Jimpster’s lockdown LP was made throughout 2020 and finally sees the light of day at the end of February 2022 having been delayed around 6 months due to the ongoing vinyl pressing hold ups. Birdhouse is the revered producers seventh full length LP and can be considered a full circle as he takes a step away from the dance floor to revisit his early inspirations of jazz, 70’s fusion, library music, ambient and sample-based downtempo electronica. With its soulful touches, vocal and live musician features and trademark warm Jimpster production, we also think it could be his most accomplished and accessible yet.

The opening title track sets the tone for what’s to come with rustling percussion, widescreen choral samples, dub FX and drifting pads all coming together to create a sense of optimism. The first of six vocal features comes next. Ascension with UK vocalist Oliver Night (featured on IG Culture’s recent Earthbound LP) is a simple soul jam with live bass from Nick Cohen and Jimpster’s beloved Fender Rhodes joining the lo-fi drum groove.

Next up we’re treated to Voodoo featuring brilliant young NYC MC/poet/producer who first grabbed Jimpster’s attention with his mind-melting track Signs, released in 2020 on Youngbloods. Yoh’s sung (not sung) vocal flow adds a new dimension to the Jimpster sound and is hopefully the first of many more collaborations to come with this perfect pairing. Still Believe takes us on a tripped-out journey into slo-mo, lopsided MPC beats punctuated with otherworldly vocal samples, live bass and Rhodes making for an immersive late night mood.

The first of two tracks on the LP featuring London vocalist and songwriter Cairo drops next entitled Beautiful Day. Another incredibly talented young artist introduced to Jimpster through a mutual friend, Cairo adds a deep and uplifting vibe making for a track you’ll come back to time and time again. A slow-burning nu-soul groove which will draw you in with its warm glow. Lazarusman is a Johannesburg-native poet and vocalist known for his collaborations with Stimming, Joris Voorn and Booka Shade. Here he delivers a poem called Heavy, perfectly punctuating the haunting reverb-drenched horn, Detroit-esque chord stabs and filtered drums.

Future Paradise drops the BPM’s further still for a slow-stepping synth ride mixing up rising arpeggios, dubby flugel horn FX and the lushest of strings. It’s been 15 years since Jimpster and Capitol A last joined forces on Left n Right from Jimpster’s Amour LP. Known for his work with Jazzanova, King Britt, Mark De Clive-Lowe and 2008 club anthem Serve It Up on Mantis, the San Francisco native MC delivers his inimitable flow to a blunted jazzy hip hop groove making for one of the LP highlights.

Up next, Rain is an intimate and understated slice of contemporary soul music which pushes another spellbinding Cairo vocal front and centre, underpinned by loose, crunchy beats, dusty keys and moogy flourishes. Picking up the pace, Doors Of Your Heart sees Jimpster get busy chopping up a funk groove whilst Nick Cohen lays down another killer live bass line. Lush keys, modular synths and some crazy FX processing take this into the stratosphere and call to mind some of his earliest productions in the late 90’s on his seminal LP Messages From The Hub.

Winding things down, Jimpster continues to revisit some of the sounds and flavours of his earliest work on Tell You, which goes seriously deep with touches of cinematic big band horns and a looped up vocal sample. Closing out the LP we have the aptly titled Full Circle complete with sublime Metheny/Mays-style pads, muted synth arps and subtle FX to drift away to.

Pre-order.

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2021 is a milestone year for Jimpster and the label he founded with Tom Roberts back in 1996. It was never going to be plain sailing all the way but their passion for discovering, making and releasing the music they love has seen them pushing into their 25th year with more enthusiasm and determination than ever before. Ahead of the release of his fifth LP, a four vinyl Jimpster Anthology and Remix EP we dive head first into the deepness of his Soul Spectral EP.

