Imitation are breaking new ground, doing so with their usual hypnotic allure and daring sound design. ‘Now What?’ is a clear example of that, a single that arrived just over a month ago, by now, blessing December with its ethereal and partly gloomy soundscapes. The symbolism is rather striking; the single closed a prolific year for Imitaiton, while simultaneously initiating a diverse path into more cohesive and melodic territories. Don’t get us wrong: the Hungarian pair is still gracefully bathing into their beloved glitchtronica, yet the listening experience is grounded in a more malleable and receptive arrangement, one that’s likely to appeal to a wider audience.
Zsanett Pápai and Bulcsu Gödri have always enjoyed a heightened sensibility when it comes to lush, hazy sound designs steeped in melancholia and emotional escapism. Their recent collaboration with Kazuhiro Takeuchi saw them walking down an improvisational, aleatory path, a journey that has now seemingly reached its end. In ‘Now What?’, we find a polished version of Pápai’s evocative, elegant vocals, now able to smoothly thread the fine line between the popular and the leftfield. Gödri has not lost his production flair, constantly oscillating between light and darkness.
Delving deeper into the track, Imitation explains: “It was originally intended for a synthpop compilation album, but since the album never came to fruition, we have released the song as a standalone single.” Imitation enjoy wandering the aural continuum with aleatory allure. On this occasion, we admire them in a more relatable and melodic livery. They are embracing change, a quality reiterated by their ever-evolving sonic imprint.
Recommended! Discover ‘Now What?’ now: