Review: Kaidi Tatham back on 2000BLACK needs little explanation really, does it? Anyone who takes broken beat and neo soul seriously should already be slipping this on in their cart, but for the uninitiated this is one of the grandmasters of the sound in full flight. 'Galaxy' is a beautiful, uplifting soul-boogie jam with a stunning vocal turn from Lola Violet, and it comes in two different twists depending on the energy you need to bring to your set - for us the 'Uptempo Mix' is a perfect shot of joy in the arm. 'A Message From Above' cools things down with gorgeous keys, a characteristically snagging beat and sultry horns, and 'Ergonomic Structures' slinks into the sweetest of downtempo funks that'll have you head nodding hard and keeping you chill all in the same beat.
Review: First Word Records thrill us with a brand new album from present-day jazz legend Kaidi Tatham. Miles Away marks his sixth solo full-length for the award-winning London label, with ten fresh tracks all performed by the multi-instrumentalist himself. This is a masterclass in forward-thinking, genre-blurring electronic jazz; Rhodes keys, pianos, synths, strings, horns, and flutes flow floridly over roomy percussion and drum intricacies, representing Kaidi's unmistakable sound. From the smooth funk of 'Misty Garden' to the infectious 'Sweet Cherry Punch', the album redshifts a kaleidoscope of styles: bruk, boogie, soul, and even reggae-steppers on the closing 'Ku Deh'.
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.
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