Although he's been putting-out tracks for a couple of years now, 2004 will be remembered as the year that Jimmy Edgar truly made his mark on the electronic scene. Starting out with the hip hop-flavoured "Access rhythm" EP in January and then, last month, this delicious new six-tracker featuring a more complex milieu of burnished electro-r'n'b futurism that simply glows with dazzling invention. Young Jimmy is the Messiah. The heir to Detroit's techno legacy. Artist, fashion designer, skilled musician, software progammer, all-round clever-clogs. I hate him. But I love his music with a passion. Yet not everyone seems to share this view. Some people who's opinion I respect think he's rubbish, some even dismissing him without hearing a note. Why? I'm not sure. As my friend Aaron often says when faced with incomprehensible negativity: "what's not to like?"Take second track "Beau" for example. Like Kraftwerk's "Tour De France Soundtracks", it manages to sound minimal and expansive at the same time, as gorgeous clusters of delicately phrased synth texture dance across the stereo field, held together by an irresistible electro groove that I suspect would actually be beyond the capabilities of those Teutonic forebears. Or how about the beautifully nuanced stutter-beats and retro-moog swoops of "Uniform (citation)"? Totally lush - what's the matter with everyone?!
MP3:
Currently my top tune on this release, mainly on account of that wonderfully full-on, slightly outta-tune Arp Odyssey lead that just screams of early '70s synthesised jazz-funk, like Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon". Pure joy. If you don't like this, then the problem is with you, not Jimmy.
