Review

Calm & Jimi Tenor

Big City Takes EP

Hell Yeah • 2023

The Finnish pretty-much-all-rounder Jimi Tenor clearly loves to make music with other artists: ranging from Tony Allen and Yesterdays New Quintet to Kabu Kabu and DJ Sotofett to the Bigband Dachau and the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra. Initiated by the label Hell Yeah, Jimi Tenor was given the chance to collaborate with Tokyo producer Calm during a tour of Japan in 2018. The title track is lusciously arranged and grooves along slowly and lasciviously and is accompanied by soulful vocals from Tenor, all perfect for a midnight cuddle session. This is followed by two tape remixes, with the first staying relatively close to the original despite the 90s drum breaks, and the other adopting the original rhythm to draw you onto the dancefloor with its shimmering synths and soaring beats. Calm’s version of »Time And Space« is a dreamy, upbeat downtempo piece, as suitable for sunrises as it is for spring awakenings, while the remix of »The Vendetta Suite« shifts the track more in the direction of New Age and chill-out with its Indian percussion and reverb effects. As a bonus, Jimi Tenor is invited to break out his flute one more time on »Trans-Siberian Express« and add an extra portion of mysticism to the psychedelic dub with his jazzy interjections. A cosmopolitan EP in the best possible sense, influenced by many places and yet out of this world.