Two decades is a hella long time in dance music years, so for a label to have lasted the course is a sizeable achievement. Starting life as a simple platform for Jimpster to showcase his own love for house, electronica and jazz he was into, Freerange Records has developed into a UK house stalwart. As they celebrate 20 years, we asked Jimpster to pick out 20 milestone releases and discuss their significance.
The 20 Years of Freerange party takes place on 3rd Dec in London. We’ve also been told Jimpster is putting the finishing touches to his new LP, Silent Stars, scheduled for release in April 2017.
Marcel Wave – ’27 Holton (Serafin’s Back To New York Re-interpretation)’ (2008)
I love an excuse to go through the back catalogue for a dig to remind myself of some of the older Freerange bits that I’ve forgotten about or not heard for ages. This one from Marcel Wave (aka Tanner Ross) is a remix from Serafin of Mountain People fame and came out in 2008. It dropped at a time when I was really getting into the more minimal end of deep house and I absolutely loved everything that Mountain People were doing, so to have Serafin come up with this beauty for us was a dream. It’s such a simple groove and arrangement but when played on a big system it comes alive with all the little sonic touches here and there and the bouncing drum track never fails to move hips.
Philipp Brokelman – ‘Federation’ (2010)
We ran our Colour Series compilations up to 2013 and, although the series focused on the highlight releases of the year, we always made sure to include at least four exclusive tracks too. Many of these exclusives have gone onto became firm favourites of mine and I’ve just realised this list contains four of them. If someone asked me to try and sum up the label with one track this one from Philipp would probably be a good choice. Elements of jazz, techno and house collide to form a unique fusion. It’s very hypnotic yet powerful and very deep. It got nowhere near the recognition it deserves if you ask me!
Sai – ‘A La Carte’ (2013)
This one from Japanese artist Sai was another track which came to us out of the blue and I was instantly smitten from the very first listen. Very Detroit-inspired synths with a rolling house groove create a really nice mood on the dance floor.
Jimpster – ‘Just The Kind Of Girl’ (2009)
This was a B-side track from my Sleeper EP released in 2009 and was something of a sleeper on the release too. I didn’t find myself playing it that often until a gig in Pretoria a few years ago where someone requested it and went down a storm. In general I don’t find myself playing that many of my own productions when I play out but every now and then it’s lovely to rediscover one of your older tracks and for it to become a highlight of your set at a gig.
Salvatore Freda & Volta – ‘Western Spaghetti’ (2009)
This amazing EP from Salvatore Freda and Volta was one of the rare times that we pick up a release from an unannounced demo CD that arrived at our PO Box, and without any alterations or A&Ring of any kind. It felt great to release something that was pushing things a little bit out of our regular sound with this heavier, percussive and minimal workout. We’ve gone onto work with Salvatore Freda on several more releases and he is such an underrated producer and DJ as well as a lovely guy and his tracks always contain some kind of snake-charmer-esque character which makes them distinctive and memorable.
Lovebirds – ‘My Man (KiNK Remix)’ (2010)
Lovebirds on the original + KiNK on the remix = deep house banger. Nuff said!
Shimiko – ‘Push’ (2007)
Interesting fact: Shimiko is Sean O’keeffe, he of 2 Bad Mice fame alongside Rob Playford. But you would never have guessed that from listening to this track. With Push, he has made the most sublime, uptempo, deep, soulful house track driven by a percussion heavy groove and some beautiful Detroit stabs. Still playing this tons.
Blackjoy – ‘Untitled’ (2006)
When Tom Roberts picked up a copy of the original release on Project Recordings we were instantly blown away by ‘Untitled’. It has such a timeless quality and is so perfectly executed by Jerome Caron that it still gives me goosebumps thirteen years on. Three years after its original release we were still playing it and figured it would be an interesting project to bring remixes to and re-release on Freerange. Stephen Goldmann, Solid Groove and Kerri Chandler all delivered amazing remixes but still couldn’t compete with the simple beauty of the OG.
Ethyl & Flori – ‘Kobenhavn’ (2009)
This release in 2009 came at a time when we unfortunately operated as digital only for a year or so. Vinyl sales had dropped to a point where it was unworkable to be releasing it and I think this is the reason the release never really made the impact it deserved to. All three tracks on the EP are absolutely top-quality deep house with incredible production and a warmth and soul which is so often missing in these kind of tracks.
Subjekt – ‘Come On (Charles Webster’s Deep Kontakt Mix)’ (2003)
One of our proudest achievements at the label has to be discovering and releasing music from Dave Taylor of Switch, Solid Groove and later on Major Lazer fame. His skills just blew me away on an almost weekly basis during the mid noughties as he would deliver track after track with his incredibly fresh and unique stamp on house. Dave subsequently shifted into more pop orientated production and swanned off to LA to hobnob with the stars (although I’m not bitter of course!). The LP he did for Freerange under the guise Subjekt continues to be one of my personal favourites on the label, and the fact that it got slept on makes it all the more appealing in some ways. Although every single original is amazing, I’m going with the Charles Webster remix here. Charles is a total legend and genius house producer who never fails to create magic on his productions.
