Jimpster

Taste-maker, label boss, producer, DJ, remixer. Jamie Odell wears many hats and wears them well.

Under his Jimpster alias, he has become one the most revered deep house producer/DJs operating on the scene today. His esteemed labels Freerange and Delusions of Grandeur continue to help break incredible new music and equally impressive acts such as Detroit Swindle, Tornado Wallace and Session Victim. From his UK base, Jimpster has inadvertently become a standard-bearer and custodian of the authentic house sound, and carries this flag to the four corners of the world.

As he puts it: "House music has been my first love and passion since hearing 'Strings Of Life' for the first time at The Essex Barn in 1988 and I'm still inspired by the memories I have of that period when the whole electronic music scene was so fresh and exciting as well as being really broad and eclectic. One minute we were listening to Lil Louis' 'The Story Continues' and the next, freaking out to 'Radio Babylon' by Meat Beat Manifesto. Every track seemed to have its own strong identity and unique sound and I guess that ethos is something I try and carry through to my A&R for the labels. Certainly as a producer I am still striving to produce that perfect house track which will stand the test of time in the same way that those early classics have. The blueprint is simple: to inject life, depth, soul, sincerity and attitude. This is what sets the players apart from the pretenders. That challenge is what keeps me focused and inspired 25 years on and I'm sure it will keep me on my toes for the years to come."

His seminal LP 'Messages From The Hub' established Jimpster as an artist of note back in the late 90's and the music has flowed steadily and consistently since then, mostly on Freerange, with the 2006 excursion 'Square Up' on Ben Watt's Buzzin Fly label proving to be a (temporary) transfer of one London-based deep house icon to another.

Releases such as 'Dangly Panther', 'A Love Like This' and 'Can't Stop Loving' continue to be choice cuts for many DJ's whilst 'These Times' and 'Porchlight And Rocking Chairs', two more recent deep house anthems, were remixed by Dixon and KiNK to serious effect. 2015 shows absolutely no signs of slowing down with the 'English Rose' EP arriving on Freerange in early summer and a new hook-up with Berlin's Suol label kicking off with a remix of Till Von Sein's 'Booty Angel'. It continues with the Jimpster original 'Last Days of Summer' which is due mid summer.

Sterjimp? His current stat count as a remixer is touching a century and the acts to receive his midas touch includes everyone from Osunlade ("Mommas Groove" still being hammered by Moodymann on a regular basis), Solomun, Kollektiv Turmstrasse and Josh Wink ('Jus Right' stole the show at Dixon's 2015 Detroit Movement set) through to Bob Marley, Seal and Terrence Parker. Recent remixes for Detroit Swindle, Paxton Fettel and Da Posse all show that the inspiration is still flowing thick and fast.

As we head deeper into 2015, with Jimpster still doing the business at globally renowned hotspots like Fabric, Air and Watergate, a slew of new music on the way, the ideas flowing freely and with over two decades of experience to draw on we see clearly that the fire is still burning as brightly as ever.