Scrimshire – Along came the devil one night (Wah Wah 45s)

Released: 25/05/2009

There’s something about the contemporary english interpretation of jazz. People like Aaron Jerome, Quantic, Gilles Peterson and Dom Servini is pushing it from the couch towards the dancefloor in a way most people are probably not familiar with.

This is another great release on the amazingly consistent Wah Wah 45s record label. Two years after his debut single Adam Scrimshire finally released his debut album last year. I can’t think of one person I have played this for that did not ask for its name. More than one year after I first heard it, it is still on rotation. So it was about time I shared it with you here.

The opening bars of “The low road” slowly introduce the record with analogue sounds before the drums puts it its rightful tempo and make room for the vocals of Rob Hynd. Right from the start you appreciate the rich sounds and the balanced production.

“Springtime” is perhaps the most classic jazz number –  a delightfully light piece with Claire Lauren on vocals, before Rob Hynd is back with a slow and stripped down ballad – only backed by simple drums and guitar for most of the song. Norwegian Inga-Lill Aker supplies the vocals on one of the the finest tracks on the album – “Warm sound” and Stac (who recently released a brilliant debut album, produced by Scrimshire) has the pleasure of providing the lyrics on the final track.

Despite the vocal talents of his collaborators, the track that stands out for me is the instrumental ”All roads leads you home”. This is perhaps the biggest compliment to Scrimshire, as it underlines his strengths as a composer and producer. The song has been the soundtrack for those late night summer strolls the morning after the night before, when the sun is appearing and everyone seems to move slow. It is an instrumental track, yet a monumental track.

Scrimshire.com | WahWah45s | Amazon |