First Word Records

First Word Records is very proud to present a brand new full-length album from Kaidi Tatham. 'It's A World Before You'.Following on from two EPs released on First Word last year ('Changing Times' and 'Hard Times'), Kaidi has delivered us thirteen tracks that deftly illustrate his various talents as a multi-instrumentalist.Kaidi is probably best known for his work with Bugz In The Attic, though his musical contributions over the years have also included Amy Winehouse, Slum Village, Mulatu Astatke, Soul II Soul, Moonchild, Leroy Burgess, Amp Fiddler, Chris Dave, Macy Gray, King Britt, DJ Spinna, Mr Scruff and IG Culture to name but a few! In recent times, he's worked with DJ Jazzy Jeff on a variety of projects, including his most recent album 'M3', touring Europe for Jeff and Will Smith's reunion shows, and on the PLAYlist album 'Chasing Goosebumps', with Glenn Lewis, Stro Elliot (The Roots), Masego, Maimouna Youssef, Rich Medina, Daniel Crawford and more.All this in addition to heating up dances around Europe with his inimitable DJ sets, and working heavily with First Word label-mate, Eric Lau (who also mixed this album) on a variety of projects, and adding releases to his already impressive catalogue on 2000 Black, Eglo and Theo Parrish's Sound Signature, with regular compadre, Dego (who features on the album's title track).This album personifies Kaidi's diverse palette of sounds – bar Eric & Dego's features, every piece of music is played by himself. Largely flowing on a broken beat rhythm section, Kaidi effortlessly incorporates washes of afro, latin and funk throughout. From the harmonics of 'Your Dream Don't Mean A Thing', to the breakneck funk of 'Outta Audah', each and every riddim exudes energy. But this isn't simply a bruk record. The album is laced together with downtempo beats and future jazz interludes throughout, and some sweet synth boogie is never very far away, especially on the weighty vibes of 'It's About Who You Know'. To top it all off, there's two delightful nuggets of hip hop soul - Mancunian label-mates, Children of Zeus, feature on the neo-soul vibes of 'Out Here On My Own', and there's a feature from Amir Townes, better known as Uhmeer - an upcoming MC from Philadelphia, and son of one Jazzy Jeff Townes - who rides a sub-heavy, piano-led slice of boom bap, voicing an assortment of characters to tell the tale of 'Cupid'.'It's A World Before You' is set to cause serious damage to sound-systems over the Summer, and show and prove once again the skills of one of the UK's best unsung musical talents, Kaidi Tatham.

We head into the final quarter of the year with a very welcome return to First Word from London producer, musician, engineer and DJ, Eric Lau. Following on from his acclaimed early 2017 album, 'Examples', we proudly present the second volume - another delectable 28-track beats opus.'Examples Volume Two' is Eric's fourth instrumental album, and ably continues where he left off with an assortment of sonics, ranging through hip hop, jazz, funk, soul & Brazilian beats. An elaborate sketchpad of ideas and grooves, this again gives a taste of the genius production skills of 'The Commissioner', Mr. Lau.A mixdown perfectionist, his services have been drafted into service on a number of albums over the past few years, including Yussef Kamaal's 'Black Focus', Mansur Brown's 'Shiroi', The Playlist's 'Chasing Goosebumps', DJ Jazzy Jeff's 'M3', Masego's 'Lady Lady', and Kaidi Tatham's 'It's A World Before You', released on First Word recently. It's through these recent collaborations that we have a few unique ingredients peppered through this project, the track 'Jeff's Piano' is based on a sample taken from Eric's iPhone, capturing a moment when Kaidi was teaching Masego a few chords at Jeff's studio. Both integral players to the Playlist Retreat, Eric and Kaidi have also provided remix duties for Moonchild, Omar and Leon Ware, and Kaidi Kat also lends his key playing talents to a few tracks here.Eric has also worked as a producer for artists like Oddisee, Guilty Simpson, Dego, Tawiah, Rahel and Fatima, whilst his DJ skills have seen him tour the globe with luminaries such as Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper and Questlove. He's received props over the years from tastemakers across the world, including Rich Medina, 9th Wonder, Bobbito, Dam Funk, Phonte, Gilles Peterson, James Poyser (The Roots) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest).His previous outings for First Word pre 'Examples' were as part of the Record Store Day beat-challenge trilogy, along with Tall Black Guy, Kidkanevil and Mr. Thing. Additionally to four instrumental LPs, he released his debut-album 'New Territories' on Ubiquity a decade ago, as well as the acclaimed 2013 sophomore album, 'One Of Many'.This latest set of 'Examples' is available on all digital services and regular black vinyl, as well as a limited edition blue vinyl version. Essential music for your mind, body and soul.

