- Kaidi Tatham has just released a new album titled It’s A World Before You. Kaidi has been kicking around the UK for years – having been part of The Herbaliser's live band in the '90s, a member of Bugz In The Attic and a part of the original broken beat scene. He’s worked with an innumerable list of legends – from Amy Winehouse to Mulatu Astatke and Jazzy Jeff. His sound is distinctive, his music blurring the lines between hip-hop, jazz and dance modes to maximal effect.
Having released an album with frequent collaborator Dego on Theo Parrish’s Sound Signature last year (and EPs on 2000 Black and Floating Points' Eglo Records before that), Kaidi is a contemporary favourite of mine, his jazz inflected productions being consistently excellent. Dego pops up on the titular track It’s A World Before You, an epic bit of danceable jazz-funk complete with strings. 2Tone is another orchestrated groover, this time with glockenspiel! The arrangements really are amazing, complemented by the intricate production. Tatham’s use of the Rhodes is masterful too. He brings a mean musicality to the instrument - its not just a pretty preset.
Album opener Joyous is signature Tatham with its constantly shifting electric piano, horns, deft drumming and guitar. A number of songs share a similar format: danceable tracks with wild improvisational / jazz tangents. There’s two exquisite short pieces that are more ambient - Sweet Kinch, with its swirling keys and Soon Come, consisting of electric piano, bass, lead synth and white noise. There are more overtly hiphop tracks too like Out Here On My Own and Cupid that both feature rappers. I particularly like Cupid, a tremendous tune that starts off smooth but then diverges, going into a passage with sick, rolling bass, evoking golden era hip-hop. Bien is another favourite, an unusually metred instrumental that’s short and sweet. Outta Audah sounds like some funky chase music from a 70s exploitation film.
Few can traverse the realms of hiphop, house and jazz effortlessly – Kaidi Tatham is one of those individuals. His keyboard playing is distinct and virtuosic, lending itself to the broken beat/disco/funk fusion that he executes. Honestly leagues ahead of most dance records in recent memory.
- Hillfolk.