Today, we're diving into the creative world of Inimata, the genre-defying artist who’s making waves with his latest single, *Unfollowed, Blocked, Ghosted*. Known for his unique blend of lush synths, washed-out guitars, and evocative lyrics, Inimata uses music to explore themes of isolation, toxic relationships, and self-reflection. Hailing from Newcastle by way of London, Inimata’s journey from outsider to standout artist in Australia’s music scene is as compelling as his sound. With a knack for capturing raw emotions and a fearless approach to collaboration, he continues to push boundaries and challenge listeners’ expectations. Join us as we chat with Inimata about his inspirations, creative process, and what’s next on his musical horizon.
TRACK REVIEW
Inimata’s latest track, *Unfollowed, Blocked, Ghosted*, featuring Porcelain Boy, is an atmospheric dive into the darker side of friendships and the isolation they can bring. The song feels like a haunting journey, driven by a fierce, explosive composition that grips the listener from the start. Reminiscent of early Linkin Park with its eerie vocal lines and layered, punchy soundscapes, the track brings a raw energy that’s both intense and immersive. The bridge leading to the final chorus is a real standout, building momentum and emotional weight as it heads toward a cathartic release. *Unfollowed, Blocked, Ghosted* is a powerful blend of edgy production and impactful lyricism that leaves a lasting impression.
Your latest single "Unfollowed, Blocked, Ghosted" touches on themes of hollow friendships and isolation. What inspired you to explore these themes, and how do they relate to your own experiences?
I mean just daily life I suppose. It's funny I finished writing that track probably about a year ago and it's still finding ways to be relevant even now. I think at the time I was reflecting on this friendship I had that fell apart, mainly due to my own actions but looking back on it later made me realise how toxic and one sided a lot of that dynamic was. Aside from that, I think it's a pretty universally understood feeling of being around people who don't really care about you beyond your immediate presence in the room, or who are happy to act chummy and never reveal how they actually see you. I just needed to take some of that energy that was in my life at the time and find some kinda cathartic release for it.
This is your second collaboration with Porcelain Boy. How did the collaboration process differ this time around compared to your first project together, and what did Jordan Olyslagers bring to the track?
So the first collaboration is kinda a misnomer. I made a remix for them for their single Club Punk last year, which was basically just me bullying them for stems and me assembling everything in my little home studio. This song was more of a traditional process. I'd had the instrumental done for quite a while but that section Jordan's on in the middle was just stumping me. So we met up at their little studio space they had at the time and we just spent the day working on shit. I mean we had a whole second track we made on the day that's still in the vault, sounds like a weird offshoot of Radiohead, which probably won't ever come out. But the Porcelain Boy guys are both angels, Jordan just immediately understood what we needed and was real happy to help with the video shoot as well, love 'em to death. The only downside is the dude's too pretty. He makes me look bad by contrast.
The contrast between Jordan’s smooth vocals and your emotionally strained singing creates a unique dynamic in "Unfollowed, Blocked, Ghosted." How did you approach blending these different vocal styles?
Honestly it was a lot easier than I expected. I'm not usually that melodic by any means on my tracks but I've worked on a bunch of different styles so it wasn't too much of a challenge. Most of the fun came out of the post processing. For my vocals I usually end up being fairly minimalistic on effects, outside of a bit of delay and reverb just to make things sound bigger. I mainly use layering.
The funny part was for the first i'd say half of the set we couldn't even get Jordan's mic working consistently. The first I'd say four takes we had were all choppy and just fucked up. We changed out the mic's and it worked perfectly but I still ended up using a lot of those older takes as little emphasis points or doubles I could attach the weird delays I had in there onto. So what comes out of this really broken setup was elevated by a lot of small tricks and looots of effects. I dunno in all honesty a lot of the approach is very instinctual, like I don't really sit there and have this big map of how I want it to sound I just go "ooh that's cool" and build a vibe piece by piece.
There’s a mix of lush synths, washed-out guitars, and a pumping rhythm section in this track. Can you walk us through the production process and how you crafted such a layered sound?
So in terms of the actual process I nearly always make the instrumental first. Sometimes months in advance of having lyrics. I think for this one the first thing that came about was that rhythm section, just the bass and the drums and the guitars kinda acting more as atmospheric pieces than melodic elements. But that's basically how every beat I make works, I just find the first element that grabs me then build off it with more and more until it's this cacophony of sounds that I have to shape into something cohesive.
