t until around the forty-fifth second that the powerful bass lines resonate through the speakers and truly ignite the track. Wavy synthesizers and cinematic textures build as the lyrics fade in and out. The heavy bass lines shake the listener to their very core, tossing them this way and that.
A gentle interlude occurs around the two-minute mark as “A Girl Named Sue”’s heartfelt lyrics pull the listener forward. Soft hums subtly blend into the soundscape, perfectly balancing the dark undertones and heavy reverberated bass lines. A true good versus evil atmosphere weaves through the track. Drum and bass-style snares cut through the background, adding another layer to the flavor that is BLEAK. An elegant dance unfolds in the last twenty seconds or so, gracefully guiding this track to a flawless halt.