The title track is widescreen, late-night house music at it’s most evocative. Crackling Rhodes chords hang suspended in the air like morning mist on Hackney Marshes while Greg Paulus’ lilting trumpet spins us out into the stratosphere. Live percussion courtesy of Laroye adds an organic depth to the track, creating just the kind of loose, enveloping groove that Jimpster loves to draw us into. Sanguine continues the theme of sublime, heartfelt music for the body and soul, bringing together glacial synths, chopped piano samples with a simple, driving house groove which you will be more than happy to get lost in.

Flipping over we have Think Of You Always, a more uptempo house jam but one that stays true to the ethereal mood of the release. Textured layers come in and out of focus giving just a fleeting glimpse before fading into the shadows. Some elements floating across the 6/8 rhythm ambiguously whilst others are locked machine-like to the rigid pulse of the kick drum.

Rounding off this special release we have Jimpster’s own Dub mix of Soul Spectral which pairs things back to the rhythmic elements, stripping away the harmonic elements to let Greg’s beautiful shiny trumpet take centre stage.

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With his ‘One EP’ still getting love from the likes of Spinna, Jamie 3:26, Osunlade and many more, Jimpster strikes back with another release to lift spirits during these unprecedented times. Produced during the first few weeks of the worldwide lockdown, it was his intention to spread a message of positivity and optimism which can be felt on title track ‘Smile For A While’. The overall mood of the track has a slightly ambiguous yet heartening tonality, with a filtered looping vocal sample taking centre stage whilst piano lines and analogue arpeggios layer up adding depth and texture. The subtle and seductive groove will draw you in and its warmth and soul will make sure you smile for a while.

Flipping over to ‘Echoes In My Head’ which takes a more percussive approach based around a rolling bassline and crunchy live hihats. Taking a slightly darker route, ‘Echoes In My Head’ feels like Jimpster has successfully managed to get all his influences to meld together perfectly to form something cohesive and substantial. His love of 90’s ‘intelligent techno’, On-U sound, early US house, ambient, all going in the melting pot and forming a track which we’re sure will be something of a secret weapon for many DJ’s. Just the kind of track that can completely hypnotise a discerning dance-floor during the hazy hours.

Closing out the three track EP is the ‘Head In The Clouds Mix’. It’s an alternate version of ‘Echoes In My Head’ which heads in a more soulful direction. Piano chords and a bending bassline grab your attention whilst a percussion-heavy groove and dubby elements create space and depth to draw you in and ensure you get lost in its heady confines.

Pre-order.

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Opening track and our premiere today, Cityspell, goes for the jugular with a pulsing 16th-note bassline sitting centre stage while huge washes of deep pads layer up around it. Sirens and horn stabs join the scene adding increasing energy, making this one of those tracks that nails the balance between hypnotic deepness and hyped up intensity perfectly for the dancefloor. Flipping over we have Do U Luv Me? which kicks off with a simple one-note Moog bassline and syndrum white noise snares before some crazy, off-kilter cross-rhythm synth stabs join the party; cue heads running to the booth asking wtf?! Just the kind of wonky, outerspace sh*t that we’ve come to love and expect from masters such as Maurice Fulton or Recloose.

Finally Tee Mango closes off with another absolutely killer cut featuring live-sounding drums calling ‘Paperclip People’s Throw’ to mind with those rasping open hi hats and rolling two beat bassline. A tripped-out female vocal sample and extra acid-esque synth line add to the frenetic atmosphere but melodic arpeggiating chimes ensure things remain deep and musical. A really strong three tracker we’re sure you’ll agree. Pre-order here.

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Norm De Plume makes a welcome return to Delusions Of Grandeur following up last year’s Castlecrag EP which boasted a remix from the mighty Folamour. The Londoner, now based in Sydney, has been quietly making a name for himself over the last decade with remixes for Tornado Wallace and Ben La Desh and EP’s for Kolour LTD and his own vinyl-only imprint Plumage winning him a solid following along the way. His passion for all things disco and deep, dubby, underground house inspired by his musical hero Ron Hardy feeds through into his production style as well as his recently formed Analogue Discogue party which boasts an audiophile sound system and vinyl-only sets from the DJ’s.

