First Word Vinyl & CDs

Review: Children of Zeus' sophomore LP Balance takes the blueprint of their debut and evolves it into a deeper and more refined sound. The British duo of Konny Kon and Tyler Daley hail from Manchester and incorporate soul music with hip hop, neo-soul, gospel and R&B with help from Grammy award winning producer Beat Butcha, with rising UK soul talents Akemi Fox and Georgie Sweet contributing guest vocals. The definitive sound of UK street soul in 2021.

Review: Resonance is the superb new album from Essa and Pitch 92. Essa is something of a veteran who back in the early part of this millennium was putting out tunes under the name Yungun. He is a Londoner and lawyer who played a key part in the UK's golden hip-hop era and picked up props for his work from dons like Nas while also working with De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, Slum Village and Pharoahe Monch. This record taps into that time with its soul-drenched, low-slung and late-night beats, specially and politically aware lyrics and gorgeous samples. A contemporary classic steeped in authenticity.

Review: Known for her solo work and as the frontwoman of 30/70, Allysha Joy's husky, soulful voice and exceptional Fender Rhodes skills make her a standout in the jazz-soul scene. She hails from Melbourne and is a singer, songwriter, producer, and keys player who has had big props by key figures like Gilles Peterson, Jamz Supernova and Jamie Cullum and performed alongside acts such as Kokoroko and Children of Zeus. The Making of Silk is her new album and it is packed with her captivating vocals over jazz instrumentals, organic hip-hop grooves, with hints of new-soul, r&b and spiritual jazz greats like Alice Coltrane all appearing throughout the majestic, richly realised and luxurious sounds. This is a black vinyl version, though it also comes on grey-marbled wax.

Review: Takuya Kuroda is a highly respected trumpeter and arranger from Kobe, Japan but now based in New York City. Midnight Crisp was his seventh studio album and now First World has had a selection of cuts from it remixed. 'Choy Soda' gets superb treatment in the form of Waajeed's Hi-Tech Jazz remix which jumbles the trumpet motifs with shuffling drums and future soul. On the flip, 'Dead End Dance' gets a signature Kaidi Tatham remix that brings the broken beats and sunny sounds to the fore with more languid jazz notes adding sultriness.

Review: After offering up EPs titled "Hard Times" and "Changing Times" in 2017, Kaidi Tatham returns to First Word to complete the trilogy with "Serious Times". Of course, the music contained within the EP's tightly packed grooves is as joyous, rich as intricate as ever. Check, for example, "Don't Cry Now", a samba-soaked, sun-kissed affair that wraps harmonic freestyle vocals, twinkling electric piano lines and darting jazz-funk bass around a seriously shuffling groove. Tatham's much-discussed jazz-funk influences are once again given an airing on "Sugar", while his fine piano work takes pride of place on instrumental hip-hop head-nodder "Zallom". Best of all, though, is opener "Cost of Living", which emphatically weaves together all of these strands and more besides.

Review: Kaidi Tatham is a master of broken beats and a widely respected figure in the London music scene. His new 12 track album takes us on a lush and louche trip through all his myriad musical skills and styles. Boogie, gospel-tinged hip-hop, jazz-funk and more all colour the futurist grooves with contributions from The Easy Access Orchestra, and pianist Robert Mitchell. This is a fourth solo album from the man and maybe his best yet, even though it has come so quick on the heels of the release of An Insight To All Minds in 2021.

Review: The word 'legend' gets banded about rather a lot, but it is certainly applicable to West London scene stalwart Kaidi Tatham. Further confirmation of this elevated status can be found throughout "It's A World Before You", a staggeringly good album that marks the musician-producer's first solo set for some seven years. While rooted in the kind of warm, rich and life-affirming jazz-funk-fuelled broken beat workouts with which Tatham is most readily associated (and they're naturally superb), there's plenty of killer diversions dotted throughout. These include a couple of spacey, soul-flecked ambient rubs, a sublime collaboration with hip-hop/modern soul fusionists Children of Zeus, and a fine head-nodding hip-hop jam featuring rapper Uhmeer. In a word: essential.

Review: In our eyes, Kaidi Tatham can do no wrong. The long-serving keyboardist barely seems to sleep and releases a high volume of collaborations and solo records, but his quality threshold is so high that there's barely a duff track in his catalogue. Over the last few years he's developed a trademark sound that wraps Herbie Hancock style jazz-funk keys around crunchy broken beats, while also drawing influence from hip-hop, '80s electro, boogie, Latin jazz and slick deep house. An Insight Into All Minds, the veteran musician's fifth solo album, is naturally rooted in this trademark style, offering up a collection of cuts that bristle with positivity, pack plenty of punch, and are as well produced and life-affirming as you'd expect. It's a high bar, but it could well be his single best LP to date.