Unsung Irregular

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 Werkha's 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 Werkha's productions.

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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.

He's 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, he's 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.

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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 doesn't 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.

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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... it's 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 don't 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 Rack'''s 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 Tom's recovery.

"There's a vocoder I used on a sample of my voice on 'By Helm'… I used that same texture sidechained to kit in 'Weak Point'… Linking the two tracks this way brings them into the same world. Some of these motifs and sounds are quite subtle – 'By Helm' opens with a biting synth that represents the "Helm Wind" that rushes down Cross Fell in Cumbria... On 'S-Bend', I disguised samples of my own screams to reference the pain that Scoliosis can cause."

The album also speaks to a wider community of people navigating their own hidden conditions and those carrying pain quietly.

"This album is about giving a voice to those fighting quiet battles daily... I hope that through my music I've created a space for people to feel like they can talk about their own irregularities…"

A record full of vivid storytelling, 'Unsung Irregular' reflects not only personal experience, but the value of creative practice as healing, connection, and self-definition.

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''Unsung Irregular' is released 10th October 2025 on vinyl and digital via First Word Records.