![Victoria Port - Haunting [Audio] @Firstwordrecords](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8sZAIJkTdO0/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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#FirstWordRecords #SoulRampB #Soul
Album: Haunting [SINGLE]
Track: 1 of 1
Title: Haunting
Artist: Victoria Port
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW325
Formats: Digital
Digital Release: 15th January 2025
About This Release:
First Word Records are delighted to present 'Haunting', the second single from Victoria Port.
Victoria is a British singer/songwriter that's previously released two albums as half of electronic soul outfit Anushka (on Brownswood and Tru Thoughts respectively), with a third album from the duo scheduled for release later in 2025 on BBE. Now Victoria is finally making the move to showcase her music, in her own unique way, as a solo artist.
Sonically, Victoria takes her influences from a lifelong appreciation of soul music, drawing inspiration from artists like Gladys Knight, Minnie Riperton, Diana Ross, Nine Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Dionne Warwick, to contemporaries such as Cleo Sol and Jorja Smith. She adds "I'm particularly obsessed with the girl bands from the '60's. I love the stories and the harmonies. Motown was the soundtrack to my childhood. Songs that make you want to dance in your kitchen!".
Her first solo single 'Cigarette' saw support from Cerys Matthews & Huey Morgan on BBC 6 Music, Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM), Mi-Soul Radio ('One To Watch'), Dan Digs (NPR Music), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Somewhere Soul, Soho Radio, Totally Wired, Global Soul (also as part of their live showcase at Koko, London) and many more, while her last Anushka project also received extensive support from tastemakers such as Annie Mac, Huw Stephens and Jamz Supernova, and saw her wowing crowds as a regular player on the UK and international festival circuit.
This is the second track taken from her forthcoming debut solo EP, 'Did It Again', which is set to place her where she firmly belongs; as an exciting new talent in the vibrant, eclectic UK r&b/soul scene.
With production from Shevlane and Hemai, Victoria says 'Haunting' is "a funky bass led groove about an inability for someone to let go. When they can't read the messages and continue to try, to keep echoes of the past alive in the present…"
'Haunting' is released on all digital platforms, January 15th 2025, with the EP 'Did It Again' set to follow on vinyl and digitally worldwide in February 2025.
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#FirstWordRecords #SoulRampB #Soul
Album: Haunting [SINGLE]
Track: 1 of 1
Title: Haunting
Artist: Victoria Port
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW325
Formats: Digital
Digital Release: 15th January 2025
About This Release:
First Word Records are delighted to present 'Haunting', the second single from Victoria Port.
Victoria is a British singer/songwriter that's previously released two albums as half of electronic soul outfit Anushka (on Brownswood and Tru Thoughts respectively), with a third album from the duo scheduled for release later in 2025 on BBE. Now Victoria is finally making the move to showcase her music, in her own unique way, as a solo artist.
Sonically, Victoria takes her influences from a lifelong appreciation of soul music, drawing inspiration from artists like Gladys Knight, Minnie Riperton, Diana Ross, Nine Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Dionne Warwick, to contemporaries such as Cleo Sol and Jorja Smith. She adds "I'm particularly obsessed with the girl bands from the '60's. I love the stories and the harmonies. Motown was the soundtrack to my childhood. Songs that make you want to dance in your kitchen!".
Her first solo single 'Cigarette' saw support from Cerys Matthews & Huey Morgan on BBC 6 Music, Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM), Mi-Soul Radio ('One To Watch'), Dan Digs (NPR Music), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Somewhere Soul, Soho Radio, Totally Wired, Global Soul (also as part of their live showcase at Koko, London) and many more, while her last Anushka project also received extensive support from tastemakers such as Annie Mac, Huw Stephens and Jamz Supernova, and saw her wowing crowds as a regular player on the UK and international festival circuit.
This is the second track taken from her forthcoming debut solo EP, 'Did It Again', which is set to place her where she firmly belongs; as an exciting new talent in the vibrant, eclectic UK r&b/soul scene.
With production from Shevlane and Hemai, Victoria says 'Haunting' is "a funky bass led groove about an inability for someone to let go. When they can't read the messages and continue to try, to keep echoes of the past alive in the present…"
'Haunting' is released on all digital platforms, January 15th 2025, with the EP 'Did It Again' set to follow on vinyl and digitally worldwide in February 2025.
![Victoria Port - Haunting [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8sZAIJkTdO0/mqdefault.jpg "Victoria Port - Haunting [Audio]
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#FirstWordRecords #SoulRampB #Soul
Album: Haunting [SINGLE]
Track: 1 of 1
Title: Haunting
Artist: Victoria Port
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW325
Formats: Digital
Digital Release: 15th January 2025
About This Release:
First Word Records are delighted to present Haunting, the second single from Victoria Port.
