Wild Swim J.Bernardt

• 1 Four In The Morning 03:37
• 2 Remedy 05:01
• 3 Big Fat Moon 03:21
• 4 Children 05:48
• 5 Big Hopes 03:56
• 6 Love Is On My Mind 03:23
• 7 Wild Place To Start 03:21
• 8 Echo Chamber 03:35
• 9 Favorite Song 05:02
• Total Runtime 37:04

Info for Wild Swim

J.Bernardt, the alter ego of Jinte Deprez (Balthazar), releases his third studio album "Wild Swim".

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.

Thematically, too, J.Bernardt takes a new direction. Where his previous records were strongly autobiographical, he now opts for a more universal perspective, embracing a manic celebration of the randomness of life. The songs don’t anchor themselves in reason, but in feeling. A balancing act between lust for life and a kind of euphoric nihilism. “After the wreckage of a breakup, eventually you reach the point where you can see the humour in life again.”

Jinte is also the singer of Balthazar, one of Belgium’s most acclaimed alternative rock bands. The band has been active for over 20 years and has sold more than 600,000 albums worldwide.

J.Bernardt, vocals, guitar
Lewis Wright, drums
Peter Randall, bass
Mitchell Yoshida, keyboards

Produced by Paul Butler

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This album contains no booklet.