There's a lot of new music in my space at the moment. I slept on this one for a while but have been hitting play and replay a lot since the first time I spun it a couple of weeks ago- thanks to Dan for tipping me off.
JIM is songwriter, musician and DJ Jim Baron- his background includes being one half of Crazy P- and this album stems from lockdown, when life became more introspective and solitary. JIM's solo album, the unashamedly hippy- ish record titled Love Makes Magic, is a joy from start to finish. Balearic finger picked and strummed acoustic guitars. Harmonised, multi- tracked vocals that invariably bring to mind the sound of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Piano parts from late 80s house music. The subtle but funky push of drums from dance music. Ten perfectly paced and pitched songs.
Still River Flow is a beauty at the heart of the album, piano carrying the good times feel from the start of the song over percussion and drums. It's intended to sound like summer, carefree and exuberant, with the wind in its hair and the sun on its face.
Still River Flow also exists in reworked in an extended dub version courtesy of Damian Harris (aka Midfield General), the Generalisation Dub, stretched out and stripped down, available only as a download at the moment here. When the strings come in, over the bubbling bass, sweet backing vox, guitar and synths, it's almost too much. Then there's a piano breakdown and, frankly, I'm in pieces at how blissed out and impossibly good it all sounds.
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