jimi tenor is a busy man. not only has he lived all over the place – berlin, nyc, barcelona, he's realeased his music on various labels – warp records, sähoh etc. and has also worked as a photographer. his music ranges from relaxed, ironic jazz to minimmal techno. one to check.

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jimi tenor & rhythm taxi - live in berlin
the upcoming first livealbum by our musical genius, funk mastermind and lovely weirdo jimi tenor. he has been riding the white horse on stage and now finally he is back with this impulsive, musical expression. 'live in berlin' is by no means a hi-fi concept live album. instead it has managed to retain the refreshingly spontaneous nature of tenor's live performances which are increasingly rooted in his laid-back and relaxed demeanour which has steadily developed over the years. once again rhythm taxi, who are renowned for being at the very heart of berlin's afro and reggae scenes, teamed up with jimi. review: no.1

mp3: finetunes | itunes | musicload | emusic

jimi tenor - beyond the stars
more soulful offerings from jimi tenor. still stimulating for comparisons, zappa, soundtracks of the 70ies, softpornos, spike jones, sun ra and many more. no tribute to the past but a personal evaluation of significant sounds, that were combined to homogene, smooth recordings. it's all in there... singing birds, little waves of finish lakes, the barcelona buddhist community and probably by one or two glasses of caxa. tasty!

mp3: finetunes | bleep

cd/lp: kitty-yo popstore

jimi tenor - higher planes

the king of sleazy listening returns, two years after utopian dreams, with another slice of decadent hybrid pop fusion. tenor admits that he’s always felt a bit of an outsider in life, and his music is as unconventional, bringing together influences ranging from jazz, easy listening and film music to psychedelic rock and cabaret. born lassi letho, he changed his name to jimi tenor when he formed jimi tenor & his shamans in the mid eighties. the band, described as a noise/industrial outfit, released four albums between 1988 and 1992. just before the band split, tenor moved from his native finland to portugal, then berlin, finally ending up in new york where he worked as an official souvenir photographer on top of the empire state building for a while. he hadn’t given up music though, developing a jazzier, more laidback sound. his first solo album, sähkömies, was released in 1994 on tommi grönlund’s helsinki-based sähkö recordings label. his second album, europa, and the consequent tour, brought tenor to the attention of warp’s steve beckett who signed him almost immediately. his first album for his new label, intervision, made a strong impression on the european circuit. mixing jazz influences with electronic elements – his video-game rendition of duke ellington’s caravan remains one of his most intriguing moments – intervision gave tenor the opportunity to explore new avenues and allowed him to be more adventurous on his following releases. the darker organism, possibly tenor’s masterpiece, failed to connect the finn with his new fans in similar ways, and the orchestral out of nowhere, his last record for warp, did very little to recover the situation. the stripped down follow up, utopian dream, released in 2002, marked the man’s return to sähkö, a label he remains very linked to. higher planes denotes yet another slight alteration to the tenor sound. more ambitious than its predecessor, the album shows jimi incorporating some elements of the finnish culture, on tracks such as tapiola, loosely based on a couple of old traditions and legends, the song’s lyrics denote an element of slight erotism, with tenor hammering a 'roll in the grass, roll in the grass, roll in the grass' 'ritornelle. kicking off with the funk-fuelled instrumental cosmic drive, the album calms down rapidly with the beautiful title track, inspired by the creation of the universe and the birth of his first child, that he sees as a creation of the universe on a personal level. combining the complexity of orchestral arrangements of out of nowhere with the more spontaneous approach heard on utopian dream, tenor seems perfectly at ease with this collection of upbeat songs, unashamedly picking his way through 70’s psychedelic rock and fusion jazz. his compositions seems more mature, with tracks such as good day, dirty jimi or nuclear fusion revealing intricate melodies, served by tightly controlled arrangements. for this seventh solo album, jimi tenor has developed his sound further than ever before, creating one of his most consistent and enchanting work to date.

mp3: finetunes

cd: kitty-yo popstore