Victoria is a British singer/songwriter thats previously released two albums as half of electronic soul outfit Anushka (on Brownswood and Tru Thoughts respectively), with a third album from the duo scheduled for release later in 2025 on BBE. Now Victoria is finally making the move to showcase her music, in her own unique way, as a solo artist.
Sonically, Victoria takes her influences from a lifelong appreciation of soul music, drawing inspiration from artists like Gladys Knight, Minnie Riperton, Diana Ross, Nine Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Dionne Warwick, to contemporaries such as Cleo Sol and Jorja Smith. She adds Im particularly obsessed with the girl bands from the 60s. I love the stories and the harmonies. Motown was the soundtrack to my childhood. Songs that make you want to dance in your kitchen!.
Her first solo single Cigarette saw support from Cerys Matthews & Huey Morgan on BBC 6 Music, Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM), Mi-Soul Radio (One To Watch), Dan Digs (NPR Music), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Somewhere Soul, Soho Radio, Totally Wired, Global Soul (also as part of their live showcase at Koko, London) and many more, while her last Anushka project also received extensive support from tastemakers such as Annie Mac, Huw Stephens and Jamz Supernova, and saw her wowing crowds as a regular player on the UK and international festival circuit.
This is the second track taken from her forthcoming debut solo EP, Did It Again, which is set to place her where she firmly belongs; as an exciting new talent in the vibrant, eclectic UK r&b/soul scene.
With production from Shevlane and Hemai, Victoria says Haunting is a funky bass led groove about an inability for someone to let go. When they cant read the messages and continue to try, to keep echoes of the past alive in the present…
Haunting is released on all digital platforms, January 15th 2025, with the EP Did It Again set to follow on vinyl and digitally worldwide in February 2025.")
![Amanda Whiting - Skating [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/97Qu2WeQCQY/mqdefault.jpg "Amanda Whiting - Skating [Audio]
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#FirstWordRecords #Jazz #SmoothJazz
Album: Skating [SINGLE]
Track: 1 of 1
Title: Skating
Artist: Amanda Whiting
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW324
Formats: Digital
Digital Release: 20th November 2024
About This Release:
Following on from the critically-acclaimed album The Liminality of Her, more brand new music on First Word Records from formidable Welsh jazz-harpist, Amanda Whiting.
Skating is the second track taken from Amandas forthcoming Christmas album. Expertly crafted with love, care and dedication, Amanda reinterprets the Vince Guaraldi Trios 1965 Christmas classic into a three-minute piece of feel-good seasonal jazz-harp magic.
This track is taken from the forthcoming album A Christmas Cwtch, which takes on assorted classics from the likes of Bill Evans, Holst and Tchaikovsky, and re-presents them with original arrangements from Amanda and her accomplished trio.
Inspired by artists like Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, Amanda is a classically trained virtuoso, well established in the UK jazz scene, with releases on Jazzman and Alberts Favourites.
Her most recent projects were released on Worldwide Award-winning UK label, First Word; Beyond the Midnight Sun (with label-mate and Welsh Music Prize nominee, Don Leisure) and the hugely popular 2024 album The Liminality of Her, which received widespread praise in outlets such as Jazzwise, Mojo, Clash, Bandcamp, AllMusic, Somewhere Soul, HHV, Apple Music and Harp Column.
She has had wide support on the airwaves from tastemakers such as Cerys Matthews (BBC 6 Music), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Deb Grant (BBC 6 Music), Patrick Forge (NTS), Soweto Kinch (BBC Radio 3), Kev Beadle (Totally Wired), Tina Edwards (Soho Radio), Laurent Garnier (FiP) and Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2).
A Christmas Cwtch exemplifies Amandas talent and personality simultaneously, celebrating an array of her favourite things; the harp, her Welshness, her love of jazz, her love of classical music and her love of Christmas. This album is an absolute delight, and the perfect soundtrack for the season. An essential stocking filler!
Skating will be released on all digital formats, November 20th 2024 ahead of the full album, A Christmas Cwtch, scheduled for December 2nd release on digital, vinyl and CD.")
![Tall Black Guy - The Motor Is Running [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A7_CyDOpI1I/mqdefault.jpg "Tall Black Guy - The Motor Is Running [Audio]
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#FirstWordRecords #RapHipHop #InstrumentalEastCoast
Album: 8 Miles to Moenart (10th Anniversary Edition) [ALBUM]
Track: 7 of 10
Title: The Motor Is Running
Artist: Tall Black Guy
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW316
Formats: Vinyl LP/Digital
Digital Release: 18th October 2024
Physical Release: 25th October 2024
About This Release:
First Word Records is very proud to bring you the 10th anniversary edition of Tall Black Guys debut LP 8 Miles to Moenart!
