Interview: Jimi Tenor Discusses Selenites, Selenites!—A Fusion of Jazz, Spirit, and Sonic Freedom

For more than three decades, Jimi Tenor has remained one of the most unpredictable, genre-bending artists in contemporary music. From his early blend of lounge jazz and acid techno to his later explorations of Afrobeat, spiritual jazz, and electronica, his career is defined by constant reinvention. With his forthcoming album Selenites, Selenites!—the debut release from the newly formed Jimi Tenor Band—he shifts into a sound shaped by deep collaboration, live energy, and a return to the raw musical intimacy that has always inspired his most striking work.

Recorded across two distinct spaces—the Electric Avenue studio in Hamburg and the Kiikala Center of the Universe in rural Finland—the album reflects the chemistry of a band forged through shared experiences, from pandemic-era kitchen rehearsals to numerous live performances. What emerges is a sonic journey through space, sunlight, harmony, and human connection. Selenites, Selenites! pulses with warmth, humor, intuition, and the unmistakable sparkle of musicians who trust each other completely.

Ahead of the album’s November 18 release on Bureau B, Exposed Vocals spoke directly with Jimi Tenor about the process, the band’s origins, the influence of a cappella rehearsal, and the cosmic ideas that shaped the record. Below is our full interview.

Exposed Vocals: First off—congratulations on Selenites, Selenites! What does this debut from the Jimi Tenor Band represent to you at this point in your musical journey?

Jimi Tenor: It was fun to do an album with the same guys that I tour with. Many times I have done projects with people that are either session guys or a group that I meet the first time when we are at the studio. To do an album with your own band is definitely a great chance. I’m always excited to go to studio and I find writing music a lot of fun. It still feels like a hobby after all these years. I have a feeling that I have had a good balance when it comes to the amount of gigs played, or how much time I spend in studio. And on top of that, of course, that I have some other hobbies to give my brain some time to breathe between music sessions. You know, I never had enough success to go on tours that last a year or something…I don’t know how that would feel actually…must be tough.

Exposed Vocals: You’ve worked with a wide range of legendary collaborators—what made this current group of musicians in Helsinki feel like the right team for this project?

Jimi Tenor: Like I mentioned, we have been playing a lot of gigs with this band and we’re quite tight musically. We’ve played some of the songs live already plenty of times so in studio it wasn’t that hard to get them recorded. Most of the people I have ever worked with have been really nice personalities and I have felt almost always like it’s a family picnic or something when we are in studio.

Exposed Vocals: The pandemic-era a cappella rehearsals in your kitchen are such a compelling image. How did that shape the chemistry and creativity of the band?

Jimi Tenor: That definitely glued us together. We didn’t know each other that well in advance so it was a bit scary to start doing the vocals in our kitchen a cappella. So raw, you know. In a band environment it’s fairly easy to hide behind the volume of electric amplifiers and stuff. But we are all quite good singers and competent in music theory and harmony. So in that sense it was a professional session we had in the kitchen. I want to write more vocal harmonies when we start writing more music for the follow-up album.

Exposed Vocals: The title Selenites, Selenites! conjures imagery of space and exploration—what’s the deeper meaning behind it?

Jimi Tenor: I guess that we are like the moon people. Little bit strange. But in my imagination the Selenites sing in beautiful harmony. A cappella. No instrumentation at all. Perhaps a space harp or something. And like my song says they are “radiating the spirit of Ra.” I would suppose that Selenites that hide in the regolith get one hundred percent of their energy directly from the sun. That is from Ra.

Exposed Vocals: “Sunny Song” radiates warmth and joy. Can you talk about how that track came together and what makes it special?

Jimi Tenor: I am a sucker for sing-along tunes. I don’t think originally the song was supposed to be so simple and acoustic, but it turned that way by chance. In fact, I have a feeling that the whole songwriting process started from the cryptic rising chord progression in thirds which happens at the end of every verse. A lot of the times I write about sun, sunrise and mornings. That is the time when I write music and many times I forget how I got them together. I think I’m still not fully awake and I manage to go into a flow state of mind.

Exposed Vocals: Florence Adooni makes a return appearance on “Shine All Night.” What drew you to work with her again, and what was that session like?

Jimi Tenor: I was thinking it would be great to get her to sing on one of my tunes. I like her straightforward delivery and this track is perfect for that. No vibrato or extra embellishments whatsoever. Max Weissenfeldt actually was the recording engineer for her vocal take. She was on tour in Germany and did the take during an off day. I had to ask her to do it again though because she first sang too easygoing.

Exposed Vocals: What was the vibe like recording in the Kiikala Center of the Universe—with home-cooked meals and that remote Finnish energy all around?

Jimi Tenor: Again it was like a boy scout camp. Recording all day and in the evening Lauri’s parents had cooked us meals using the stuff they had hunted from the forest. Or picked mushrooms etc. It’s a great place to do recordings because you can’t escape.

Exposed Vocals: Having performed most of these songs live before recording, did that shape the final takes in the studio? Were many captured in one take?

Jimi Tenor: We did maximum two takes. Usually the second take was good. Of course it would be optimal to use the first take. We do that as often as possible. First take is important if you do long solos and improvisation. I find that I don’t want to improvise similar stuff take after take, even if the ideas were good. So in that sense the first take is perfect to keep. It’s not only magic that the first take is the best. It’s also science.

Exposed Vocals: With your genre-defying style spanning lounge jazz, electronica, Afrobeat, and spiritual jazz, how do you stay inspired to keep evolving?

Jimi Tenor: I have other interests in life besides music. Cooking, a bit of sports to stay fit. Drinking as well to have social life. But sure, I listen to a lot of music. Last two years a lot of Brazilian music.

Exposed Vocals: Lastly, what can fans expect from the Jimi Tenor Band after this release—any upcoming live dates, visuals, or more new recordings?

Jimi Tenor: Yes, some gigs in March and April for sure. I believe we will be doing festivals during the summer. I try to stay busy. I am in the middle of making a simple 16mm scanner for primitive animation films for the album. I think just short loops. But who knows. I hope to make another art exhibition. I’ve been making these monotypes using a worm-eaten fir tree branch.

Final Thought:
Jimi Tenor has always thrived at the intersection of experimentation, intuition, and playful creativity. Selenites, Selenites! captures a new chapter in that evolution—one shaped not just by genre-blurring instincts, but by the camaraderie and shared sonic language of a fully realized band. It’s an album born from connection, curiosity, and cosmic imagination, proving once again that Tenor remains in a field entirely his own.