For his latest release entitled the Squarker EP Norm gives us plenty of heat for the dance floor across three brilliant originals. The title track even manages to make a slap bassline sound good(!) with a healthy dose of dub delays and some deep, epic chords building into the mix. A crunchy disco groove with live hihats and congas keeps things loose and organic whilst remaining fat and punchy.

Flipping over we have Love Me So which works up an 8th note live bass line to great effect, filtering chords adding a nice tension until the point where an off kilter synth sequences joins to add the icing on the cake.

Closing out the EP we have A Stone Thing which takes a more housey approach with classic 909 hats bringing a shuffle feel and layers of chiming chord stabs adding a deeper atmosphere for the warm up or afterhours.

Pre-order here.

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Austin Ato is Scotland’s latest next big thing. Although this alias is fairly new with releases only popping up over the last year or so on labels such as Phonica White, Futureboogie and Me Me Me, Austin’s actually a veteran who has been releasing records for over a decade under various pseudonyms. In the past, he’s released as, Drums of Death, Frankie Dreams and The Slumberjack. That explains why his output already sounds so crisp and polished. His influences vary, leaning heavily towards disco but also taking bits from a multitude of sources such as afrobeat and beyond. One thing is certain though, his productions are built straight for the big room dancefloor.

His latest release, “Ella/Putting It In My Way”, forthcoming on the ever prolific Delusions of Grandeur is no different. ‘Ella’ takes a catchy disco riff and turns it upside down into a peak time stormer. The big synthy horns and mallet style percussion fit oddly well together, further evidence that Austin is not afraid to combine elements that don’t traditionally fit together. Our premiere today and the second single on the release ‘Putting It In My Way’ is a vocal bomb, combining both spoken word and the catchy hook after which it’s named. A deep sub bass and big swelling pads as well as the bloopy, percussion-heavy break only help to further cement it as another surefire party track.

We don’t need to tell you to keep an eye on Auston Ato as he’s already made a name for himself in an extremely short span of time. Make sure to grab your copy of the latest record here.

Igor

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For this week’s Times and Tunes, instead of a lengthy introduction we’ll let the artist walk us through their world right off the bat…and who better than the main man from Freerange Records and British stalwart, Jimpster for the task. We took some time to chat with Jimpster about his career hot on the heels of his newest compilation featuring all Jimpster reworks of amazing classics and heaters alike.

Hello Jamie! Thank you so much again for sitting down with us to chat in advance of the release. First thing’s first let’s set the scene a bit for our readers—-where in the world is Jimpster right now?

Hi Dan!   Right now I’m sitting in my studio at home in Essex with the AC on full blast due to it being 30 degrees outside.  I’ve got no idea how anyone ever gets anything done in hot countries.  My body starts to shut down in this kind of heat and I start to go into some weird reverse-hibernation state.  It’s a Tuesday afternoon and I’ve spent a few hours working on a remix for Jonatan Backelie aka Ernesto who is a great vocalist I’ve worked with previously and has featured on one of my Jimpster tracks from a few years ago called Bought To Bare.  Now got some label biz to attend to A&Ring some tracks and preparing some masters for our upcoming releases for Freerange and Delusions and I’m happy to say we have some amazing records coming up on both labels.  Summer is looking busy with gigs and I’ve got lots of nice new ideas bubbling up in the studio so things feel pretty good and despite hitting forty five this year I’m happy to say that my passion for making music and getting the opportunity to share music with people around the world still isn’t fading!
Just to level-set, a lot of the music we cover on Bolting Bits tends to focus on tracks and artists who are just bubbling up and starting to really find their voices; all of which to say you’ve been on the vanguard of dance music culture for over 20 years now. Can you give us a few of the major beats of your life that preceded your deep dive into music?

