Imaabs
Trisomnía
Precious Metals
Trisomnía is a good record, but “Drak”—the marauding number that closes out the EP—is a truly great track. Coming from Chilean-born, Mexico City-based producer (and longtime N.A.A.F.I affiliate) Imaabs, it’s a corroded club smasher, one in which his jackhammering, take-no-prisoners drum attack appears determined to bust through the monotony of the modern dancefloor. With its nimble rhythms and industrial sheen, the song does crib a few notes from Classical Curves-era Jam City, but Imaabs is more inclined to gallop through the murk, complementing his chrome textures with dramatic jump cuts and some eerie sound design.
A similar aesthetic colors the rest of Trisomnía, even as Imaabs largely refrains from putting the pedal to the metal. And speaking of metal, the various clangs and bangs of opening cut “Spec” evoke thoughts of rivets being driven through sheets of aluminum, while the urgent “Umbral” is a mutant reggaeton-jungle hybrid that sounds like it was forged in a vat of molten steel. “Ceho,” on the other hand, offsets its serrated blasts of distortion with spectral, church-ready vocal harmonies, playing out an existential battle between light and darkness with the help of a deconstructed trap beat. Trisomnía may not be an overly friendly record, but it’ll put even the most robust of soundystems through their paces as its gnarled sonics command the attention of everyone in earshot.