Jimpster feat. Jinadu – ‘These Times (Dixon Refix)’ (2013)
It was an honour to get one of my biggest inspirations as a DJ and as a producer on this remix for my 2012 release ‘These Times’. Once again Dixon managed to tweak the original into a perfect club version retaining the mood and sentiment of the lyrics but pumping up the beats and teasing out the arrangement for maximum floor satisfaction. I was nervous to listen to what he sent over but from the first eight bars I knew he’d nailed it.
Yennah – ‘Dyadic Shift (Audiomontage Remix)’ (2000)
This one’s going way back to 2000 for a remix I did under my Audiomontage guise and is a bit of an Afro-Cuban-techno-house workout. It’s got a slightly unhinged delayed effect going all the way through which gives it a darker edge but the congas and percussion keep things housey. I’ve heard other people play this out a couple of times and it always surprises me because it was one of those tracks I have absolutely no recollection of working on apart from the fact that it was done very quickly in one non-stop session.
Da Posee – ‘In The Heat Of The Night (Jimpster Stretchdit)’ (2014)
This Chicago classic from Da Posee in 1988 came to my attention around 1995 and it blew me away with its pure energy, raw production and brilliant vocal. We’re proud to have been able to give this classic a new lease of life and help introduce the track to a new crowd by remastering the original on vinyl and digital as well as getting fresh remixes from The Black Madonna and Adjowa. I also did a Jimpster tweak which makes the original a little more DJ-friendly which is the version I find myself playing out the most these days.
Hanna – ‘The Race’ (2003) [not on Youtube]
Another personal favourite from the vaults here from Warren Harris aka Hanna, a brilliant multi-instrumentalist and producer from Cleveland. I first discovered his music in 1999 in Tokyo where he released a brilliant LP called Severence on Japanese label Sublime and was instantly hooked on the wonky beats and crazy bass lines. His release for Sound Signature is well worth trying to track down although it’s become like the proverbial hens teeth these days. He completely disappeared off the radar about 10 years ago and has since had a fan page started for him on Facebook which gets a lot of activity and I’ve just seen that he’s made the latest Melbourne Deepcast so I’m happy to see he’s back up and running!
Manuel Tur feat. Alexander East – ‘Will Be Mine (Ian Pooley Remix)’ (2009)
Manuel Tur has been releasing on Freerange since 2007 when he dropped his Acordao EP with us. He’s done three LPs as well as plenty of EP and we’ve seen him back again recently with his Clavis project which has been getting amazing responses. The original of ‘Will Be Mine’ was from his debut LP 0201 but remixed here by none other than Ian Pooley, a producer I hold in very high regard and feel something of a kinship with in terms of style and how he works. I have to admit that I never really gave this remix a proper try out on gigs when it fist came out but re-discovered its potency a few years ago and have been playing it a lot again recently. Raresh has done his own edit for his sets and I’m hearing and seeing a lot of people playing and charting this one again.
Palm Skin Productions – ‘Magnetic North (Solomun Remix)’ (2008)
If any youngsters out there want to hear what Solomun used to make before he became the household name he is today then look no further than this little gem. Minimal, electronic, deep and in my opinion still sounds as good today as when it came out in 2008.
Salvatore Freda – ‘Irpinia (Massimo Di Lena Remix)’ (2010)
Another slice of Salvatore magic here but this time in Massimo Di Lena Remix form. Massi DL is another producer who flies way under the radar, using a variety of pseudonyms and collaborations to hide behind but believe me when I say this guy is a powerhouse! With a massive house release on Dekmantal as MFO as well as sublime jazzy house on Tartelet as Nu Guinea it seems that everything he touches turns to gold. This remix from 2010 samples Floorplan to make a peak-time banger which is still getting regular plays from Ben U.F.O and Benny Rodriguez.
Kito Jempere – ‘Confusion (Jacob Korn Raw Mix)’ (2013)
Kito Jempere dropped this, his Freerange debut in 2013, with a Jacob Korn remix that completely smashes it. This remix is another Freerange release which seems to encapsulate our sound at a particular time and boil down the elements of everything we love about house music into a finely tuned snapshot.
Manuel Tur ft Holly Backler – ‘Most Of This Moment (Isolée Remix)’ (2010)
Isolée is one of those producers that has reached an almost mythical kind of status through his fairly limited output yet consistent quality so we were very proud to have him onboard to remix this one for Manuel Tur back in 2010. He twists the original into a raw basement jam which sounds like he’s improvised the arrangement in one live take, very spontaneous and by leaving all these crazy vocals running in the back of the mix he’s given it a really twisted and psychedelic vibe.
Martin Patino – ‘Make Love’ (2011)
Martin has produced a relative small but exquisite selection of tracks over the course of his career so far but is unfortunately still relatively unknown considering the quality of his music. This string-drenched, beatless, orchestral workout has such an optimistic vibe, building and teasing throughout the arrangement, keeping the dance floor on tenterhooks and boosting the seratonin levels of all who hear it.
The 20 Years of Freerange party takes place on 3rd Dec in London. We’ve also been told Jimpster is putting the finishing touches to his new LP, Silent Stars, scheduled for release in April 2017.