My first ‘break’ came to me through the chance to release on seminal London label Jumping’ & Pumpin’ back in the early 90’s.  I’d just started to make some pretty crude productions, inspired by nights out raving at places like The Essex Barn in Braintree and the World Dance and Moondance events in London and around the M25 orbital.  These were exciting times as there was a distinct DIY ethos in the air – people were hiring sound systems and throwing parties at every opportunity and we had a strong local scene in Essex with producers like The Prodigy, who grew up in the same town as me, and Shades Of Rhythm starting to make waves and becoming huge acts, all from tracks being made in their bedrooms.  My dad had borrowed an Akai S900 sampler from his bands’ studio round about 1990 so I set about learning how to sample and cut up breaks and sequence them using an Atari computer running some software called Creator.  Future Sound Of London had just released their seminal Papua New Guinea which sampled Meat Beat Manifesto’s Radio Babylon (a band I’d been following religiously since about ’88) and it just blew me away.  I was already starting to buy records and lifting bits from here and there and chopping them up in the sampler with the ten seconds or so sampling time which the S900 had.   The results were so basic and the production level was shocking  (I actually mixed these records using a single Carlsbro keyboard amp) when I listen back to it now, but I managed to get Jumpin’ & Pumpin’ to take a listen and they signed a track for a compilation called 16 Hardcore and Explosive Dancefloor Cuts Volume One.  Great title eh?!  I went on to do a couple of four track EP’s under the name Flag before changing name to Loxodrome and releasing one EP a few years later in 1994 which funnily enough some people have started playing out again and has become fairly collectable on Discogs which is nice to see. 

It wasn’t until I moved up to Manchester to study music at Salford University that I began to think about producing more music and had the opportunity to start a label with my partner Tom Roberts.  I’d begun to build an LP’s worth of material so we figured to put out a series of EP’s and Freerange and Jimpster was born.  I’ve always been into a broad range of music from soul, jazz, funk and disco through to electro, drum n bass and house.  Whilst I was gigging in various jazz, funk and latin bands in Manchester I began to hook up with other musicians, producers and DJ’s from time spent in record shops and out clubbing at The Herbal Tea Party, Hacienda and Fat City’s various parties and we were soon able to expand into releasing other artists on Freerange and taking our inspiration from labels such as Mowax, Ninjatune, Compost and Good Looking we’d try to keep things as eclectic as possible within the realms of club orientated music. Following those first few releases I began to get requests for remixes, the first of which was for Manchester band Lamb, and soon began to get offered DJ gigs locally as well as international gigs playing live as Jimpster.  These included playing the main room of the newly opened Fabric in London as well as some great festivals in Berlin and Japan which were all incredible experiences and definitely sowed the seed for my desire to perform around the world.  

That’s an amazing intro to the sampler—to briefly steer into your family heritage of music, you recently joined Gilles Peterson along with your father for a fun and carefree set. It’s clear he’s had a massive impact on your sensibilities and production…how has your respective careers affected the other over these last few decades? Maybe Roger has some favorites to share :)

Yeah, was great to go and do a show with my dad for Gilles and it was the first time we’ve done something like this together.  I’m not sure my own career has affected my dad’s too much but having musicians for parents – my mum is a singer – has obviously had a big effect on my musical upbringing and I feel very blessed and grateful for it.  Having exposure to a good record collection from a young age and having a lot of music on around the house when growing up is probably the single biggest factor in shaping my taste and now I have kids of my own, it’s something I try and be aware of home here.  Kids listen to music so differently these days.  Everything is two minute bursts and jumping from artist to artist so the idea of an LP which you stick on from start to finish is practically obsolete.  I was chatting to a sixteen year old recently about this and he said that most pop LP’s these days consist of seven or eight tracks, most of which are only about three minutes in length!  Whatever happened to discovering and falling in love with the more experimental and obscure moments on a cassette recording of an LP just because you couldn’t be bothered to fast forward it? With my dad being a drummer he got loaned some early drum machines back in the mid 80’s and I remember him coming home with a Roland TR808 and me flipping out realising I could recreate all the Electro beats I was break dancing to around that time.  I was already having piano lessons and had a Roland SH101 synth and with the help of some really basic sequencer software for my ZX Spectrum I was able to start putting some basic beats and basslines together and that was where it all started.  I’d go into the studio where Shakatak were recording with my dad and spend the whole day messing about on different bits of gear and was also able to watch the band recording and mixing tracks which was made a big impact on me.We’ve actually started to work together on a project of my dad’s so whenever we both have a spare day here and there we get together and work on stuff.  He writes melodies and lyrics and gets some basic chords together and then we develop them at my studio and record other musicians and vocalists.  It’s a lovely thing to be able to do and we both enjoy it so we’re currently working on our third LP together.

