IAN SIMMONDS - Nu Jazz | ArtfullSound Production

IAN SIMMONDS - Nu Jazz

"The Ballad Of Den The Men" is the new brainchild of the prodigious Ian Simmonds, the visionary artist whose previous albums as Juryman and under his own name were unanimously acclaimed.

The Juryman touch is totally recognizable in "The Ballad Of Den The Men", with its haunted soundscapes, his talking blues-like vocal styleŠ Yet this album sees Simmonds leave the shores of pure electronic music and ascend to new heights: by combining folk guitars, electric pianos, jazz tangents and electronic textures with his inimitable voice and inspired, sharp lyrics, he's created a highly inebriating mixture which practically define a new genre.

To create this new project, Ian has left England and moved to the easternmost part of Germany. He settled in the small town of Jena which, appropriately, is both the historical cradle of the German Romantic movement - Goethe and Schiller lived there - and of Zeiss, major trailblazers in precision optics("Doesn't Ian's writing seem to be poised somewhere in between?" Asks a facetious observer). There he recruited four very young & talented musicians, students in the renowned Dresden jazz school, to form the Wise in Time band.

Wise in Time will start touring extensively from the spring on. The fact that this project will mark Ian's return to the concert stage will delight the happy few who have attended one of his rare and exceptional gigs a few years ago, around the release of the Juryman vs Spacer album (such as for instance the Rennes Transmusicales show, or one of the UK gigs on which the band's vocalist was an as-yet-unknown Alison Goldfrapp...)

Ian Simmonds was born in Wales. He spent part of his childhood following his globe- trotter-cum-jazz-trumpet-player dad around the world, and thus spent part of his childhood in Australia and in the US (as witnessed by the cover illustration of this album). Originally a bass player, he was a member of early Acid Jazz cult band The Sandals, and moved on to write and record his own music. He's released five acclaimed albums between 1997 and 2002 (see discog below). Besides creating his own music, Ian has been increasingly busy as a remixer (he's reworked tracks by Peter Kruder, The Underwolves, Suba, Taraf de Haidouks) and as a DJ (he's been performing in Japan, Russia and most of Western Europe). He's also a photographer and has set up a film production company with two friends, including director Adam Smith (who has directed videos for The Streets, Stereo MCs, Goldie Lookin' Chain and Juryman, of course)

PRESS QUOTES:

"Introduces the panoramic mantle of Lalo Schiffrin and John Barry to Massive Attack's more contemporary vision" (Jockey Slut, UK)
"Hailed as a nu-electronic-jazz-messiah" (On, UK)
"One of the inventors of today's sound, alongside Moby, Tricky or Howie B" (Le Monde, France)
"Alongside Kruder & Dorfmeister, Juryman is one of few producers to successfully breach the chasm that keeps DJ culture from more tangible, organic realms." (XLR8R, USA)
"One of Britain's most vital talents" (Mojo, UK)
"A leading light of the nu-jazz scene" (Music Week, UK)
"A glimpse into as-yet-unexplored worlds" (Les Inrockuptibles, France)
"A most rewarding expedition" (DJ)
"Brilliant. Album Of The Week" (Update, UK)