The deep house genre label gets stamped on releases a little too liberally these days by producers and imprints jumping aboard the bandwagon of its current commercial popularity.

But so many records saturating the market lack the substance and soul that characterizes the authentic classic deep house sound. With its jazz and soul roots, deep house is supposed to be about lyrical songcraft and timeless quality, not ephemeral cookie-cutter dancefloor tools.

Few labels understand this better than London's Freerange Records, which is why for going on two decades, the label's released nothing but gold by some of the most virtuosic and beloved deep house artists in the world.

Behind Freerange's pristine A&R vision is Jimpster (AKA Jamie Odell), a deep house production luminary in his own right, not to mention a celebrated DJ on the international scene. Catch him at the Electric Pickle on Friday, but first find out what he had to tell Crossfade about growing up during the UK rave explosion of late '80s, Freerange Records, and his new long player due out next summer.

See also:

-Five Freerange Bombs We Hope Jimpster Drops at Electric Pickle