IMAANI BROWN

The Invisible Architect: Berlin's Imani and the Deep House Secret
We've all been dancing to Imani's jams in Ibiza and Miami without even knowing it.

Imani—the Berlin-based architect of New York deep house who, alongside DJ Eman, helped define the 2000s sound from across the Atlantic. He operates like a phantom in the industry, slipping his secret sauce into productions. Cloonee, Fisher, Roger Sanchez, and more have been spinning his tracks—each running under different aliases.

Why so underground? Imani uses recognizable songs and samples he rarely clears, flooding the market every few weeks with remixes and hits under various names.
He learned his craft from Laurent Garnier and broke through with the legendary Mutabaruka on "Dis Poem"—a track that became an anthem for the big heads, with Dennis Ferrer, Roger Sanchez, and countless others playing it worldwide, from New York to Istanbul. What many don't know: Imani also produced for Naked Music with Jay Denes.

"Germany was never my musical or creative home," Imani says. "My creative work always happened abroad, partly because Germany didn't have enough soul for me."
Now, as the music industry gets dominated by artificial intelligence, Imani and his Brooklyn House Squad just locked down a deal. The invisible architect is still building—and he's just getting started.