First Word Records is proud to bring you two projects by Amanda Whiting, available on CD for the first time – ‘The Liminality of Her‘ and ‘Can You See Me Now?‘.
Amanda Whiting is a highly-acclaimed Welsh harpist & composer. A virtuoso in her field, this classically trained musician has established herself in recent years as an essential player in the UK jazz scene.
Amanda’s 2024 album ‘The Liminality of Her‘ featured in Spotify’s ‘Best UK Jazz of 2024’ and received glowing reviews in Jazzwise, Somewhere Soul, Bandcamp, Clash, AllMusic, Harp Column, Apple Music and HHV, to name a few, along with numerous ‘Album of the Year‘ nods and various other accolades, garnering praise critically and publicly.
This album exemplifies Amanda’s talents as a performer and composer, taking in an array of hypnotising sonics from the worlds of jazz; from fusion to spiritual and beyond. She is backed with accompaniment from a remarkable set of players in their own right, including Chip Wickham on flute and PEACH. on vocals. A confident display of purposefully blissful compositions that saunter as much as they soothe, whilst being unafraid to lean into some deep uptempo grooves.
Amanda describes the theme of this project as “liminality… that place in between, the transition from one place to another. No longer what it was, yet not what it’s going to be.
The harp always presents itself at these moments. It’s a sound that causes an emotion. My instrument chose me. It’s been with me through every chapter of life. It’s how I speak, especially when there are no words.
This album is a rite of passage for “her”. A feeling of alchemy, a feeling of liberation. Moments of inner searching, intertwined, waiting but moving forward. Never looking back.
‘The Liminality of Her‘ encompasses the highs and the lows. The nomadic love of freedom and spirituality. It’s all so much bigger than you or I…“
The CD also includes the 2025 EP ‘Can You See Me Now?‘ – another triumphant opus from Whiting; laidback, deliciously jazzy and thematically inquisitive, featuring some exceptional production and accompaniment from Adam Scrimshire (Albert’s Favourite) and features from Alice Russell (Tru Thoughts) and Faye Houston.
In Amanda’s words “thematically, this EP is about the journey as a woman and the stages of life. Standing up and being seen. An important and profound message in the world today!“
Over the past few years, Amanda has had the support of radio stations & tastemakers such as BBC Radio 2 (Jamie Cullum), BBC 6 Music (Cerys Matthews). BBC Radio 3 (Soweto Kinch), Selector Radio (Sian Eleri), NTS Radio (Patrick Forge), FiP (Laurent Garnier), Soho Radio (Tina Edwards) and across Jazz FM, who also nominated her for ‘Instrumentalist of the Year‘.
Amanda joined the roster of Worldwide Award-winning independent London-based label First Word Records in late 2023, initially via a collaborative project with Don Leisure (this year’s Welsh Music Prize winner) on ‘Beyond The Midnight Sun‘, as well as a feature on his ‘Shaboo Strikes Back’ album (also nominated for a Welsh Music Prize).
She’s previously performed, toured and collaborated with a wildly eclectic set of artists, including Matthew Halsall, Rebecca Vasmant, DJ Yoda and Gizmo Varillas, whilst previously releasing three solo albums on Jazzman Records, and a remix project for the Albert’s Favourites imprint.
Amanda has played at numerous festivals across Europe, including We Out Here, and had headline shows at legendary London venues The Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scott’s.
Mojo Magazine cites Amanda’s compositions as “cinematic, lyrical and lissom by turns“.
‘The Liminality of Her / Can You See Me Now?‘ is available in all stores from December 12th.
20-track CD with digipak sleeve & colour booklet.