It includes two brand new jazz interpretations (From Home To Work, And Back and Running The Motor), recorded with a live band, as well as a new intro cut (Black Detroit), and an alternative mix of the single Mon Amie Detroit, previously only available on 7 vinyl.
The original vinyl LP release was a one-time limited edition pressing; this being the first time this project has been available on wax since then, and also includes entirely new artwork and photography.
From humble origins in Detroit, raised on a healthy diet of Motown, jazz and hip hop, Terrel Wallace (aka Tall Black Guy) has become a standard bearer for the hip hop beats scene. Through a steady stream of soulful productions filled with incredibly clever sample flips and deft production chops, he has won fans across the world, including Gilles Peterson, Benji B, Don Letts, Lefto, Tom Ravenscroft, Lord Finesse, Huey Morgan, Anthony Valadez and countless others, along with sessions for Boiler Room and more.
8 Miles To Moenart literally brought Tall Black Guy full circle, and proceeds to do so once again. Detroit was where he started making music, and its to his hometown he took inspiration for this debut album. Taking in low-slung hip hop, downtempo house and jazz-tinged street soul, its a record of rare focus. It encapsulated the musical heritage of Detroit, through the looking glass of Tall Black Guys own signature sound.
Follow up releases included his sophomore First Word album Lets Take A Trip (which also featured the likes of Masego, Daniel Crawford, Miles Bonny and Moonchild), and records on Ubiquity, Bastard Jazz and Street Corner Music, to name a few, along with a steady slew of limited self-released edits amd productions, most recently with his #7DayVaults series.
Hes worked with a number of formidable artists worldwide, including recent extensive work with Zo! (Little Brother), Ozay Moore, Deborah Bond and Dee Jackson (80s Babies), as well as collaborations with 14KT and First Word label-mate Allysha Joy, to name just a few. He is also an integral player for DJ Jazzy Jeffs infamous PLAYlist Retreat sessions, along with more First Word family, Kaidi Tatham and Eric Lau, as well as artists like James Poyser, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Questlove, and he was a core contributor to First Words Nothing Leaves The House series, along with Eric, Mr Thing and kidkanevil.
Tall Black Guy has firmly established himself to be one of the most influential producers working today.
Terrel says I made the bulk of this album back in Detroit around 2012/2013, before I relocated to the UK. Ive been back living and working in the States for a while now, and its great to look back on this project. But while its nice to reminisce, its important to look forwards, so I wanted to include something new here to represent my progression as an artist, so theres some new versions included, that I created with the help of some jazz musician friends of mine.
8 Miles to Moenart (10th Anniversary Edition) will be released on digital & vinyl on October 18th 2024.")
![Georgie Sweet - Its Christmas (As Long As Youre Here) [feat. Amanda Whiting] [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AgrxdoI8vSQ/mqdefault.jpg "Georgie Sweet - Its Christmas (As Long As Youre Here) [feat. Amanda Whiting] [Audio]
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#FirstWordRecords #SoulRampB #Soul
Album: This Christmas [SINGLE]
Track: 2 of 2
Title: Its Christmas (As Long As Youre Here)
Artist: Georgie Sweet (feat. Amanda Whiting)
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW359
Formats: Digital
Digital Release: 1st December 2025
About This Release:
First Word Records is proud to bring you a new two-track seasonal single from Georgie Sweet.
Following the release of her brilliant sophomore album I Swear To You, Georgie takes on the seminal Donny Hathaway classic This Christmas in her own unique soulful style.
This is backed up with a brand new composition, written by Georgie and her creative partner Marc Rapson, and featuring the beautiful harp prowess of First Word family, Amanda Whiting.
On the glorious ballad Its Christmas (As Long As Youre Here) Georgie explains this was an impromptu song written in between recording This Christmas and working on new music. For me, Christmas is all about who you share it with - even without the usual traditions, it still feels like Christmas if youre with the ones you love. This song ended up being a little moment that captures that feeling.
Brighton-based singer/songwriter Georgie Sweet is one of the UKs best kept secrets, but her rep is fast-spreading. Her recent releases received an abundance of love from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Lauren Laverne (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Lefto, Patrick Forge, Bradley Zero, Tony Minvielle, Children of Zeus, Clash Magazine and various selectors on Jazz FM, Rinse FM & NTS Radio, with previous material also getting shine from DJ Jazzy Jeff & DJ Spinna to name a few from across the globe.
This Christmas drops in all digital stockings on Wednesday December 3rd.")
