First Word Records

New Music Mondays #5

2012-02-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

Quick one this week - from the fantastic 2morrow's Victory. Some of you may have heard of these guys through their appearance at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards. They performed the show-stealing Gil Scott Heron tributes (check one of them below) at Koko. They have an EP out today called Odeon (iTunes exclusive I think). Their brand of spacey, organic hip hop is exactly my vibe - the EP and it's predecessors are well worth a listen. I don't know much about the group, except that they are from South London and like cycling. Check out their Tumblr page here, and listen to a couple of tracks below.

New Music Mondays # 4

2012-02-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

Some of you (or more accurately - none of you) may have noticed there was no New Music Mondays post last week - that's because I was busy recording the first edition of my new Excursions Radio Show. You can take a listen here and look out for the next instalment very soon! A couple of great new releases out this week, one brand-new and one new-but-old (if you see what I mean!). First up is the new single 'Folded' from Part Time Heroes. One of the great things about working in music is seeing artists develop over time, and PTH fall into this category for me. I've known about the guys (duo Toby Vane & Ross Wakefield) for a few years now and have always enjoyed their music, but this release takes things up a notch or two. Lead track Folded is beautiful - all haunting strings and ethereal vocals, but it's 'Close' that really does it for me. The combination of the lush instrumentation with stuttering club beats (think Jamie xx with a jazz degree) and Colonel Red's soulful vocals takes the track somewhere quite unique. It's a track I can imagine leaking out of my headphones on a night bus home - just stunning. Also on the release are instrumental track 'Wood', which is reminiscent of some of Bonobo's recent work, as well as a couple of clubbier takes on the lead track from rising talents LPZ and Paper Tiger. You can buy the release here or take a listen below:

My second release of the week is the new Spiritual Jazz compilation on the ever-reliable Jazzman Records. As someone with an increasingly wide range of musical tastes coupled with every-decreasing free time to find new stuff, 'gatekeepers' like Jazzman, Soundway and Sofrito are invaluable. I love pretty much every track on this album, but but apart from Michael Garrick I hadn't heard of any of the artists on this album and would probably be unlikely to. It's a fantastic release, lovingly compiled and has opened up an area of music that can seem quite intimidating to a newcomer. Take a listen below and make sure you check out the rest of their releases here - I've not heard a dud one yet!

New Music Mondays # 3

2012-01-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

I made the foolish decision last week not to go to the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards on Saturday. As I sat at home experiencing it via twitter (not so fulfilling it turns out) I realised I'd missed a fantastic event. I think Gilles' show and associated projects are so important to the worldwide music scene. It's a sad state of affairs that sees him leave Radio One, I can't understand how the station that introduced me to such amazing music through the likes of John Peel, Steve Lamacq and Mark Radcliffe is now seemingly handing over all of it's specialist programming to artists rather than radio DJs. I'm not saying the people they've got in won't do a good job, but I can't see any of them having the legacy that the DJs mentioned above have. Anyway, old-man rant over - although the majority of the artists playing on Saturday were known to me already, I had not come across Bad Bad Not Good before. A little bit of internet snooping reveals that they are a 3-piece from Toronto who have collabed with Tyler the Creator amongst others. Covering hip hop classics in their jazz-infused style isn't necessarily going to be an automatic success (in fact I almost wanted to dislike it), but they bang so hard you can't hate on it! Check out their site for a heap of free downloads and take a listen to the clips below.

New Music Mondays # 2

2012-01-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

A very concise (if slightly late) post this week. This track is new to me but the artists I am aware of. The first gig I went to following my move back to London in 2010 was at a grotty, nautically themed pub in New Cross. It was a friend's birthday and the event was part of a series called Look At Me SE15 - a showcase for local music. I knew that the fantastic Eska would be playing but apart from that I wasn't expecting much, which made the appearance of Conrad The Scoundral and United Vibrations all the more memorable. Conrad is a grime MC who has incredible charm, and fairly uniquely for a grime artist, sharp humour and genuine humility. United Vibrations are a 4 piece from South London who fuse afrobeat, reggae, free jazz, rock and hip hop with politicised lyricism - I realise that makes it sound like the worst kind of free festival worthy nonsense but they lift themselves beyond that with their sheer energy and talent.

