- When deep house grabs you, it recalls the best of Larry Heard, Theo Parrish or Masters at Work. But these days UKers don’t have to flee to other shores to feast on quality, souled-out grooves. On his longplayer ‘Amour’ Freerange Records founder Jimpster has spent a good while diving in and fishing among his inspirations, and now he’s served up enough sea bass and champagne for you not to worry about seconds. Are you ready to eat?
The thirteen-track effort kicks off in deep, downtempo mode. ‘In An Analogue Way’ and ‘In So Deep’ showcase Jimpster’s knack for creating textured and cosmic grooves in an original style, but ‘Left and Right’ is the first standout number. Capitol A (who has collaborated with the likes of Jazzanova, Ben Mono and Slope) is on the mic and the track has it all – crushing melody, grimed-up dancefloor beats and killer lyrics in a package that draws parallels with Rich Medina. I will bet cash that everyone from Alex from Tokyo, Dabrye from Ghostly and Gilles Peterson will reach for this. Wiping my lips after this third course, this feast is starting to taste healthy.
‘Seventh Wave’ kicks off in slightly Villalobos territory with a seismic wave underpinning soft clicks before the number dips into deep house clusters echoed with sad, emotional vocals. This track resonates around early Atjazz material, music that pushes emotion without sounding old or new – timelessless for all occasions.
‘Slipping Inside Your Love’ features vocals by Elsa Hedburg, and the only fault I can find with it is the title’s lack of imagination. The music? Clara Hill fans will definitely like this. ‘A Love Like This’ is a heads up to New York househeads featuring Diamondancer at the mic. Again Jimpster changes the tempo to a straight-up groove, the basslines a bit modular but still sliding – this would really energise dancers at Cielo or Shelter. Elsewhere ‘I Want It’ nods towards Metro Area without the Italo element, warm and starry-eyed with a hint of spice.
Overall ‘Amour’ asks you to only let yourself be open. It drives consistently over thirteen well-constructed edits, and while the downtempo numbers are overshadowed by the more edgy cuts, everything sits well. Like the new LP from Bugz In the Attic, this project features many different vocalists, and here it reinforces Jimpster’s vision of a deep jazz that is singular and intriguing. The songwriting and melodies are particular stand outs, giving the disc both sit-down and dance appeal – it’d be a useful tool for bar DJs in West London or in Vienna were deep house is top of the menu. Feed me slowly with emotion and passion – Jimpster has risen again. This one has instant “buy me” appeal, cool as fuck and UK based, which is definitely food for thought.