2006 was the year that Jim Rivers catapulted into the limelight with his hit debut single ‘Restore’, which was released on seminal label Saw Recordings. With plaudits coming through thick and fast, there was no time to put his feet up and enjoy the moment – filling up his record box with an arsenal of killer tracks, a new zeal (and passport) following this success, Jim embarked on a worldwide tour, taking him to clubs such as Pacha Buenos Aires, Zouk Singapore, Arma 17 Moscow, and AIR in Tokyo.
Crossing the many bridges between house and techno with relaxed dignity, Jim’s rare mix of educator and entertainer has undoubtedly played a mammoth part in his success and regular callings to explore foreign shores. As a refreshing rebellion against the one-dimensional progressive blueprint that deluged from juvenile producers grasping at stardom, Jim stood out from the crowd; emerging as both a DJ and producer who could inject clubs with warm musicality and ramp up energy levels on the dance floor.
Jim’s firm technical grasp for delivering stunning productions – as highlighted on his own tracks and remixes on sought after labels such as Saved, Simple and Four:Twenty – is coupled with the strong creative ability to coax original sounds out of them. Bursting with soul and character, Jim has also been called upon to remix tracks for Nic Fanciulli, Quivver and Steve Mac amongst many others.
2008 saw Jim collaborate with Paolo Mojo that raised the benchmark, taking Jim’s sound to a bigger and broader canvas. Releasing 2 tracks; ‘Darkplace’ on Paolo’s own Oosh imprint, and the powerful ‘Ron Hardy Said’, which was signed by Eric Prydz for his techier Mouseville Records. Flooded with melody and washed with driving synthesis; remixes of Milton Jackson & Sei A’s “Glasgow Kiss” and Morgan Page & Gregory Shiff feat. Astrid Suryanto “All I Know” on Bedrock swiftly followed.
2009 saw Jim develop his sound and status from ‘the one to watch’ into a more established, young artist, kicking off when Global Underground resurrected their much-adored Nu-Breed series and offering this epic release to Jim. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Jim stepped up to the plate, delivering a world-class mix coupled with a global tour that would leave most DJ’s weeping! The album garnered huge support from Jim’s fan base, industry and the media alike. GU Head Honcho Andy Horsfield stated…
“It’s been a long search, but finally I´ve found a DJ worthy of the nubreed series, welcome aboard Jim Rivers! Jim’s DJing, original productions, and remixing make him stand head and shoulders above the current crop of DJs; he’s a true star.”
Feeling very inspired after his Nubreed tour, Jim locked himself in his studio for a few months – resulting in a stunning array of fresh new tracks and remixes that are being snapped up left, right and centre by the likes of Four: Twenty, Tronic, Dieb Audio, Intec , Systematic and Blufin.
Whilst working furiously in the studio, Jim found himself exorcising his deeper side, and thought it was time to set free his alter ego… Suelo. Under this imprint Jim will unleash his twisted percussive and deeply coated releases. ‘Never Again’ is Suelo’s debut release on ALiVE Records and has been receiving rave reviews from a deluge of DJs such as Stephan Bodzin, Simon Baker, David Squillace, Laurent Garnier and Josh Wink.
When Jim Rivers dropped his ‘Airport Vultures’ EP on Intec back in 2011, he signified a firm statement that the reinvention of his tonal soundscape was one of serious intention. Backed with unyielding support for the EP from game changers such as James Zabiela, Riva Starr, Andy Cato (Groove Armada) and Tom Middleton, Jim closed up the tail end of 2011 by tying himself to the studio desk to put the masterstrokes to his debut long-player; ‘Airport Vultures’.
With a compelling new blueprint for a tougher sound, the album was released March 12th to white-hot praise from industry icons like Laurent Garnier, Gilles Peterson and Deetron, while chalking up heavy responses from dance bibles in Mixmag and DJ Magazine. A self-confessed fastidious producer, Jim’s vision and sonic production qualities all shine through on ‘Airport Vultures’ to deliver a product that while grounded in techno is compliment by the free-flowing strands of deep house and distilled disco that pieces the whole record together. The album also left on impression on Intec boss Carl Cox, who took it upon himself to supply a special DJ mix of the album tracks to accompany the LP’s release.
Currently on the road championing the albums arrival, Jim has just building plans for new singles and other studio projects forthcoming include a remix for John Digweed’s Bedrock imprint and a brand new 3 track EP.