I've since got involved with helping the UV guys on a distribution tip, and they have lived up to my early impressions. Fiercely passionate, opinionated and talented, they make the kind of music that excites me. I also discovered through them a rich vein of music in the area that includes the 12Tone Brass Band, Stepsons, Illersapiens and Ruby Rushton: a loose collective of young artists who remind me of the vibe we had in Leeds that birthed First Word. Look out for more from the above in the coming months, but in the meantime check out UV and Conrad's latest single 'London Bridge' and make sure you catch them live!

New Music Mondays # 1

2012-01-09T03:06:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Now that the festive season is well and truly put to bed and the decorations have been taken down at FW Towers it's time to turn our thoughts to 2012. As I paused for breath over Christmas I realised that in amongst the chaos of last year, I had missed out on so much amazing new music. It's almost impossible now to find the time to listen to everything that jostles for attention in your web browser, but seeing as it's both my job and my passion, I thought I best make an effort.

Amongst the many things I slept on in the last year are the fantastic Teebs album, this gem from I' Ced and the Stepkids album on Stones Throw. So, in 2012, I've vowed to not make the same mistakes again - with that in mind, I'm going to use this blog to share a few things that I've discovered every Monday - hence 'New Music Mondays'. This is a bold claim, and one which I'll probably be back-tracking on come February but I figure it's worth a go. For this first blog, I'm just gonna pass on a few more things from 2011 that passed me by - a few suggestions for using up those Woolworth's vouchers from your Nan.

kidkanevil put me on to the Sonic Brat album Hana which is available as a free download from Totokoko label. The album's delicate atmospherics are perfect for a cold winter's day - lush, dreamy and emotive. Check out the title track here:

One name that I heard loads last year, without actually hearing any music was Zara McFarlane - her debut album Until Tomorrow came out on Brownswood - check out a live version of Chiaroscuro recorded in London:

Another amazing Jazz Vocalist that I picked up on over the break is Gregory Porter. His album 'Water' is fantastic, as is this track '1960 What?'.

Lastly, here is a track from Lewis McCallum called 'Fly or Die'. I know nothing about this guy, but this track is exactly my kind of music - deep, funky hip hop with skewed vocals. Can't wait to play this one out.

So, that's all for now - I'll be back next week with actual new music, rather than stuff you've already heard. Hopefully the title of these posts will start to make a modicum of sense. See you then.

Soundwave Festival

2011-08-01T02:25:00.000-07:00

Last week was the 3rd installment of the imperious Soundwave Festival - 5 days of music brilliance in the beautiful Croatian town of Petrcane. Put together by our good friends from New Bohemia and Soundcrash it is definitely the spiritual home to FW over the summer season. This year we were represented by Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra, kidkanevil, The Simonsound, Eliphino, Laura J Martin and myself (DJ Gilla). As ever, it was an incredible few days - personal highlights include Submotion Orchestra, Bonobo, Mr Thing (as ever!), Andreya Triana as well as the Eglo crew. I had an interesting few days - filling in between every act on the main stage: a fantastic challenge as a DJ. Whilst the hype set before Roots Manuva was the most energetic (props to Chunky on the mic!) the 45 minutes before Bonobo was the most rewarding. I played almost 250 tracks over the weekend, but the combination of atmosphere, expectation and a really switched on crowd made the Friday night slot a real high point. A couple of people had asked, so here's my set-list. And those who didn't make it down, make sure you're there next year!

Fuse - Hudson Mohawke
Wut - Girl Unit
Wildfire - SBTRKT
Wind it Up - Mark Pritchard ft Om'Mas Keith
Toxic (16 Bit Dubstep Remix) - Yael Naim
NY Is Killing Me - Gil Scott Heron / Jamie XX
CMYK - James Blake
Hyph Mngo - Joy Orbison
Ready Set Loop - SBTRKT
I Am (LV Remix) - Trim
The Terrorist - DJ Vadim
Ug - Mr Sccruff
The Jellyfish - Danny Breaks
Baron Zen Theme (Danny Breaks Remix) - Baron Zen
Glorious - Sa-Ra
Flowers - Dudley Perkins
J Dillalude - Robert Glasper
The Healer/Hip Hop - Erykah Badu
Angel Echoes - Four Tet
Another New Day - Jazzanova
Boom Clicky Boom Klack (Mr Scruff Vocal Mix) - Jazzanova
When She Smiles She Lights The Sky (4 Hero Remix) - Plantlife

First Word Top Sevens: #14 Soulist

2011-05-24T01:45:00.000-07:00

Soulist mixes food and drink with music - nice!

