New Audio: J. Bernardt Returns with Soulful and Cathartic “Children”

Jinte Deprez is an acclaimed singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, programmer and producer, best known as being one-half of the songwriting duo behind the acclaimed Belgian JOVM mainstays Balthazar. Over the course of their two-plus decades together, the acclaimed Belgian outfit has played across the global festival circuit with sets at All Points East, British Summer Time, and others — while selling over 600,000 albums globally. And during that same period of time, Deprez has firmly cemented a reputation for being a wildly talented generalist: Along with his songwriting partner and bandmate Maarten Devoldere, Deprez has co-produced three of Balthazar’s five albums to date. 

Deprez is also the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed solo recording project J. Bernardt, With J. Bernardt, Deprez has released two albums, 2016’s self-produced Running Days and 2024’s Tobie Speleman and Deprez co-produced Contigo. His third J. Bernardt album, the Paul Butler-produced Wild Swim was just released today through Play It Again Sam.

Unlike his previously released work, Deprez chose to step outside of anything familiar in his creative process. He travelled alone to Los Angeles, where he leaned hard into a caricature of himself: a washed-up European musician landing in America to reinvent his life and his carer. He learned so hard into the caricature that it was as though Jinte Deprez didn’t get on the plane; but rather, J. Bernardt.

Recorded at Los Angeles-based 64 Sound Studio, Wild Swim‘s producer Paul Butler created an initiative environment in which Deprez found what may arguably be the most liberated vocal performance of his entire career to date. “On my third solo record, I truly felt for the first time what singing can feel like.” he says. Los Angeles itself also left its mark on both Deprez an the recording sessions. The city’s uncompromising and frenetic energy collided head-on with the acclaimed Belgian artist’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 in fiery one-take performances with Alabama Shakes‘ Lewis Wright (drums), Adele‘s Peter Randall (bass) and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’ Mitchell Yoshida (keys). The result is a more ope and expansive sound that retains the project’s signature but expands into a retro-modernist sound with smoldering rhythms and sprawling melodies. The Motown-like backing vocals of Lex Noblitt, Isabel Whelan and Dasha Chadwick are woven throughout the album’s material, acting as a counterpart to Deprez’s vibrato. And Butler’s kaleidoscopic production makes the album’s material feel as though every window in the Belgian artist’s mind has been thrown open at once. The result is album that’s euphoric and reckless.

Thematically, Wild Swim sees Deprez take a new direction. Whereas his previously released albums were fairly autobiographical, the new album features a more universal perspective, embracing a manic celebration of life’s randomness. The song’s aren’t anchored in reason, but rather in feeling with the album being a balancing act between lust for life and a sort of euphoric nihilism. “After the wreckage of a breakup, eventually you reach the point where you can see the humor in life again,” Deprez says.

Wild Swim includes “Four In The Morning,” “Love Is On My Mind,” and the album’s latest single “Children.” “Children” is a smoldering and soulful bit of piano-driven pop featuring a gospel chorus-like mantra and atmospheric synths paired with Deprez’s soulful croon and yearning lyrics, rooted in empathy and catharsis.

“‘Children’ started out as a melody I couldn’t get out of my head at night, just before going to the recordings in LA, so it was kind of last minute, but ended up as one of my favorite songs on this album,” Deprez says. “The outro was also just on the go, not wanting to end the song just yet. It starts with a literal wink to ‘left bathroom sink,’ ’cause I fixed that damn sink. Every album is a bit reactionary and this one isn’t different. But the song zooms out to embrace the human flaws and behavior, a sort of celebratory redemption accompanied by a never-ending chant.”

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