 JIMI
TENOR |
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He changed his name to Jimi
Tenor from the slightly uncool Lassi Lehto. Tenor
after his favourite instrument the tenor sax.
Jimi because of his resemblance to the 70s pop
star Jimmy Osmond as a kid.
During 1989-92 made
four albums with his Shamans, a highly uncommercial
industrial group. The noise they made banging
on empty oil drums among other things, sadly
but not surprisingly brought him far too little
success. Time to lea ve Finland , he thought
and via Portugal , ended up in Berlin . There
he recorded his last album with his Shamans and
decided to give it all up for a while.
After
Berlin came New York , where he took up photography .
Days he worked as an official souvenir photographer
on top of the Empire State Building , trying
out more artistic stuff at night. His free time
he spent with his friend Jusu Lounela making
some really weird movies .
In
New York his music al style also started to develop
into a different direction. The relaxed, ironic
jazzy stuff he recorded in his kitchen was eventually
re lea sed as his first solo album Sähkömies (1994)
on Tommi Grönlund's Sähkö label.
Take Me Baby, one of the songs on the album became
quite a hit.
During an European club tour following
his second solo album Europa (1995),
Steve Beckett of Warp Records caught him stroking
a piece of meat on stage and was impressed to
such a degree that a deal was inevitable. Intervision (1997),
his debut on his new label, soon met with huge
critical acclaim.
The follow-up, Organism ,
was re lea sed in February 1999, and later on
Warp re -re lea sed his two first solo albums.
In autumn 1999 Jimi headed off to Poland to record
with a symphony orchestra, the result of which
was re lea sed in July 2000 as Out
Of Nowhere , his last re lea se on Warp.
He
says his greatest talent is faking, making people
believe he has a talent even if he doesn't. Well,
whatever he says, he makes great music , cleverly
combining elements from jazz, funk, soul and
techno into an enjoyable experience.
Jimi
who once after trying out contact lenses almost
lost his ability to see the world in his own
unique way, also moonlights as a fashion desi
gner and models his creations as Tenorwear.
Late
1999, in a quiet moment of a hectic schedule,
Jimi married Nicole
Willis in NYC. After spending year 2000
in London he has now moved back to Barcelona
, where the weather is better.
After his departure
from Warp in autumn 2000, he returned to his
original label Sähkö to
re lea se the EP Cosmic
Relief (2001) followed by the long play Utopian
Dream (2001).
Jimi's latest effort Higher
Planes (2003) is re lea sed on Kitty-Yo. |
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