Amplified / Q Tip / Produced by J dilla /
First Solo Album from Q Tip, This album is just perfect , the vibe , Q tip's flow, it grooves all the way and was under rated , never knew why ..

Justments / Bill Withers /
One of my favourite Soul Artists .. He made popular music with such a sensitive touch.
Loving in particular the track " The same Love that me made me Laugh "

Roundtree Hit On You / Idjut Boys edit/
An Amazing Band From NYC in the end of the 70's , This edit is just mad, a killer - taking the best of Guitar riff , bass is sick. It has the boogie vibe that I love.

Club Soda / Thomas Bangalter /
With Fulgeance we are crazy about this track, a crazy synth and drum loop , French touch at it's best ...

Raw Cuts # 3 / Motor City Drum Ensemble /
An amazing house by this great German producer track that always gives me a good feeling. For me, It's already a classic ..

PIMMS (Drinking)
We had Pimms for the first time with Aly from First Word when we did our first tour in UK. Today when we come over it's a must have .. It bring us always refreshing and good memories..

Steak Tartare (Food)
Just get it in a good Brasserie when you come over to France ... loving it!

First Word Top Sevens: #13 Ali Gudgeon

2011-05-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Top 7 TV Detectives/ Crime Fighters

1 : Columbo
2 : Monk
3 : Quincy
4 : Dr Mark Slone
5 : Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett not Basil Rathbone)
6 : Gill Grissom
7 : Magnum P.I.

First Word Top Sevens: #12 Ali Gudgeon

2011-05-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Another list from the FW office monkey!

Top 7 TV Themes

1 : Chase Side Shoot Up - The Theme for the BBC's Golf Coverage
2 : Gotcha - Theme from the Starsky & Hutch TV series
3 : Mike Post - Theme from Hill Street Blues
4 : Original Sesame Street Theme
5 : Patrick Williams - Theme From M.A.S.H
6 : Randy Newman - It's a Jungle Out There (theme from Monk)
7 : Theme from Laverne and Shirley (The Wisconsin Years)

First Word Top Sevens: #11 Testament / Homecut

2011-05-20T06:06:00.000-07:00

Testament / Homecut's TOP 7 Police Procedural TV Dramas

Yeah, I'm a bit of a geek for the old Cop Show. Ever since I was a kid staying up to watch the bits of late night TV that arent totally repellent with my big brother. Mostly wicked actors and scripts that explore the darker part of our human psyche innit? No CSI -Bruckheimer-imaginary-tech-overhyped-shizak. (Though I do like theme tune ininit).

7. Homicide: Life on The Street

Cult following from people that know all about Pemberton, Bayliss and Munch in Baltimore. Can vividly recall scene where detectives on the way to a crime scene discuss the finer points of theology. Exciting AND cerebral.

6. Prime Suspect

I dont care which series: Helen Mirren on killer form. Worldwide stardom awairts. Pow.

5. Spiral (or' Engrenages' as its known in France)

Apparently, this helped save French TV. Heavy. The double-meanings from the French title is lost in translation - Spiral/Gears.
Not only do we see the workings of the justice system, but also see bad choices sending people into a moral nosedives.
Dark. Kind of have to watch it through your fingers.

4. Conviction

Was on BBC 2 years back. Only lasted one series. Amazing. One of the best things the Beeb spent my license fee on I reckon. Twists, turns. I'm gonna buy another copy on DVD right now.

3. Cracker

Flawed and really arrogant psychologist helps Manchester police. Robbie Coltrane keeping it real. Also, I was an extra an episode. Look out for the kid the classroom with a high-top when it wasnt fashionable. Ouch.

2. Columbo

Yes bruv. Standard. Dunno what it is. The concept of the viewer knowing whodunit from the first scene. The cat and mouse. The underdog detective overcoming the evil mastermind. Or the fact the shabby, cigar chewing glass-eyed cop is one of the coolest brothers of all time.