We welcome back long-time First Word family, Souleance, with 'Bamboule'; fresh from their respective cut-ups for our sister label, Excursions, and their recent 'Raw Funk' set, we have a 5-track EP containing something for all the family, crafted with love once again by France's Fulgeance & DJ Soulist. A truly eclectic collection, comprised of afro grooves, tropical vibes, b-boy rhymes, head-nodding shakers and intensely hype floor-fillers. A seriously fun selection.It kicks off with 'Partay', a mid-tempo slice of bouncy tropical boogie that does exactly what it says on the tin. An effervescent synth-bassline rides on top of a delectable disco shuffle, complete with classic reggae chants.Title track 'Bamboule' is a seriously energetic afro-funk beast. A truly infectious percussive rhythm track, laced with an immense bassline, vocal chops and synth rides, this one is 100% guaranteed to entice any dancefloor into a trance-like state of bugged-out body moves.'That Guy' is some uptempo piano-rolling hip hop business, enlisting the help of Brooklyn MC, Von Pea, from the crew Tanya Morgan, who've been making noise on the independent hip hop scene for over a decade, as well as recently collaborating with GUTS.We dip down to around the 85BPM mark for 'J'aime Marcher', a lounging boom bap bumper with sloppy drums, jazzy rhodes and vivacious horns.Closing the EP is 'Brown Bags'; an almost Dilla-esque cut-up, complete with rolling neck-breaking drums, sweet soul samples and stabs of prog rock. An abundance of variety, we think you'll agree.For those that don't know, the Parisian duo hooked up just over a decade ago, and haven't stopped to rock & shock parties, clubs and festivals globally since, building a fan-base of solid party people and revered selectors along the way. As always, the wonderful Alice Dufay provides the artwork, making this an essential package for you and yours.

First Word are keeping it moving for 2017 and welcoming Kaidi Tatham into the fold, with a firing four-track EP, 'Changing Times'.Kaidi is a talented multi-instrumentalist that's produced, featured, remixed and performed with an array of artists across numerous genres; jazz, soul, broken beat, hip hop and beyond.Perhaps best known for his work with Bugz In The Attic, 4Hero and Dego, his accomplished catalogue of musicianship can be heard amongst the likes of Amy Winehouse, Slum Village, Mulatu Astatke, Soul II Soul, Leroy Burgess, Amp Fiddler, Macy Gray, King Britt, DJ Spinna, Gene Harris, Mr Scruff, The Salsoul Orchestra, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Blu, Vikter Duplaix, Nathan Haines, Phil Asher, IG Culture and Eric Lau, to name a fraction.

The second release on the Excursions imprint, following on from 'A Soviet Disco Excursion Vol 1'; this time a trilogy of treats from French duo DJ Soulist and Fulgeance, aka Souleance. These guys have been busily producing a series of delectable releases for a decade now. Crafted primarily with the dancefloor in mind, Souleance weave together an assortment of grooves and genres to magnificent effect - disco, funk and beyond.'A Raw Excursion' proceeds to give you what you need, with something for all the family amidst this three-track EP. Setting it off, the heavily progged-out thump of 'The Ramble'; a solid mid-tempo floor-quaker, flipping the unmistakable weight of Jimmy Page and Bob Plant. This is followed by the 'C'est La Fête' edit of 'A Little More' - a cheeky flip of a classic late-seventies slow jam by Miss Brenda Russell, famously sampled by Big Pun. This one tried and tested over the past few years to crush a lot of dances, now available on wax for the first time for all you players out there.

First Word enters 2017 with a bang: a 28-track album courtesy of Eric Lau. This, his third instrumental album, is a veritable tapestry of vibes, ranging through Hip Hop, Soul, Jazz, Funk & Brazilian beats. A mere taste into the genius production skills of London's Mr. Lau, it's easy to understand why he's so revered by DJs, artists and producers across the world, including Rich Medina, 9th Wonder, Bobbito, Dam Funk, Gilles Peterson, James Poyser (The Roots), Phonte and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest), amongst others.Eric has had previous outings for First Word as part of the Record Store Day beat-challenge trilogy, along with Tall Black Guy, Kidkanevil and Mr. Thing, and was recently initiated into Jazzy Jeff's star-studded annual Playlist Retreat. As a producer, he's worked with a host of artists, including Kaidi Tatham, Oddisee, Yussef Kamaal, Guilty Simpson, Dego, Tawiah, Rahel and Fatima, to name a few, whilst his DJ skills have seen him tour the globe with luminaries such as Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper and Questlove. Additionally to three instrumental LPs, he previously released his debut-proper for Ubiquity, 'New Territories', and the acclaimed 2013 sophomore album, 'One Of Many'.'Examples' really provides you with what it says on the tin - a mere taster of this man's talents, available digitally and on wax; black vinyl for the purists and limited edition yellow vinyl for the heads. Kicking off the new year with a bounce, it's unnecessary that we tell you that you shouldn't sleep on this.. Don't sleep on this.