I’ll say it – I’m not the biggest fan of hip-hop. Never have been, never will be. Apart from a few select records, like the Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z and Eminem, I’m just not a fan. It’s not that it’s awful music, it just doesn’t click with me. Regardless, you heard it here first – Man Mantis might just change my ideas about hip-hop for a while.

Currently hailing from Wisconsin, Man Mantis is a producer, multimedia artist and DJ who is working his insect ass off to become a major force in the local music scene. He currently releases his work on World Around Records, a dedicated hip-hop label. Man Mantis combines synth and beats with a raft of excellently placed and unique samples that will make you both smile and sit for hours trying to work out where they came from.

Cities Without Houses is an eclectic work, full of beats, samples and imagination. Album opener, Come Into My Parlour, is a chillout classic waiting to happen. It’s chock full of beats, bolstered by strings and sample-heavy, in a good way. This is followed by the gospel-tinged Minor Aches And Pains, which builds in Moby’s Play in a tremendously funkier way. Nothing on this album is the same as anything else. Other standout tracks include Boom Cloud, an off-kilter piece belied by an upbeat riff, and Les Bailenes, an airy work with a huge sense of space. Yes, they’re all roughly fitting into the same genre but each track is as different to the last as it’s possible to be. Behind the hip-hop aesthetic lies an absolute chilled classic waiting to be embraced by the masses.

Man Mantis makes music that fits a whole tonne of moods, from party time to quiet time, effortlessly. This is a real winner of an album, like Moby with a sense of humour and a decent mood. This is as good a Sunday morning album as you’ll find and, for sure, one of the most eclectic and unique releases of 2011.

You can grab a copy of Cities Without Houses via Bandcamp at http://manmantis.bandcamp.com/ and check out more about this unique and eclectic beast on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Man-Mantis/62464810541, Tumblr, http://manmantis.tumblr.com/, and MySpace, http://www.myspace.com/mantiskills.