1. The Wire.

Y'all knew tat was gonna be number one. The 'Illmatic' of Police Proecedural drmas. I know its definitely not family friendly, but its the realness! Belive the hype. EvERYONE hsould watch this. A Policeman friend of mine got into it because a crack dealer recommended it to him saying "Its just like real life". The fact that it has a message and something to say about the world...Its just deep. Enlightening. Edutainment for real.

First Word Top Sevens: #10 Pete Williams of Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra

2011-05-20T03:07:00.001-07:00

7 Course Jazz Dinner...

Charles Mingus - Eat That Chicken
Eddie Lockjaw Davis - Wild Rice
Lee Morgan - Cornbread
Sonny Phillips - Bean Pie
Kenny Burrell - Chitlins Con Carne
George Benson - Giblet Gravy
Dexter Gordon - Cheesecake

First Word Top Sevens: #9 TM Juke

2011-05-20T01:17:00.000-07:00

7 favourite Drum Machine Sounds

1. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks - Claps
2. Simmons SDS1000 - Snare (Slow decay)
3. Roland TR808 - Bass drum
4. Simmons Clap Trap - Claps
5. Oberheim DMX - Snare
6. Linndrum - Clicky Kick
7. Roland TR-626 - Rim

First Word Top Sevens: #8 Ali Gudgeon (2)

2011-05-19T11:20:00.001-07:00

Top 7 records ( possibly of all time )

1 : Herbie Hancock - Stars in your Eyes
2 : Eddie Harris - Lovely is Today
3 : Bobby Humphrey - Harlem Rive Drive
4 : Weldon Irvine - Morning Sunrise
5 : Womack and Womack - Baby I'm Scared of You
6 : Eddie Kendricks - My People, Hold On
7 : Dionne Warwick - You're Gonna Need Me

First Word Top Sevens: #7 Andy H

2011-05-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Andy H's top 7 DJ Routines

1 1993/1994 Dream Team (USA)
2 1991 DJ David
3 1988 DJ Cash Money
4 1995 Roc Raida
5 1999 DJ Dexta
6 1999 DJ Craze
7 2002 DJ Skully

Check out the full list here:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PL4F62692757FCB1F9

First Word Top Sevens: #6 East Park Reggae Collective

2011-05-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

Top 7 90s sticker book footballers:

Shaka Hislop
Tino Asprilla
Tony Yeboah
Peter Ndlovu
Ruel Fox
Gary Mabbott
Paul Kitson

First Word Top Sevens: #5 Green-T

2011-05-19T02:55:00.001-07:00

Top 7 MF DOOM tracks

Accordion (Madvillain)
Red & Gold (Operation Doomsday)
Fazers (Kind Geedorah)
Korn Dogz (Danger Doom)
Change the Beat (Viktor Vaughn)
Operation: Greenbacks (Operation Doomsday)
That's That (Born Like This)

First Word Top Sevens: #4 Pimpernel Jones

2011-05-18T11:37:00.003-07:00

Pimpernel Jones of Herma Puma's Top 7 Blaxploitation films

1. The Mack
2.Black Dynamite
3.The Human Tornado
4.Space is the place
5.Coffy
6.Black Caesar
7.Cleopatra Jones

First Word Top Sevens: #3 Ali Gudgeon

2011-05-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

FW Office monkey Ali Gudgeon's Top 7 sci fi movies

1 : West World
2 : Alien
3 : Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan
4 : Blade Runner
5 : Empire Stikes Back
6 : Close Encounters
7 : Back to the Future

First Word Top Sevens: #2 Jack Baker

2011-05-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

Top Seven Drummers - The Jack Baker Trio

1. Joseph 'Zigaboo' Modeliste - The man behind the Meters, it doesn't get much better than this for the funk.

2. Steve Gadd - One of the most soulful drummers ever lived, he can make an rubbish track into a classic.

3. Max Roach - The master, the soloist, the teacher, the god.

4. Amir Thompson aka Questlove - One day I will manage to rip off everything he does... True grit.

5. Aaron Spears - One of the leaders in the gospel scene, he makes me want to get fat and play fast...

7. Elvin Jones - A true jazz legend, he plays with his balls in one hand and his heart in the other.

Happy Birthday, peace and love to the First Word crew.

