Jimi Tenor: Kid Rocks.

Jimi Tenor plays The Zoo on April 23.

    There aren't too many acts alive today that could still be called crooners. It's all neo-rap / metal / house bullshit, and most of the new talent in the electronica side of music is taking no time at all to reflect on the slower side of life. Finnish artist Jimi Tenor is a true pioneer in his field, blending swing, cabaret, bossanova and electronica all into one irresistible package.

    Jimi is electric on stage, as any readers who caught his set at Livid a few years ago would know. He tours with a small band, usually brass heavy, and throws himself around behind his Fender Rhodes like a man possessed. He wails, screams, whispers and croons, all in turn, and in an hour long set didn't lose my attention once, which is pretty rare for a performer who dedicated most of his songs to an aspect of love. ‘This song is about love’. ‘This song is about a love lost’. ‘This song is about a boy in love’. And so on.

    I gave Jimi a call last week, and had a chat to him from his studio in Barcelona. He's relocated here for better weather and a nicer town, as he explained.

    "Yes I live here now. It's a lot warmer. That's a beautiful thing about the European nations, freedom of movement. If I want to live in Spain, I can, if I want to wander over to Greece for the day, I can. It's a beautiful thing. I've lived here for four years now, with one year in the UK. It's too rainy there though, and all the people are miserable.”

    "I've been loving it here. I just sit around, and write, and then tour for a week to somewhere in the world, play some shows and then come home. I've got a kid now, so I have to spend a lot of time with her. She's four months old now. It's really cool having a kid, it's very nice. She sleeps well. Sometimes I get to sleep."

    Sounds pretty natural for a new parent. I wonder if being a father will affect his music in any way.

    "What, do you think I'm going to start writing lullabies now? Maybe. I'll probably have more time to do music now, because I'm not going to the bars and drinking any more, so I'm at home much more. Maybe I'll discover a new me soon?"

    Maybe. Maybe not. So what's Jim Tenor's basic studio kit?

    "Well, there is my Fender Rhodes, of course. I would be lost without it. I write most of my stuff on it, and it's linked down to my Atari 520, which is fantastic. I do all my stuff in sequences on it, it's great cause it's only for music, it never fails and does what I need. I had a Mac for a while, which was OK, but it is a bit too big. The problem with the Mac was that you could do lots of stuff, send emails, draw pictures, write stories, and not just do music. So that makes it bad for my purpose. I need something that is only music for my purposes, otherwise it's just no good. I've got an old Roland S-550 for a sampler, and a DDX drum machine, plus a bit of other stuff. It's all I really need."

    What role does performing take in the music process for you?

    "I need the stage to make my life complete, because outside of that I feel very bland. I don't think I've got any of that charisma off-stage, it only comes when I'm in front of a crowd. I love performing, you just go and do it, and if it doesn't work it's still done, and you don't need to worry. But most times it is amazing on stage, and it all goes
beautifully.”