Eye Of The High - Seismic Shift / Elevate

First Word Records is very proud to welcome Eye Of The High to the label, with this vinyl-only double-dose of Brit Funk magic - 'Seismic Shift' and 'Elevate'.
Eye Of The High is a collaborative project headed by Femi Fem and Glen Scott.
Femi Fem is a DJ and producer, perhaps best known as being a member of Young Disciples, the iconic '90s band on the Talkin' Loud stable, whose seminal classic album 'Road To Freedom' was shortlisted for a Mercury Music Award. An iconic LP in the canon of UK soul music, this was a huge inspiration for First Word as a label. As a group, the YD's also worked with Loose Ends, Des'ree, IG Culture and many more.
A longtime international player on the DJ scene, Femi hosts a weekly Sunday night show on Mi-Soul Radio, runs MOBO Award-winning night 'Rotation' at Ladbroke Grove's Subteranea, and has performed at events for Prince, Janet Jackson, Stella McCartney, Jade Jagger and Gucci, additionally to providing music for shows by fashion designers like Ozwald Boateng and Katherine Hamnett.
Glen Scott is an award-winner producer, multi-instrumentalist and longtime collaborator with Femi since the mid nineties. Together they've worked on productions and remixes for the likes of Mary J Blige, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, D'Influence and The Pasadenas. Meanwhile, Glen's long list of additional productions and accomplished engineer roles include work with artists like Beverley Knight, Craig David, Luis Fonsi and Eric Bibb.
The duo's passion for all things soulful brought them together as a songwriting and production team initially, and forms the basis of their current incarnation, Eye of the High, now a collective of international musicians. Aiming to cater to the mind, body and soul, their sound comes from the cultural foundations of their Jamaican and Sierra Leone backgrounds, fused into the melting pot of London's many flavours. Their sonic influences are worn on their sleeves, with the classical ethics and sensibilities of funk, disco, r&b, jazz and street soul shining through, while presented in a contemporary style and pattern for today's dances, exuding passion, experience and feel-good vibes.
So to the sophomore single offering from the band. 'Seismic Shift' is a brand new uptempo track that encompasses all the wonder and power of this new wave of Brit Funk. Tough bassline, smooth vocals, jazzy licks, sweet keys and a heavy disco groove, with a little vocoder action thrown in for good measure. There's no doubt this one will cause a seismic shift when dropped in any dance.
Flipside 'Elevate' was previously released digitally-only last Spring, through their own Higher Grade imprint. Four minutes of sheer upliftment, it received love from Gilles Peterson, Lauren Laverne, Trevor Nelson, Jeff Young, Tony Minvielle, Patrick Forge, Grant Nelson, Ross Allen, DJ Spoony, Ashley Beedle, Gordon Mac, Seamus Haji, Ronnie Herel, Dez Parkes, Mickey D, Roy The Roach and numerous other key selectors, subsequently being played across BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, NTS, Mi-Soul, Jazz FM and many others. This is the first time the original track has been released on vinyl.
In Eye of the High's words "living in the midst of cataclysmic upheaval in the world provoked the Eye of the High team to create differently. Emerging out of this process, 'Seismic Shift' is about making great change. It feels appropriate for us to align with First Word Records to release 'Seismic Shift' as a vinyl single, with the ever popular dancers fave 'Elevate'. In the video and artwork, we reference the imagery of WW2 African American soldiers whom, on their return to the USA, sparked the fires of a seismic shift in civil rights activism. We are part of a new tide in positivity."