First Word Top Sevens: #1 Fulgeance

2011-05-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our 7th birthday we've asked our artists to give us their top 7. This could be anything, 7 top tracks, 7 favourite 80s gameshows, daytime TV presenters, guitarists, whatever. The first to respond (in no more than 10 minutes of being asked!) was Fulgeance, (one half of Souleance). Here's his list - bon apetit!

Fulgeance Top 7 Meals

Lamb Leg with Garlic, Mashed Celeries & Potatoes.
Homemade "Croque Monsieur" with Comté Cheese from Jura
Beef Prime Rib with green beans & Tomatoes "à la provencale"
Salmon Tartare with French Mustard, Cumcumber, tomatoes and pickles
Homemade Sushis or from Japan
Sea Bass with Spicy Indian Semolina
Boiled & cold Calamaris with Mayonnaise or garlic & persillia Vinegar

Ooh la la!

Little Stevie Wonder

2010-11-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here at First Word HQ we got a bit distracted this afternoon. For some reason or another we got onto the subject of Stevie Wonder and so began an hour long YouTube session. Here are our selected highlights.

We started with the magnificent 123 Sesame Street :

Then moved through a wonderful selection of classic Sesame Street moments such as these :

Before we finally ended up here, back in the days of black and white TV, long before Stevie got his corn rows :

You've got to feel sorry for the original drummer who got dethroned at the start of that video, he probably snapped his sticks in half and never played again!!!!

Pinball Wizards

2010-10-21T04:03:00.000-07:00

So I know last time I said we would talk about the Mizell brothers, but I was just making a cup of tea here at First Word HQ when this little gem popped into my head. I don't know about you, but us lovely people here in the office grew up watching Sesame Street. It's magical mix of wonderful characters such as The Count (without Sinden back then), Cookie Monster (before the Larry Levan Mix), Burt and Ernie, Snuffleufugus and Big Bird, along with its entertaining outlook at education made it far and away the best thing on TV. One thing stood out however, and still to this day remains possibly the most endearing part of this wonderful show. Performed by the Pointer Sisters, 'The Pinball Number Count' was a hazy mix of psychedelic visuals and heavy jazz funk vibes. Each time I'd watch the show, I would wait with bated breath for this intoxicating piece of animation to appear without a second thought as to how it would shape my musical tastes in the years to come. For those who want a copy, DJ Food did a re-edit of it a few years back which can be found on a Ninja Tune 12" through discogs, but I have yet to find it on one of the many Sesame Street LPs that were released. If anyone can point me in the right direction on that front then drop us an email here at the First Word office. I'll leave you to reminisce now over this wonderful creation......until next time fellow music lovers.

Donald Byrd rocks my world!

2010-10-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

There are a select group of jazz musicians who have managed to bridge both the traditional and more the modern forms of Americas greatest music. One of these is the great Donald Byrd. From his early days playing with the likes of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and Thelonius Monk to his contributions to Guru's "Jazzmatazz" albums, he has become one of the most lauded and possibly most recorded trumpeters of all time. However, in the mid to late 70s he would record three albums for the mighty Blue Note Records that would catapult both him and his music into the unknown. "Black Byrd", "Stepping into Tomorrow" and "Places and Spaces" would become the embodiment of everything that was Jazz Funk and provide a plethora of inspirations for both the hip hop and acid jazz scenes. Of course a large amount of credit must be given to the Mizell Brothers whose shadows loom large across the entire black musical spectrum in this period, but we shall speak about them in much greater length at a later date. Along side his career as one of Blue Notes greatest recording artists he taught music at a number of American universities and last year was named as artist in residence at Delaware State University. So without further ado, I give you one of my all time favourite Donald Byrd tracks, the magnificent "Think Twice"

A little lazy afternoon soul.

2010-09-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Those of you up on you Dilla samples will recognise this as being used on the infamous Donuts album. For those of you that don't, well all I can say is this is an excellent place to start your education. Taken from her 'Just Being Myself' album, which was produced by Holland and Dozier, this is probably one of Dionne Warwick's lesser known songs, yet at the same time I think probably one of her most beautiful, enjoy.

Tune Of The Day: May 11th

2010-05-11T04:45:00.000-07:00

My favourite joint from the dope Secondhand Sureshots film that Put Me On It showed at their M.F. Social Club event on Sunday.