Insatiable traveller, Ian
Simmonds has seriously expended his scope over recent
years. As part of acid-jazz combo The Sandals in the
mid nineties, or through his solo projects as Juryman
or under his name, he has constantly worked at developing
soundscapes based on electronic structures infused with
jazz, dub and film music. Since the release of The
Hill two years ago, he has also become increasingly
respected as a remixer, and has DJed all over the world.
He is also a photograph and is now involved in film
making, recently setting up a film production company
with a couple of friends. Born in Wales thirty six years
ago, he spent part of his childhood in the States before
eventually settling down in Brighton where he now officially
lives.
Musically, Juryman’s third opus pretty much lifts
off where its predecessor, The Hill, ended
as Ian Simmonds continues his exploration of jazz and
exotic electronica. His sound has nevertheless evolved.
Escape To Where is a chronicle of his last
eighteen months spent travelling the world, and his
realisation that the world is becoming increasingly
uniform, with news and events being similar wherever
you are. Surprisingly then, this album appears lighter
and the music happier than on its predecessor, as if
Simmonds was using multicultural elements to underline
the intrinsic differences between cultures, and their
common denominators too. Still partly relying on vocal
collaborations to colour his compositions, with Brazilian
singer Cibelle, who also worked on Suba’s beautiful
Sao Paulo Confessions, bringing some South
American flavours to the delightful Belle’s
Poem, and Stretcher giving a slight darker feel
to Tin Soldier, Simmonds takes on most of the
vocal duties on the album, with the opening track, Overstretchin,
and later on Inside Steppin, being his best
and most noticeable performances here. Less contrived
than Return To
X, released last year under his name, Escape
To Where also misses some of the more delicate
touches of The Hill, which saw Allison Goldfrapp
bringing an ethereal tone on three of its best songs.
Simmonds offers here more upfront compositions, underlining
his melodies with recordings collected during his peregrinations
around the world, from tube announcements to street
ambiences and excerpts of conversations. Entirely produced
by Simmonds, Escape To Where is very consistent
all the way through and the discreet injection of exotic
elements gives it a unique touch.
If Escape To Where is not a true departure
from its predecessor, it builds on Simmonds previous
work and introduces some interesting new elements. The
album works on many different levels, resulting in a
more challenging listening experience than it appears
at first.
4.5/5 |
