First Word Records is proud to bring you a double AA side remix single from Takuya Kuroda, featuring brand new mixes from Waajeed and Kaidi Tatham.
Takuya Kuroda is a Kobe-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter and musician, who was also a longtime player for Akoya Afrobeat as well as DJ Premier’s BADDER band. Initially playing on the Japanese circuit with his trombonist brother, Takuya went on to relocate to New York City, where he has largely remained to this day, becoming a prominent player in the jazz scene, establishing a devoted fan base with jazz heads across the globe.
Following on from the recent 10 year anniversary vinyl re-issue of Takuya Kuroda’s seminal ‘Rising Son‘ album, we revisit his fourth official solo album ‘Midnight Crisp‘, originally released in 2022 on the Worldwide Award winning UK label, First Word Records. Here we have two new interpretations designed squarely for the dancefloor.
Firstly we head to Detroit, with Waajeed‘s Hi-Tech Jazz remix of ‘Choy Soda‘. A pioneer in the worlds of house and hip hop alike, Waajeed’s career is like no other. From his roots designing sleeves for Slum Village, to founding Platinum Pied Pipers, to running record labels, DJing and working with a ton of luminaries himself, Waajeed carries the spirit of his hometown in everything he does. This mix carries on the flavours he brought to the world on his ‘Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz’ album: bumpin’ broken-beat tinged jackin’ house music, this is pure heads-down music to groove to.
On the flip, First Word family, Kaidi Tatham takes on ‘Dead End Dance‘. Kaidi is a deeply-prolific, hugely-revered Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist based in Belfast. One of the original pioneers of the broken beat sound, he’s worked with a ton of legends over the years, including Amy Winehouse, Soul II Soul, Mulatu Astatke and Leroy Burgess, to most recently on various projects with DJ Jazzy Jeff. He stays true to the original vibe and tempo of the track, adding a phat synth bass to the mix, before switching to an uptempo shuffle midway, in his own inimitable style & fashion.
Initial support for this release already in from selectors such as Gilles Peterson (BBC 6 Music) and Dom Servini (Jazz FM), whilst past support has included Pitchfork, Earmilk, Brooklyn Vegan and many more.
‘Midnight Crisp Remixes‘ will be available upfront on vinyl-only from June 14th, with a digital release to follow a month later on July 19th.