![Werkha - S-Bend [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Be7BPSFKURs/mqdefault.jpg "Werkha - S-Bend [Audio]
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#FirstWordRecords #ElectronicaDance #BeatsampBreaks
Album: Unsung Irregular [ALBUM]
Track: 2 of 11
Title: S-Bend
Artist: Werkha
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW340
Formats: Vinyl LP/Digital
Digital Release: 10th October 2025
Physical Release: 10th October 2025
About This Release:
First Word Records is very proud to present the new album from Werkha, Unsung Irregular.
This is his third full-length studio LP, and is comprised of 11 tracks showcasing Werkhas unique blend of jazzy breakbeat-tinged electronics and analogue aesthetics. It includes the singles S-Bend, Toast Rack, and two collaborations; Everyday (feat. Ríoghnach Connolly) and Narrow In (feat. Daudi Matsiko) - a pair of revered artists with roots in folk music, complimenting the close connection to nature found throughout Werkhas productions.
——
Werkha (aka Tom Leah) is a multi-instrumentalist born in Rusholme, Manchester. His previous releases on Worldwide Award-winning independent London-based label First Word Records include The Rigour EP (2020), and the All Werk Is Play LP (2022), carrying on from his initial output on the Brighton-based Tru Thoughts label.
Hes had previous support from a wide range of tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson, Nemone, Don Letts, Jamz Supernova and Zakia (BBC 6 Music), Mo Ayoub (BBC Radio 1), Julie Adenuga, Scratcha DVA, BBC Manchester, Worldwide FM and Rinse FM.
Alongside his own releases, hes collaborated and remixed with Quantic, A Certain Ratio, Marcos Valle, Eska, Chunky, Andrew Ashong and extensively with Keisha Thompson and Bryony Jarman-Pinto, to cite a few.
Werkha has done full band and solo performances across the UK and Europe, touring with the likes of Bonobo, Chet Faker, Rebecca Vasmant and Mr Scruff, and sharing billing with Crazy P, GoGo Penguin, Todd Terje, Lefto and MCDE, gracing stages at legendary venues like The Roundhouse, The Jazz Café and Manchester Cathedral, and various festivals including Glastonbury, SXSW, We Out Here, A Love Supreme and Latitude.
Additionally to playing live, Werkha is a formidable DJ, recently doing a mix for Selector Radio (British Council) and previously for the likes of Tom Ravenscroft & Afrodeutsche (BBC 6 Music), NTS, Primavera Sound and Reform Radio.
——
Werkha is a thoughtful, conscientious artist, whose approach to creating is innovative, unique, ever evolving and deeply groovy.
Putting community at the centre of much of what he does, Werkha worked for a mental health arts charity in Stockport, outreach in rural Cumbria and does continual collaboration with Reform Radio to curate opportunities for upcoming Mancunian artists. As Werkha says, the music we love to listen to doesnt exist unless we water the roots from which it grows.
In recent years, he has been creating and building his side-project, Saturama - a live audio-visual experience aimed at reconnecting to our rainforests in the UK, which has received support from organisations like Plantlife, Manchester Museum and RSPB Wild Haweswater, with more exciting collaborations in the pipeline.
——
The new album Unsung Irregular is a deeply considered and thematically rich project, exploring hidden disabilities and spotlighting the power of irregularities that often go unnoticed.
Werkha says as an album title, Unsung Irregular is an anchor point that brings together a lot of the meaning behind each individual track... its a meeting of beauty and a mishap of the form – an irregularity that I hope I can give a voice to.
More than a reflection on chronic pain, Unsung Irregular is a celebration of movement, and the resilient power of music to transform discomfort into rhythm. Scoliosis has shaped his life in ways both visible and invisible, and the album traces those contours with unflinching honesty.
I dont outwardly use my own vocals on records, so I reach for different sounds and instruments to represent the stories I want to tell.
The process of healing is written into every detail: field recordings, processed vocal textures, geographical references. From the conspicuous architectural reference point of Toast Racks title, to tracks like By Helm and Weak Point which are linked not just by theme, but by sound design; echoing physical locations and personal milestones in Toms recovery.
Theres a vocoder I used on a sample of my voice on By Helm… I used that same texture sidechained to kit in Weak Point… Link...")
![Black Sumo - Cameras [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BqmmGxoitAo/mqdefault.jpg "Black Sumo - Cameras [Audio]
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#FirstWordRecords #RapHipHop #InstrumentalEastCoast
Album: Clarity [ALBUM]
Track: 7 of 12
Title: Cameras
Artist: Black Sumo
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW368
Formats: Digital
Digital Release: 8th May 2026
About This Release:
First Word Records is proud to bring you Clarity, a new 12-track beat-tape from Black Sumo.
Black Sumo is the instrumental-hip hop alias of KRTS aka Kurtis Hairston; an artist raised in Pittsburgh, USA, traversing to Brooklyn, NY, and currently residing in Berlin, Germany.
In the early period of the pandemic, during a walk & talk with a Covid-meter of distance between each other, KRTS strolled the empty streets of Berlin with a friend. The details of the discussion are a blur, but the statement yo, that is as rare as a black sumo wrestler is recalled. They laughed & continued their walk. KRTS began reflecting on those words. Black Sumo… That could be an artist name… But, what kind of music?…. His friend agreed & quickly confidently replied definitely hip hop beats.
So was born the moniker & the concept. It began as a homage to the instrumental beat tapes hed make in his dark & musty basement in Pennsylvania at the turn of the century. Raw & gritty, they combined jazzy lo-fi boom bap, reminiscent of early 90s East Coast & Bay Area sounds, with added flares of dramatic layered melodies, and a hint of Shoegaze-esque walls of reverb.
Sonically Clarity embodies a conglomerate of those aural textures across its 12 tracks; from filtered ethereal ambience, to headnod hip hop. It includes the recent singles Silent Stones and Rehearsal.
2020 saw the first fruits of this project enter the world, on the self-released beat tape The Defeatist, or as Kurtis put it at the time the journey of becoming whole again.
He further explains what I did find as far as Clarity during the making of these tracks is how much of an immigrant I really am. I think it really became clear during the BLM marches in Berlin….
A number of tracks were created during the bleak Berlin Winter all the way into Spring; the clarity here being what appears in Spring that Winter was hiding.
The Black Sumo project was effectively put to bed at this point, only to have tracks revisited very recently, five years on, as a new form of Clarity for the feeling of these compositions came to light. A better understanding of the period, and an acceptance & embrace of the art that was created.
And so, it was felt the time was now right to release this material, now revised & revisited with a clearer state of mind. With Clarity…
Clarity is available May 8th on all digital platforms, with a limited cassette version available exclusively on Bandcamp.")
![Essa & Pitch 92 - All for the Love (feat. Karizz) [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CVd7DV02PgA/mqdefault.jpg "Essa & Pitch 92 - All for the Love (feat. Karizz) [Audio]
Essa & Pitch 92 - All for the Love (feat. Karizz) [Audio]")
![Bastien Keb & Bastien Keb - Ghouls [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CcdXmnK1sMM/mqdefault.jpg "Bastien Keb & Bastien Keb - Ghouls [Audio]
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#FirstWordRecords #Jazz #Fusion
Album: Ghouls / Play Dead / Après Minuit [SINGLE]
Track: 1 of 3
Title: Ghouls
Artist: Bastien Keb & Bastien Keb
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW355
Formats: Digital
Digital Release: 29th October 2025
About This Release:
First Word Records are proud to bring you the second single taken from Ghouls; the forthcoming 6th album by Bastien Keb.
A multi-instrumentalist originally from the Midlands, Bastien Keb (aka Sebastian Jones) previously released his highly-acclaimed album 22.02.85 on First Word back in 2017; this new album being a very welcome return to the Worldwide Award-winning UK independent label.
His music has been widely supported across BBC Radio in the past by Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nemone and Tom Ravenscroft. This is in addition to glowing press reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian and The Line Of Best Fit.
Hes built up a steady fanbase through his extensive catalogue over the years, with material for labels like Def Pressé, Gearbox, One-Handed Music and most recently for Shabaka Hutchings Native Rebel Recordings imprint, on a collaborative project with South Londons Confucius MC (Speakers Corner Quartet).
Ghouls is the title track of this new project - an appropriately haunting selection of sounds for the Halloween season.
Synth-heavy alternative new-wave / post-punk vibes on this one, with a real retro feel.
This is accompanied by two more album tracks; Play Dead features Malik Ameer Crumpler on vocals and Kebs cousin Mark Millington on sax. This one is another slice of jazzy-spoken word, painting a full picture for the imagination.
Completing this triple threat is Après Minuit - a downtempo instrumental jazz-funk cut, complete with epic harmonics, spine-tingling vocals and featuring Mark Millington blowing the sax once again.
Mark released his solo debut album on the Alberts Favourites label earlier this year, but has been active in the music industry for over three decades, whilst Malik Ameer Crumpler is a poet, composer, editor and professor originally hailing from California, now based in Paris, whos been involved in numerous albums while writing for various forms of experimental media. Both artists feature heavily throughout the full-length album, adding their own unique layers to the overall piece.
These three tracks give you a full flavour of the diversity and mood of the forthcoming LP - a soundtrack to an imaginary movie of the mind.
Through the reflective and introspective multi-mood journey of its 19-tracks, Ghouls spans psychedelic-chamber-funk, warped anti-ballads, cinematic instrumentals, Ethio-jazz & ethereal ambience.
Entirely sample-free, this album is full to the brim with musical experimentation, with Kebs compulsion to make all the individual pieces of music independently; combining strings, harps, saxophones, theremins, clarinets, flutes and trumpets.
He signals to the fuzzy, nostalgic nebulous of mid 90s skate videos, as well as harking back to the scores & moods of movies like The French Connection and La Haine. There there are whispers of sounds in the air from jazz clubs, street preachers & Turkish restaurants.
Keb describes the sonic experience of this forthcoming album simply as this… Youre half awake, and half asleep, but youre warm…
Ghouls will be released digitally worldwide on Weds Oct 29th, with the album of the same name dropping on vinyl & digital, November 14th 2025. There will also be an accompanying book of words & artwork put together by Bastien & Malik released around the same time.")
![papaya noon - patience [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ChxHPIhQu_U/mqdefault.jpg "papaya noon - patience [Audio]
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#FirstWordRecords #SoulRampB #ContemporaryRampB
Album: through the moods [EP]
Track: 3 of 6
Title: patience
Artist: papaya noon
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW365
Formats: 12 Vinyl/Digital
Digital Release: 10th July 2026
Physical Release: 10th July 2026
About This Release:
First Word Records are proud to bring you the debut EP from papaya noon - ‘through the moods’.
papaya noon are a Cardiff-based duo comprised of vocalist Annie Mirza and multi-instrumentalist Greg Marriott.
Formed five years ago, they make jazz-infused R&B music that incorporates their mutual love of classic soul, hip hop & electronica.
The duo have already amassed an impressive fan-base online, garnering over 80,000 followers across their socials, and receiving praise from such luminaries in the US as Missy Elliot, Snoop Dogg, Queen Latifah, 9th Wonder, Bootie Brown & the late great Fatman Scoop.
This is a result of their unique style, captivating grooves & deeply catchy hooks, encompassing a distinctive blend of soul music, from retrospective 90s vibes to alternative futuristic flavours, creating a sonic palette that’s wonderfully contemporary, yet very much their own.
All their music is written, performed & produced single-handedly by the duo themselves, who’ve managed to create a magically powerful potion from their plant-filled Cardiff studio space, and generated huge anticipation for their future output in-turn.
The future is NOW, as papaya noon are finally ready to unleash their music into the world.
‘through the moods’ is a 6-track EP of delicious alternative r&b vibes, already set to become future soul classics.
Sonically rooted in warm, textured instrumentation & layered harmonies, the duo have triumphantly built a huge soundscape that feels simultaneously nostalgic & futuristic. Smoky late-night ballads nestle alongside infectious uptempo jams, leaning into their jazzy boom-bap & neo-soul influences, whilst showcasing their phenomenal spread of talents as performers and songwriters both.
The duo explained that the EP navigates “neurodivergence, trauma & loss, with tenderness & honesty. Rather than presenting trauma as a spectacle, we’ve attempted to approach it with the softness and complexity that it merits”.
From the first single release ‘blush’, to the downtempo sweetness of ‘blindside’ or ‘morning light’, to the pacier ‘on your side’ & EP closer ‘crybaby’, each track on this project exemplifies their unbridled ability to produce deeply infectious earworms, whilst thematically encompassing unflinching lyricism that’s deeply personal.
Already hailed by some as “the Welsh Moonchild”, papaya noon were named as one of Clash Magazine’s “must-see” acts at FOCUS Wales in 2025, bringing their music to life on stage with their 5-piece live band, additionally performing at Brick Lane Jazz Festival, The Great Escape, Inglefest, Nowadaze, Swn Festival & Good Vibrations Society, as well as NXNe and BreakOut West in Canada, and supporting the likes of Hot 8 Brass Band & Reel People.
With everything already pointing to the duo swiftly becoming one of the hottest new soul acts in Britain, this is only the beginning of the journey for papaya noon…
‘through the moods’ will be released on vinyl & all digital platforms on Fri 10th July.")
![Werkha - Weak Point [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DBlAUGSDvMk/mqdefault.jpg "Werkha - Weak Point [Audio]
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Album: Unsung Irregular [ALBUM]
Track: 9 of 11
Title: Weak Point
Artist: Werkha
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW340
Formats: Vinyl LP/Digital
Digital Release: 10th October 2025
Physical Release: 10th October 2025
About This Release:
First Word Records is very proud to present the new album from Werkha, Unsung Irregular.
This is his third full-length studio LP, and is comprised of 11 tracks showcasing Werkhas unique blend of jazzy breakbeat-tinged electronics and analogue aesthetics. It includes the singles S-Bend, Toast Rack, and two collaborations; Everyday (feat. Ríoghnach Connolly) and Narrow In (feat. Daudi Matsiko) - a pair of revered artists with roots in folk music, complimenting the close connection to nature found throughout Werkhas productions.
——
Werkha (aka Tom Leah) is a multi-instrumentalist born in Rusholme, Manchester. His previous releases on Worldwide Award-winning independent London-based label First Word Records include The Rigour EP (2020), and the All Werk Is Play LP (2022), carrying on from his initial output on the Brighton-based Tru Thoughts label.
Hes had previous support from a wide range of tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson, Nemone, Don Letts, Jamz Supernova and Zakia (BBC 6 Music), Mo Ayoub (BBC Radio 1), Julie Adenuga, Scratcha DVA, BBC Manchester, Worldwide FM and Rinse FM.
Alongside his own releases, hes collaborated and remixed with Quantic, A Certain Ratio, Marcos Valle, Eska, Chunky, Andrew Ashong and extensively with Keisha Thompson and Bryony Jarman-Pinto, to cite a few.
Werkha has done full band and solo performances across the UK and Europe, touring with the likes of Bonobo, Chet Faker, Rebecca Vasmant and Mr Scruff, and sharing billing with Crazy P, GoGo Penguin, Todd Terje, Lefto and MCDE, gracing stages at legendary venues like The Roundhouse, The Jazz Café and Manchester Cathedral, and various festivals including Glastonbury, SXSW, We Out Here, A Love Supreme and Latitude.
Additionally to playing live, Werkha is a formidable DJ, recently doing a mix for Selector Radio (British Council) and previously for the likes of Tom Ravenscroft & Afrodeutsche (BBC 6 Music), NTS, Primavera Sound and Reform Radio.
——
Werkha is a thoughtful, conscientious artist, whose approach to creating is innovative, unique, ever evolving and deeply groovy.
Putting community at the centre of much of what he does, Werkha worked for a mental health arts charity in Stockport, outreach in rural Cumbria and does continual collaboration with Reform Radio to curate opportunities for upcoming Mancunian artists. As Werkha says, the music we love to listen to doesnt exist unless we water the roots from which it grows.
In recent years, he has been creating and building his side-project, Saturama - a live audio-visual experience aimed at reconnecting to our rainforests in the UK, which has received support from organisations like Plantlife, Manchester Museum and RSPB Wild Haweswater, with more exciting collaborations in the pipeline.
——
The new album Unsung Irregular is a deeply considered and thematically rich project, exploring hidden disabilities and spotlighting the power of irregularities that often go unnoticed.
Werkha says as an album title, Unsung Irregular is an anchor point that brings together a lot of the meaning behind each individual track... its a meeting of beauty and a mishap of the form – an irregularity that I hope I can give a voice to.
More than a reflection on chronic pain, Unsung Irregular is a celebration of movement, and the resilient power of music to transform discomfort into rhythm. Scoliosis has shaped his life in ways both visible and invisible, and the album traces those contours with unflinching honesty.
I dont outwardly use my own vocals on records, so I reach for different sounds and instruments to represent the stories I want to tell.
The process of healing is written into every detail: field recordings, processed vocal textures, geographical references. From the conspicuous architectural reference point of Toast Racks title, to tracks like By Helm and Weak Point which are linked not just by theme, but by sound design; echoing physical locations and personal milestones in Toms recovery.
Theres a vocoder I used on a sample of my voice on By Helm… I used that same texture sidechained to kit in Weak Point… ...")
![Georgie Sweet - Equal Measure (Nu:Tone Remix) [feat. Nu:Tone] [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DLXBaW6sUZE/mqdefault.jpg "Georgie Sweet - Equal Measure (Nu:Tone Remix) [feat. Nu:Tone] [Audio]
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Album: Equal Measure (Nu:Tone Remix) [SINGLE]
Track: 1 of 2
Title: Equal Measure (Nu:Tone Remix)
Artist: Georgie Sweet (feat. Nu:Tone)
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW364
Formats: Digital
Digital Release: 3rd April 2026
About This Release:
First Word Records are proud to present the Nu:Tone remix of Georgie Sweets Equal Measure.
This is the second in a set of new versions of tracks that originally appeared on the Brighton-based singer-songwriters soulful sophomore album I Swear To You, released Summer 2025, produced & co-written by Marc Rapson.
This record received an abundance of love & praise from the likes of Gilles Peterson (including a live Worldwide FM session), Lauren Laverne (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Patrick Forge (NTS), Clash Magazine, Somewhere Soul, Assorted Tapes (USA), Bandcamp (Albums of the Year) and many more, across Rinse FM, Soho Radio and beyond.
