Michael Imperial Biography
Michael Imperial is a producer/DJ, label-owner and visual designer based in Toronto. His musical style is a coalescence of house, garage and hip-hop. Michael achieved underground success with his debut EP “Secret Drugs Volume 1” featuring the single “Feenin”, released independently on his birthday, December 29th 2012. In 2013, once again on his birthday, he released “Secret Drugs Volume 2” featuring the single “Mirror”, which garnered spins from Skream & Benga on their popular BBC radio show. In the press he has been described as “a less hectic version of Rustie” as well as “Disclosure with a Jacques Greene-esque twist”.
“Secret Drugs Volume 3” was released April 8th 2014 and serves as the collection’s final instalment. This latest volume in the Secret Drugs collection builds on Michael Imperial’s signature sound of thick shuffled drums, melodic vocal chops and swelling harmonies, while discovering a common ground between the club dance floor and quiet listening.
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelimperialmusic Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelimperial Instagram: https://instagram.com/michaelimperial Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/micimperial
About The Song
“All Night” the last track on Secret Drugs Volume 3, was created during a late weeknight whirlwind at my home studio. I had stumbled across a studio session
videofromanupcomingD’angeloalbum. Enviousofalltheoldschoolsession players featured and shiny gear stacked ceiling-high, I knew the only way I’d ever get a sound as flawless as what I had heard was to outright steal it.
So I ripped it from YouTube, dropped the video file straight into Ableton and within the next few hours the song was miraculously completed front to end. I feel like that’s where the magic of the track lies: it was born from fortuity, it was fueled by instinct, and was not over-worked. Other late weeknight single-session songs I’ve made include: “Nicole” featuring Tom Wrecks off of Secret Drugs Volume 1 and “Still” with Ben Stevenson & ANGO off of Ben Stevenson’s Dirty Laundry.
About The Video
Revolver Films, a Toronto-based production house reached out to me with interest to shoot a music video. Not until after our initial talks, did we realize Revolver had previously worked on producing a music video for my older brother Art Imperial. An obvious decision was then established: we would use the same director and cinematographer team of Kristof Brandl and Vlac Cojocaru as proposed for my brother’s video. Once I got to see their reel, I immediately knew I was getting in with some pros.
Kristoff and Vlad interviewed me, asked me questions about my hobbies, unique interests, favourite film-genres. I talked to them about my love of Vietnamese cuisine (#71 Vermicelli w/ Chicken, Spring Rolls & Fried Egg), my deep admiration for MMA and fascination with crime-dramas that explore the human condition. The conversation was swift, that quick 10-minute chat was all we needed. The next week they were on a plane to Vietnam ready to shoot.
** PRIVATE ONE-SHEET ** For more info, photography & media visit: http://rarebeef.net/one-sheet/michael-imperial-secret-drugs-volume-3/
