Released on SSR between 1997 and 2002, the Juryman trilogy by visionary electro-jazz artist Ian Simmonds provoked the emergence of a devoted core of followers, a kind of international secret society of people who were deeply under the spell of these life-changing albums. Juryman was described in the media as "One of Britain's most vital talents" (Mojo) and "A modern-day Mingus for the nu-jazz generation" (Mixmag), French daily Le Monde went as far as saying that "he's one of the inventors of today's sound, alongside Moby and Tricky", and Muzik described his music by saying that "it's like all the best bits of Gil Scott-Heron, Red Snapper and Ry Cooder rolled together, it bristles with widescreen energy... Elegant, deep, complex and constantly surprising".

With his haunted soundscapes, inimitable talking blues-like vocal style, inspired sharp lyrics, organic blend of electronics and live instrumentation, Juryman created a highly inebriating, soulful mixture which practically defined a new genre.

We’re now extremely happy to present this collection of 16 tracks which, for the most part, have come out on long-deleted records and have never been digitally available.
All produced by Ian Simmonds, they explore different directions of the Juryman world, including radical takes of some of his original pieces.  
 
 
 
Playground (Reworks) includes

- Three cuts from the Juryman 4 EP (1997),

- Eight remixes of tracks from Juryman’s brilliant debut album Mail-Order Justice, made by Ian and Spacer aka Luke Gordon (who co-wrote and recorded the album with Ian),

- Two pieces recorded for and released on our Freezone compilations,

- Four highly original Juryman reworks of music by other artists on the label: Tuxedomoon, Aksak Maboul, Suba and Taraf de Haidouks.
 
 
 
Mini- biog

Ian Simmonds was born in Wales. He followed his globe-trotter-cum-jazz-trumpet-player dad around the world, and thus spent part of his childhood in Australia and in the US. Originally a bass player, he was a member of early acid jazz cult band The Sandals, and moved on to write and record his own music. After four initial EPs, he recorded the Juryman trilogy for SSR/Crammed, with a handful of contributions by Spacer, Alison Goldfrapp (who sings on the 2nd album), UK hip hop crew Stretcher, Cibelle, Dagmar Krause (who did some spoken voice on album 1) & more. He also recorded two albums for Studio K7 as Ian Simmonds, The Wise In Time project with Crammed in 2006, and four subsequent albums. Ian has also been busy as a remixer (he's reworked tracks by Peter Kruder, The Underwolves, Suba, Taraf de Haidouks) and as a DJ (he's been performing in Japan, Russia and most of Western Europe). He's also a photographer and has set up a film production company with director Adam Smith (who has directed videos for The Streets, Stereo MCs, Goldie Lookin' Chain and... Juryman, of course…).
 
 
 
Track listing

1          Juryman — Playground
2          Juryman V Spacer — No Prints, No Trace - Reprise
3          Juryman V Spacer — Prophet And The Fool - Moot Rework
4          Juryman — East Of Here
5          Juryman V Spacer — R.S.I.
6          Juryman x Tuxedomoon — Chinese Mic Rework
7          Juryman V Spacer — Prophet And The Fool Rework
8          Juryman V Spacer — Personnel Wanted Version
9          Juryman x Aksak Maboul — Saure Gurke Rework
10        Juryman V Spacer — Big Future Shock
11        Juryman V Spacer — No Prints, No Trace - Rework
12        Juryman V Spacer — Submersible (12" Version)
13        Juryman — Song Of Future Town
14        Juryman x Suba feat Cibelle — Felicidade Rework
15        Juryman x Taraf de Haïdouks — Cind Eram la '48
16        Juryman — Playground Ritual
 
 
 
Discography

Juryman V Spacer - Mail-Order Justice (1997, SSR/Crammed)
Juryman - The Hill (2000, SSR/Crammed)
Juryman - Escape To Where (2002, SSR/Crammed)
Wise In Time - The Ballad Of Den The Men (2006, SSR/Crammed)
and
Ian SImmonds - Last States Of Nature (1999, Studio K7)
Ian SImmonds - Return To X (2001, Studio K7)
Ian SImmonds - The Burgenland Dubs (2009, Musik Krause)
Ian SImmonds - The Right Side of Kind (2015, Goldmin Music))
Ian SImmonds - All That’s Left (2019, Pussyfoot)
Ian SImmonds  - The Brunswick Variations (2021, Art Yard)
 
 
 
From the press

"One of Britain's most vital talents" (Mojo, UK)

"A leading light of the nu-jazz scene" (Music Week, UK)

"Introduces the panoramic mantle of Lalo Schiffrin and John Barry to Massive Attack's more contemporary vision" (Jockey Slut, UK)

"Hailed as a nu-electronic-jazz-messiah" (On, UK)

"One of the inventors of today's sound, alongside Moby, Tricky or Howie B" (Le Monde, FR)

"Alongside Kruder & Dorfmeister, Juryman is one of few producers to successfully breach the chasm that keeps DJ culture from more tangible, organic realms." (XLR8R, USA)
“Certainly one of the most creative composers of these last few years. A future classic” (Nova, FR)
“Equally stimulates our imagination and our sensitivity” (Libération, FR)