Touted by DJ Mag and Beatportal as one of most hyped artists of the summer, and with her releases consistently making their way into Beatport’s Best New Melodic House and Techno Charts, Los Angeles-based Iranian DJ, producer and NXT event founder Mana Nabati – aka MANTi – is fast becoming one of the most exciting rising talents on the underground circuit. Crafting a unique and distinctive sound palette through an immersive education in Music Production and Sound Design at Point Blank Music School in LA, MANTi’s sonic journey is characterised by deep, melodic and atmospheric compositions that champion resonant basslines and vibrant synth work. Championed by some of the industry’s most respected tastemakers – from Âme and Jimi Jules to Innellea and Mind Against – her discography spans releases on a huge spread of leading labels including Automatik, ATLANT, Elektrons, Kiosk I.D., Marginalia, Zamna and Akumandra (to name a few), with debut offerings on Innervisions and Belongings already confirmed for 2025.
Purveying an avant-garde sound project, injected with deep musicality and raw, stripped-back minimalism, MANTi has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the industry over the course of her career, performing alongside the likes of Cirez D, John Digweed, Adriatique, Mathame, Kevin de Vries, Woo York and many more. Making her festival debut at Dreamfields Mexico in 2022, she has since caught the attention of audiences worldwide, leading her to grace the DJ booths of some of the world’s most renowned venues and festivals, including Berlin’s iconic Kater Blau and Germany’s Fusion Festival. Looking forward, with confirmed performances at the likes of BPM and SXM festival in early 2025 and brand new releases already penned for Innervisions, Belongings, ATLANT, Zamna, Marginalia, Automatik and Innuendo, to name a few, there seems to be no slowing the inexorable drive of MANTi, as she looks to leave her indelible mark on the global house and techno scene.
Twelve months on from the release of her critically acclaimed ‘Eureka’ EP, burgeoning Iranian producer MANTi now returns to Kater Blau’s Kiosk I.D. imprint with ‘Numa’ – a four-track EP that infuses her beautifully textured synth work and chord-crazed nostalgia with an eclectic rigour that transforms her hovering melodics into spaced-out dancefloor weapons.
Opening with the roller of the set, ‘Numa’ weaves a beautiful tapestry of melodic threads – warm saws, dramatic pads and metallic jolts – gradually and anthemically, atop a throbbing carpet of bass and white-noise drums. Enveloped in layers of wondrous pads, the title track tells a vast and dramatic epic within the framework of a crushing dancefloor track.
Up next, ‘Shade’ delivers an eclectic disco-infused groover. Oscillating between dark percussive drum structures, shimmering tambourines, funky guitar plucks and a nasal, spaced-out synth traversing fluidly above an infectious groove, Shade is a system shock, complete with ravey piano stabs and a breakbeat insert; unexpected, cosmic and powerfully musical.
With ‘Halo’, MANTi leans into a playful and exploratory sense of complexity, as found-sound percussion, pitch-shaking synths, piano chord chops and spaced-out vocal effects orbit a steadily hovering tone. Anchored by a relentless bassline, the track oscillates between wild escalation and a stripped-back and effective core.
Closing the EP with ‘Ashes’, MANTi unearths cycling figures of ethnically charged percussive grooves. Cascading chimes, cavernous synth impacts, and a morphing, soothing bass lead unfold a slow-burning roller rich in contrast; warm, spaced-out, drum-centric and heavy in atmosphere.
With ‘Numa’, MANTi delivers a diverse four-tracker that fuses richly textured melodies with – you name it – Disco, Chord House, Breakbeat, or her own brand of percussive and tonal experimentation. With this, ‘Numa’ ends up both intimate and expansive; designed for dancefloors, rooted in sonic storytelling, and at the bleeding edge of dance music.
MANTi – Numa EP is out now via Kiosk I.D.
