Kaidi Tatham

Kaidi Tatham is a highly accomplished and prolific producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter widely regarded as one of the architects of the U.K.'s broken beat scene. He's helmed dozens of projects and appeared in the credits of hundreds of releases since the 1990s, blending and switching between styles such as jazz fusion, house, hip-hop, neo-soul, and much more. His music typically features complex yet danceable syncopated rhythms and fluid arrangements, showcasing his virtuosic prowess on the keyboards, flute, drums, and other instruments. Tatham has been a major part of the groundbreaking Bugz in the Attic collective as well as several acts on the 2000 Black label, frequently collaborating with its founder, Dego of 4Hero. His solo discography includes albums and singles as Agent K, Shokazulu, and under his own name, including the 2021 full-length An Insight to All Minds.

Tatham's earliest credits include work with the Herbaliser and their Meateaters side project, dating back to the mid-'90s. Neon Phusion, Tatham's trio with Alex Phountzi and Orin Walters (aka Afronaught), released one of the broken beat scene's first full-lengths, The Future Ain't the Same as It Used 2 B, on Laws of Motion in 1999. All three musicians were part of the larger Bugz in the Attic collective, whose members were responsible for an overwhelming percentage of the releases classified as broken beat. Aside from Bugz, Tatham formed an equally crucial alliance with 4Hero's Dego and his 2000 Black label, often working together as a duo and as part of projects like Da One Away. One of Tatham's few solo monikers, Agent K, released the full-length Feed the Cat on Laws of Motion in 2002. Bugz in the Attic issued the acclaimed mix CD FabricLive.12 in 2003, and made their full-length debut with 2006's Back in the Doghouse (on V2), in addition to collecting their remixes for Amy Winehouse, Macy Gray, Basement Jaxx, and dozens of others on two Got the Bug compilations.

Tatham's first album under his own name, In Search of Hope, was released by Freedom School in 2008, merging high-speed funk, soul, and fusion. Mini-album Kaidi's 5ive appeared on Jazz Re:freshed in 2011. Self-titled debut albums by Tatham, Mensah, Lord & Ranks (a supergroup with Dego, Akwasi Mensah, and Matt Lord) and Tatham's Shokazulu alias were issued by 2000 Black in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Dego & Kaidi released two EPs on Eglo Records (founded by Alexander Nut and Floating Points), then issued 2015's Adam Rock Dissed!! EP and 2017 full-length A So We Gwarn on Theo Parrish's Sound Signature. Tatham released a trilogy of EPs (Hard Times, Changing Times, and Serious Times) and a 2018 full-length (It's a World Before You) on First Word Records, which also reissued his first album. Solo single "You Find That I've Got It" appeared on 2000 Black in 2019. Tatham collaborated with Patrick Gibin and Josh Milan on the 2020 single "Love to the World," and Tatham's first EP with Andrew Ashong, Sankofa Season, appeared at the end of the year. Solo album An Insight to All Minds, featuring appearances by Stro Elliot (the Roots) and MC Uhmeer (son of Jazzy Jeff), arrived on First Word in 2021. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi