Yes there is

It’s the second time Jimi and I are off to outer space. The first liftoff was about a quarter century ago. A lot of time here on the planet, entirely neglectable in cosmic dimensions. It was a little 10″ I dug out of the shelves of a Frankfurt record shop, a really cool, happy and funky little tune called “Outta Space”. It spent years in my DJ bag, and it has a lead role in my finest dj mix ever 🙂 (Listen here)

Didn’t waste much time, secured a copy of the album that featured the track, “Intervision”. And the one he did with Tony Allen. And “Europa”. And “Organism”. And half a dozen more. The only thing I completely regret is that I haven’t been able to catch the guy on stage. But maybe it’s the best time to do this anyway. Especially if he’s on tour with fellow Fins Cold Diamond & Mink who are his partners on this album.

“Is There Love In Outer Space?” is the question he puts on the cover of it, and in the first track. Outer Space, not Outta Space, and that’s not trivial, Jimi delightfully grooving way out there in ’99, spaced out and all, and traveling on a more philosophical trajectory right here in 2024, wondering how it might be possible to find love in a space age, finding it being a very, very long shot when the one you are destined to spend your life with might not just be a few thousand miles away from you, but more like a few lightyears.

It’s such a beautiful ballad, so wonderfully crafted and played. I fell in love with the album after less than a minute. The coolness! The tenderness! The style! The drums! Damn! I thought that no one could be as precise and minimal and cool on a small drum kit as Khruangbin’s Donald Johnson, Jr. – but no, here you go, Jukka Sarapää of Cold Diamond & Mink is right up there with him.

Just listen to what he, Jimi and Sami Kantelinen are doing on “Gaia Sunset Pt. 2” – nothing but a massively cool drum beat, a beautiful warm bass and Seppo Salmi adding one of the most elegant guitar riffs of the decade… It just goes on and on and on, drifting into four minutes of spiraling loveliness – if the first track hadn’t lifted you off your planet this will have you floating through eternity in the most comfortable and most splendid-looking space suit ever.

I could listen to this for hours. But hey, there’s that other side as well, and after having crossed a few hundred million miles of emptiness, we’re finally “Orbiting Telesto”, a tiny little moon with a radius of just 7.7 miles, forever circling around Saturn, together with his buddy Calypso. Smooth little space stone, almost as smooth as this five minute groover. Wonderful space melody, funky beat, choirs and Jimi on flute – it’s like a piece straight off an obscure 50s science fiction flick that puts a little bit more emphasis on style than story – and enticingly so.

No idea how far it is from Telesto to “Laputa”, and whether this refers to the “Castle In The Sky”, but it’s another infinitely relaxed slow groover that demonstrates all the magic that is created by Jimi and his friends, the spaceship slightly changing course to where Leon Michels is so elegantly navigating his El Michels Affair project.

After all the coolness and all the floating in space, Jimi and his buddies really feel like getting their feet back on solid ground, a dance floor ideally, yearning to see their dance partners “sweaty and hot”, hey, what are you doing, you got me grooving! Let’s get that flute out one more time and throw in a few notes supported by the only Fins that are able to transform themselves into a JB’s rhythm section, ah, this is so much fun after all those orbits and the warp speed and the weightlessness. So good to feel human again.

And yet – you might just feel compelled to get back to the launch pad and get on the same trip one more time, returning to the opening question “Is There Love In Outer Space?”. The answer is infinitely simple. This album has you out in space in no time, and yes, you can’t help but love it. There you have it. The proof is in the album.

Release for review:
JIMI TENOR – IS THERE LOVE IN OUTER SPACE? – TIMMION RECORDS – TRLP-12014

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