What a blessing and cannot wait to hear! With 2018 roughly halfway through, we’re continuously inundated with new players and further derivative takes on deep house, a deluge of 4×4 stompers with atmospheric pads and a nostalgic eye for the past. In this day and age of media saturation,  how do you go about balancing the support you get from long-time fans with the opportunity to engage new listeners?

I think we’ve always taken a fairly organic approach with both Freerange and Delusions and although we run things professionally we try not to get too bogged down in current trends or second guessing what’s going to be popular or successful. Hopefully that honesty and passion for the music comes across and may account for the fact that we’re still operating after nearly 25 years.Obviously it’s becoming increasingly important to understand social media and have an active presence, but in terms of our releases we prefer to focus on music we have a connection with and hope that if we’re feeling it then others will too.  We work hard to keep our ear to the ground and DJing out regularly and always being on the hunt for new music for my gigs help me stay on top of the new artists breaking through.  Sometimes, if we’ve signed a release which steers more heavily in one particular direction, then we might aim to get a remixer in to add a different edge, whether that be appealing to the more ‘vintage’ Freerange sounds or pushing in a new direction depending on the original tracks.
Can you tell us a bit about this recent LP that’s coming to light? It must’ve been a heap of effort getting all these amazing artists to jump in.

The Jimpster Remixes compilation we have coming up is the third instalment bringing together my own personal favourites from between 2008 and 2017.  This is the third Jimpster remixes comp and has twenty seven remixes including the previously unreleased Seal remix as well as a seventy minute continuous mix.  It always requires a lot of work whenever licensing material but in this case most labels were very open to the project and it all came together in around six months.  I don’t normally listen to my own productions that often once I’m finished with them, so it was really nice to discover how proud I am of this collection and that they’ve actually stood the test of time fairly well.  There’s a cohesive sound overall but I think there’s enough diversity within the range of tracks which means it can work if listening from start to finish.  But who has the attention span for that these days!?  The response has been amazing so far with the likes of Heidi, Detroit Swindle, Tony Humphries and Laurent Garnier all giving lovely feedback so I can’t wait to see how it goes down once it’s come out.

Wonderful to hear J Are there any highlights off the record you care to speak to? Perhaps some context that can add another dimension for our audience as they check it out!

Getting to remix Seal was a highlight for me as I’ve always been a fan of his and Trevor Horn’s production work.  His manager got in touch initially to let me know Seal was enjoying my stuff and he ended up loving my remix and asking me to get involved with him and Trevor Horn on his last LP called Seven.  This was a brilliant experience for me as I got to contribute a track called Life On The Dancefloor and work with them both at the legendary Sarm Studios in London where so many influential LP’s have been made.  I think the most successful of all my remixes in terms of sales is Osunlade’s Mommas Groove which I’m really happy we could include.  He’s a producer which I’ve always held in high regard so to have the opportunity to remix such a great original for one of my most influential labels – Strictly Rhythm – felt like I was starting to achieve some goals I’d always dreamt about.  To say I was a bit intimidated is an understatement but thankfully the remix all fell into place and came together really quickly.  Quite often I can spend several weeks working on a remix but this one only took a few days and it’s still getting played quite regularly by Moodymann which is definitely a good thing!

