I first heard Scrimshire’s material during a period when, amidst a flood of increasingly nonspecific deep house, I was seeking refuge for the soul. For me that came in the form of ‘Along Came The Devil One Night’, Adam’s first album and a personal epiphany, driving me to broaden my listening horizons and find new music that still touched the heart and soothed the soul. It’s much the reason I’m writing this now – it offered hope in what seemed an otherwise emotionless universe of digital generica.
On this, Adam’s third album, that theme thankfully continues. Barriers are broken and boundaries breached, the EP referencing a multitude of styles and genres with trademark guitar and funked accordion bringing the whole piece together. It plays like a very personal musical journey with a wholly honest and unique vibe banishing any hint of cliché. It’s a coming-of age story that I can only imagine Scrimshire never envisaged producing. And that’s what’s so captivating – it feels like music written from the heart without promise, predetermination or purpose. For someone experiencing tussles of the heart and mind having moved to the other side of the world, it connects.
Whilst I’d usually rattle something off about the standout tracks, this is an album that has been rarely curated as exactly such. It’s a performance to be enjoyed and embraced on joyful rinse and repeat. To quote Gilles Peterson, ‘contender for album of the year’. Enough said.
'Bight' is out on 27th May via Wah Wah 45s. | wahwah45s.com | scrimshire.com
In the build-up to the launch, Adam is releasing a number of 'postcards', videos set to album teasers that give a glimpse into the destinations the record is themed around - check the first one above. Follow @scrimshire on Twitter to keep up-to-date on new postcards in the coming weeks.
