Artist Spotlight: IMVN
IMVN is the latest budding alternative R&B artist to put her own spin on the burgeoning genre.
The singer/songwriter, hailing from North-West London, concocts an atmospheric and profound blend of electronica, R&B and pop that moves through moods subtly and organically. Alongside a wide range of sonic influences, IMVN draws poignantly on the influence of the world around her, and how it evolves continuously. Her debut EP FAZE is a superb effort, emitting her heartrending lyrical approach into celestial melodies over ambient soundscapes.
I speak to IMVN about her genre-blending sound, her involvement with Triple Threat Management’s Artist Development Program, and her striking new EP.
Who influences you?
I tend to have less physical influences and more metaphorical ones; I’d say environments/circumstances are what influence me more than people.
When and why did you first start creating?
I started writing at 12 but didn’t take myself seriously until 15/16. There were a lottt of bad songs during those three years. I’d already been performing from quite a young age, but always knew I wanted to pursue music. At 16 I was finally ready to put everything into doing purely that.
How has your background and upbringing shaped your musical identity?
My upbringing has shaped my musical identity entirely. I don’t come from an immediate musical family, but I have a supportive mother and a few of my family members are performers so, creativity was always something to be embraced… with a balance of studies!
Talk me through your involvement in Triple Threat’s Artist Development Program?
I was lucky enough to be awarded TTM’s artist development program during lockdown and working with them since then has been fab! Everyone at TTM has been so supportive of me and this project from the jump and I’m excited to see what happens in the future
How would you define your sound?
Currently, the two words I use to describe my sound are ambient + introspective. I tend to shy away from being genre specific, because I aspire to combine multiple genres. I guess I intend to be somewhat undetectable within any one genre/when it comes to genres, but a constant element of my music is an introspective nature that comes with it.
I love how you blend R&B and electronic influences, how did you first shape your sound?
It came from a lot of experimentation. I would challenge myself and write to loads of different genres, whilst always making sure I put my signature on it. Eventually, I found a happy medium between a hybrid of genres and decided my only objective was to capture the truth of how I felt, whatever that sounded like.
Have you got a direction you wish to pinpoint stylistically?
I don’t think so. For me, the best part about music is how freeing it can be. The only direction I wish to go in is towards the truth. If I feel the song, I don’t pay attention to where it sits stylistically. I only think about how much it moves me, and if it has the capacity to move others
Your sonic and visual approach is very forward thinking and Avant-garde. Where do you see yourself fitting into the UK scene?
The UK scene is already pretty vast and it’s always growing, however, I can’t say I think about fitting in. There are loads of artists in the UK who are less conventional like me and doing their thing. I think that comes from a common value shared, which is authenticity and that’s where I see myself situated.
How are you feeling about the release of your EP FAZE?
Every day I have to remind myself to be present and acknowledge what’s going on, like we’re really doing this!? I’ve lived with FAZE tucked away for 4/5 years now, it’s extremely surreal… but exciting!
Talk me through the main themes and ideas within the project?
Overall, the most predominant theme within FAZE is vulnerability. It’s a topic I’ve dedicated a lot of thought to over the years. I wanted FAZE to be a sonic documentation of that, so I gave each song a theme synonymous to feeling vulnerable. 8 Hours is denial, The Door is guilt, Fall is remorse and DTB is assertion. With each theme I wanted to depict how exposed we can feel when vulnerable, perhaps having to come to terms with parts of ourselves we’d rather suppress. However, in the end DTB signifies an assertion towards being truly vulnerable, and how that equals growth once you start owning it.
What are you trying to portray with the EP?
FAZE was made to create a safe space for feeling through art. In general, I think the world has become desensitised to a lot of things in life, due to fast accessibility and over-saturation. But for anyone who hears the project, I hope to shift people’s emotive processing to something more fulfilling.
Where does the name FAZE stem from?
I titled the project “FAZE” for its dual meaning. ‘faze’ means to disturb someone. A ‘phase’ is a specific period of time. Both show relevance and meaning within the project. One expresses how the experiences I’ve written about are merely a document in time, and the other, describing a person who’s affecting the fluidity of things and preventing growth. I chose to use “FAZE” instead of “phase” because ultimately, when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and look within, we find the self-inflicted disturbances we’re causing ourselves, and can grow from there.
If you were introducing yourself to a new listener, what track would you play them?
Definitely Fall. It’s the most vulnerable and revealing song on there
What can we expect from you in the future?
The unexpected! Whatever comes after FAZE will be an entirely different world. All I wish for is that the next project resonates on an emotional level even more than the first one