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Interview: Dan

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Sydney-based Londoner Norm de Plume has long plied his trade as a connoisseur of deep and dubby disco-inspired house. His own Plumage imprint has served as the regular home for his productions, though he’s had contributions and remixes on labels like Kolour LTD and Delusions of Grandeur as well. After serving as the host for Delusions podcast series for some time, Norm arrives with his first full EP on the deep house mainstay.

The title track on his new Castlecrag EP leads the way with an irresistibly groovy percussion section (cowbell included). Pulsing, filtered synths and a fat, rolling bassline serve as the main intrigue. It’s a solid pumper that sits nicely in the sonic landscape of Delusion’s catalogue and Norm’s dubby style. Meanwhile, the B-side hosts the midtempo chugger “Whole In One” and Lyon loverboy Folamour’s uptempo remix of the same track. You can already pre-order the EP on Juno.

We also popped over five quick tasty questions to the producer as well, to get to know the auteur himself a little bit more.

What are your top 5 favourites edits?
– First Choice: Let No Man Put Us Under (Ron Hardy Edit)
– Magik Edit Allstars: The Music’s Getting Stronger – (Billy Paul: “Only The Strong Survive”)
– Track Bandits: I Don’t Know If It’s Right – (Evelyn “Champagne” King:  “I Don’t Know If It’s Right”)
– Michael Wycoff: “Looking Up To You” (The Revenge Rework).
– Womack & Womack: “Life’s Just A Ballgame” (D.J.D & Arthur Blackbeard Edit)

If you were in a club in the bathroom for a few minutes and someone
asked you who you are, what would you say?
If I was just a punter I wouldn’t mention I was a DJ just my real name and where I was from. If I was DJ’ing there I’d tell them who I was and that I was playing and to come and check out my set.

What was your worst ever request while playing?
There have been many over the years but I think someone asked for Steps. This would have been late 90s.
Not even a particular song, just “play Steps”. To put it in context I was probably playing something on Mo’Wax at the time….

Who are your 3 house heroes you’d like to invite for dinner?
My boss Jimpster
Theo Parrish
SoundStream

What’s your favourite sandwich?
Mmm…tough one….but has to be a Lobster Roll, Connecticut-style.

Martín

Cet article Norm de Plume – Castlecrag [Delusions of Grandeur] est apparu en premier sur Bolting Bits.

Since launching our premieres section on Bolting Bits, we have done our best to relentlessly share with you some of the best underground dance music from around the world. It has required a lot of blood, sweat, and sleepless nights, but we would not change it one bit. For those that have been with us since the beginning, you might remember that our first premiere ever was of UK producer Franc Spangler, better known as Jimpster.

Now, several premieres later, things have come full circle. Once again, Jimpster will mark another huge milestone for us, giving us his latest original, Lightshine, to put us at 300 premieres that we’ve shared with you to date. Coming out on Suol on June 8th, this track will be accompanied by tunes from Till Von Sein, Quarion, Zepherin Saint, and Chopstick & Johnjon – rounding out Part. 2 of the Hallo Montag compilation series. The compilations are extensions of the weekly Monday open air parties (Hello Monday!) hosted by Suol where a multitude of guest DJs play their sunniest tunes in the fresh air.

Lightshine, the standout for us from this compilation has that signature bouncing bass from Jimpster which particularly reminds us of his standout tune English Rose. Lush pads fill the air while some congas flutter about until a sampled “Hey!” and dissonant jazzy rhodes signal that it’s time to transition into the meat and potatoes. The groove on this is straight out of Jimpster’s recipe book, meaning dancefloor-ready heat. As always, he manages to incorporate some fantastic melodic pads and even a flute-like solo that really carry the composition and give it a sense of a continuous development, more like a short journey than just another track. Serious summer heat perfect for those open air parties, certified.

You can buy your copy here.

Cet article Jimpster – Lightshine [Suol] est apparu en premier sur Bolting Bits.