J.Bernardt, the alter ego of Jinte Deprez (Balthazar), releases his third
studio album Wild Swim on Play It Again Sam. The
second single, Love Is on My Mind is an irresistibly groovy earworm
about a new starting point met with astonishment. It’s the second
glimpse of a record that reveals the most unguarded version of
J.Bernardt to date: wild, warm, and bursting with life.
In contrast to his previous albums, Jinte chose to step outside of
anything familiar in his creative process. He travelled alone to Los
Angeles, where he leaned into a caricature of himself: the washed-up
European musician landing in America to reinvent his life. This time, it
wasn’t the musical all-rounder but the singer in J.Bernardt who boarded
the plane.
At 64 Sound Studio, he worked with producer Paul Butler (Michael
Kiwanuka, Devendra Banhart), who created an intuitive environment in
which Jinte found his most liberated vocal performance. “On my third
solo record, I truly felt for the first time what singing can feel like.” Los
Angeles itself also left its mark. The city’s uncompromising energy
collided head-on with Jinte’s West Flemish instinct for restraint. “In the
US, there is no time for subtlety. You surrender to your impulses.”
Many of the songs were recorded live, in fiery one-take performances
with drummer Lewis Wright (Alabama Shakes), bassist Peter Randall
(Adele), and keyboardist Mitchell Yoshida (Edward Sharpe & The
Magnetic Zeros). The result is a more open and expansive sound.
J.Bernardt’s recognisable signature remains, but expands into a retro-
modernist sound, smouldering rhythms, and sprawling melodies. The
Motown-like backing vocals of Lex Noblitt, Isabel Whelan and Dasha
Chadwick weave throughout the record, forming a thrilling
counterpoint to his vibrato. Butler's kaleidoscopic production makes it
feel as if every window in J.Bernardt’s mind has been thrown open at
once. The record is euphoric and reckless.