I like density on my tracks, having something new happening every four bars minimum. Outside of the Inimata music I have to really turn down a lot of my instincts to just kinda add shit, because a lot of the time that maximalist approach doesn't really gel with an artist's ability to exist on record. But for this I think it's just dense enough to feel big and full but you can still pay attention to what you need to hear. Jordan's section is probably the messiest in terms of layering haha, like there's a bunch of weird chopped up foley, the keys are all over the place, I think I threw in a recording of me just jangling my keys from my phone. But it still works.
You mentioned coming up as an outsider in the Newcastle music scene. How has that influenced your music style and the way you approach your art today?
Yeah that'd be the little chip on the shoulder I'm still carrying about. I'm not even living in Newcastle anymore and I'm still kinda feeling the same thing. But to answer the question, when I was kinda starting out and molding the prototype version of what Inimata is now, Newy was basically dominated by indie or surf rock, with maybe a little funk thrown in. It didn't help that at the time the Newcastle scene was very band oriented. I remember talking to a friend of mine a few years back, can't recall which band he was in now but I remember he was saying he had never had to organise a gig himself for a whole year and his guys played something around 30 shows? To me that was insane, I would get maybe one offer in a blue moon and the rest of the time I was scrounging for anything I could pull together.
Then Covid hits and suddenly the scene there just explodes with growth and dynamism and suddenly there's way more people that I mesh with and I've worked with or am working with now. Even then I still get that feeling of being kinda off to the side every now and then, which I'm sure definitely feeds into a lot of the emotional content of my music. Don't get me wrong I still love that scene and the people in there, it's my second home and I claim it as such, I just had this weirdly near hostile relationship with it for a while in the beginning.
As someone who doesn’t want to be boxed into a single genre, how do you maintain that sense of freedom and fluidity in your music?
By making a lot of tracks haha. I made about 300 beats last year, I think I'm at about the same number this year. I feel like I'd get bored if I just stuck to one genre or style. I think also it's just me enjoying music from artists who blur genre boundaries so I do the same thing. The whole something new every four bars idea I mentioned earlier probably helps too.
You've performed alongside acts like Doris, Behind You, and Feelsclub. How have those live experiences shaped your growth as an artist?
Earlier on it was definitely huge in shaping how I was as a performer, now it mainly comes down to technicals. I'm always looking in terms of setup or how they perform/what gear they're using and what sounds they can make. Back when I started it was just me and a backing track, then we added drums and now have the full live band set up.
Behind You are really worth mentioning on that, aside from being lovely people they have basically my idealised setup for blending the organic and digital elements. It's them and my friends like Raave Tapes, Poltergiest 9000 or Soyboy who I really look to for the next thing I need to improve on. Right now the songs are sounding good, I just want to find ways to make the whole live show feel cohesive and grand. It's a work in progress, I definitely need to work on my stage banter too, maybe have some jokes lined up in advance.
In "Unfollowed, Blocked, Ghosted," there’s a palpable sense of emotion and frustration. How do you channel those intense feelings into your music without losing your sense of humor and creativity?
I think that channeling is really the thing that helps me keep my humour and creativity. If it wasn't through music it'd be exhaled in some other endeavour. It probably also helps that the lyrics are the last thing I add to the track, whenever I make an instrumental if it comes out sad or happy or angry or thoughtful it just comes to be of its own accord. I don't really sit down and go, ok i'm gonna write a sad song today. I just make shit and it becomes whatever it has to become. Then the actual lyrical content or thematic content comes out just based on wherever I'm at. Sometimes I have off days, just like everyone, or off weeks. But it has to go somewhere or lead to something otherwise it's just pointless.
As a producer, writer, and performer, you have a hands-on role in every aspect of your music. How do you balance these different elements, and do you find one aspect more challenging or rewarding than the others?
It's exhausting hahaha. I'm definitely a producer first, it's the thing I'm best at and most enjoy for sure. As far as the creative process, writing is easily the hardest part. Unfollowed, Blocked, Ghosted is actually a good example of that, like for some of the other songs I have i took maybe a couple days to get something written but this song took me months. Like I've no struggle finding the pocket or melody or structure I should use for the vocals, it's the same as finding it for any other instrument. The part that was taking so long was just my approach to what I should write rather than how it needs to be written. I think it's been a fundamental weakness in my process that I've been changing up for the newer stuff.
Looking ahead, what can fans expect next from Inimata, and are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you're excited about?
Actually have a fair bit on the docket for the future. We've got two Newcastle shows, one in West Best Bloc Fest 6th October, alongside 100 other bands from the scene and the other with a joint Sydney/Newy lineup 19th, then Sydney for November 1st on Inaugural's tour, AND THEN I'm off to New York to do a show with my guys in AFK, maybe make some tracks as well (i'm so excited).
Oh and one other big thing after that on the 28th of November.
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