The remix of Equal Measure comes courtesy of legendary D&B producer, Nu:Tone. Real name Dan Gresham, Nu:Tone has been active in the scene for over two decades, primarily for the Hospital Records label, working with the likes of 4hero, Ben Westbeech, Flava D, Shy FX, Zed Bias, Roni Size and his brother Logistics, as well as previously remixing artists such as Adele, Ms Dynamite, Emeli Sandé, Lenny Fontana, Quantic & Professor Green, to name a few.
For this mix, Nu:Tone turns the original track into a soulful drum & bass roller - a delectably crispy slice of uptempo liquid funk.
Taken from an EP dropping in May featuring a varied selection of producers at the top of their game right now, including Children of Zeus, Kaidi Tatham, Don Leisure & Last Nubian.
Equal Measure is released on all digital platforms, April 3rd 2026.")
![Georgie Sweet - In My Stride [Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Dayc9LREgUo/mqdefault.jpg "Georgie Sweet - In My Stride [Audio]
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Album: I Swear To You [ALBUM]
Track: 10 of 12
Title: In My Stride
Artist: Georgie Sweet
Label: First Word Records
Cat#: FW328
Formats: Vinyl LP/Digital
Digital Release: 20th June 2025
Physical Release: 27th June 2025
About This Release:
First Word Records are incredibly proud to bring you I Swear To You; the stunning sophomore album from Georgie Sweet.
Georgie is a singer / songwriter currently based in Brighton, with a uniquely smooth, soulful vocal tone.
Whilst working on her debut record (Misunderstood), Georgie began a songwriting partnership with multi-instrumentalist Marc Rapson, who is on the boards throughout this project. The duo discovered a natural musical connection instantly, and began working on an abundance of beautiful new material shortly after the release of the first album; writing and creating at Rapsons home in Hertfordshire at various sessions from 2021 onwards, culminating in this new 12-track album, I Swear To You.
Despite being one of the UKs best kept secrets, Georgies already been pricking the ears of some highly-respected selectors. The first single from this record (Smaller / All That We Were) received love from tastemakers such as BBC 6 Musics Gilles Peterson (this one melts), Jazz FMs Tony Minvielle (supremely talented) and Clash Magazine (exudes soulful grace), whilst previous material found itself in the crates of legendary luminaries like DJ Jazzy Jeff & DJ Spinna amongst others.
At the end of 2024, Georgie signed to Worldwide Award-winning independent London-based label, First Word Records; although she previously featured before on the label, via the title track of the highly-acclaimed 2021 sophomore album by Children of Zeus, Balance, along with Akemi Fox. Prior to this her debut album Misunderstood dropped back in 2020 on Futuristica Music; an independent imprint run by Deborah Jordan & Simon S, on which Georgie also collaborated with acclaimed producers like K15 and Mecca:83.
An all-round creative soul, away from creating music, Georgie also works as an illustrator and animator. However, her lifelong love of music is unquestionable. Shes been a vocalist from a young age, initially working with her musical parents (a producer and professional singer respectively).
With a hugely diverse set of inspirations ranging from Stevie Wonder to Michael McDonald, Hiatus Kaiyote to Chappell Roan, Mac Miller to Sampha, and George Duke to EW&F, Georgies respect, love and admiration for a wide range of music is clear; from jazz to soul to pop to hip hop.
Her own sound sits within the realm of glo-fi alternative r&b. From powerful piano-led ballads, to head-nod boom bap backdrops, this album exemplifies Georgies eclectic influences and unique talents as a writer and a vocalist, which are growing exponentially. A tapestry of sound that developed whilst Sweet and Rapson moved from the beat-driven vibes of Georgies earlier work, to finding themselves gravitating more and more to the simplicity of the piano and the voice.
Its this shift in styles that encapsulates the sonic and spiritual feel of the entire project, born out of a warm, creative environment, and full to the brim with heart and soul. I Swear To You is a deeply personal reflection on youth, grief and self-acceptance. An homage to childhood, and the transition into adulthood, exploring the range of experiences and emotions that come with that.
The album cover mirrors the essence of the record; a photo of a hopeful, younger version of Georgie, filled with optimism and joy. Despite the emotional highs and lows expressed throughout the songs, the overarching message remains one of hope; encouraging listeners to keep looking toward the future, to never give up, and to hold onto that youthful sense of possibility.
From the ethereal acapella opening of The Ones We Loved, through to the irresistible jazz-hop bounce of tracks like As I Am, Smaller and In My Stride, to the midtempo soulful bop of Equal Measure and previously-released Energy, to epic ballads like Bedsheets and first single All That We Were, to the more melancholy tones of Patricia and Maybe in a Different Life, to the almost-gospel flavoured closing title track, this is a truly accomplished and timeless piece of work from edge to edge.
I Swear To You is released on vinyl and digital worldwide, Friday June 20th 2025.")
