''Ima'' (; stylized as ''今 ima'';

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

for "now") is the debut studio album by American

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

musician BT, released on October 9, 1995, through

Perfecto Records Perfecto Records is a British trance record label, founded by Paul Oakenfold in 1989. Perfecto was also a remix team consisting of Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne and in its later years, Osborne was replaced by Andy Gray. Perfecto Records h ...

. The album is considered a major stepping stone in

trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes. Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minut ...

, popularizing a more progressive approach. The album includes the 1995 single "Embracing the Future", which reached number one on the

UK Dance Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record s ...

, as well as " Loving You More" featuring Vincent Covello. Following its release, ''Ima'' appeared on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

for four weeks, peaking at 45. In 1996, the album was released in the United States in a double disc format, with the

US Dance Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

number one single " Blue Skies" featuring

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

Background

Brian Transeau (BT) released his debut single, "Embracing the Future" in 1993 through MusicNow Records in the United States, where it failed to chart. However, Welsh DJ Sasha performed the song in the United Kingdom where it saw success, and he paid for Transeau to relocate to the country. Transeau brought an

IBM Personal System/2 The Personal System/2 or PS/2 is IBM's second generation of personal computers. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the IBM PC, XT, AT, and PC Convertible in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the 16550 UART (serial p ...

computer from the US, which the album was recorded on.

Composition

In an interview with ''Musik Magazine'', Transeau spoke about the composition of the album. He cited that "Nocturnal Transmission" and "Quark" were inspired by nature, after he was taken hiking by British DJ Guy Oldhams in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

, North England. On the topic of the album's composition, Transeau stated: The album's fourth track, "Sasha's Voyage of ''Ima''", is a

DJ mix A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players ...

by Sasha, comprising the three former tracks in addition to mixes of "Embracing the Future", " Loving You More" and "Deeper Sunshine". Explaining the inclusion of the mix on the album, Transeau stated that "I wanted some tracks to stand out for themselves, but I also wanted Sasha to show how he interprets songs. He makes every individual record more than just the sum of its parts". "Loving You More" was composed as a challenge for Transeau to create a vocal track; of which the vocals were provided by Vincent Covello. The final track, "Divinity", was composed after Transeau recorded himself

overtone singing Overtone singing – also known as overtone chanting, harmonic singing, polyphonic overtone singing, and diphonic singing – is a set of singing techniques in which the vocalist manipulates the resonances of the vocal tract, in order to arous ...

Release

''Ima'' was released on October 9, 1995, through

in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was released in 1996 in a double disc format, featuring the single " Blue Skies", featuring

, as well as its remix, "Blue Skies (The Delphinium Days Mix)". "Blue Skies" was previously featured in edited form on the soundtrack for the

TV show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by ...

''. This version also includes several singles released prior to the album, as well as the B-sides to "Embracing the Sunshine" and "Nocturnal Transmission". A portion of "Nocturnal Transmission" is featured in the film ''

The Fast and the Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

'', for which BT also composed the score. The cover art is a photograph of ''

Christ of the Abyss ''Christ of the Abyss'' (Italian: ''Il Cristo degli Abissi'') is a submerged bronze statue of Jesus Christ by , the original cast of which is located in the Mediterranean Sea, off San Fruttuoso, between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Rivi ...

'', a submerged bronze statue of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

in the Mediterranean Sea.

Critical reception

''Ima'' received positive reviews from critics.

Track listing

Track and version titles and durations listed below refer to actual contents. The releases come with some erroneous and/or incomplete details. All songs written and produced by Brian Transeau, except "Loving You More" written by Brian Transeau and Vincent Covello.

1996 US release

Personnel

– vocals on "Blue Skies" *Arun Chakraverty – mastering on "Divinity" *Alexander Coe ( Sasha) – DJ mix ("Sasha's Voyage of ''Ima''") *Vincent Covello – vocals on "Loving You More" *Richard Dekkard – programming and editing on "Sasha's Voyage of Ima" ncredited*Victor Imbres – mix engineer on "Loving You More" *Aiden Love – engineering on "Tripping the Light Fantastic" *Roger Lyons – engineering on "Quark" *

Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...

& Osborne – remixing on "Loving You More (Oakenfold & Osborne Radio Mix)" *Brian Transeau ( BT) – all other vocals, instruments and programming, recording, mixing, songwriter, arranger, producer

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1995 debut albums BT (musician) albums Reprise Records albums House music albums by American artists