We are all shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of Jason Rae. On behalf of everyone at First Word Records we wish to extend our sincere condolences to Corinne and Jason's family. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you to all those who have sent such kind words to us over the last couple of days - it is truly appreciated and we will pass these on to Jason's loved ones. We also request that the privacy of Jason's family be respected at this impossibly difficult time. Thank you.

More stuff going on at First Word this week - we've launched our new blog verbalise . Keep your eyes on the blog for random nonsense, free music and more from Gilla, kidkanevil, Testament and new signing One Eleven (see below).

First Word is pleased to announce the signing of One Eleven. A long time friend of the First Word family, we're very excited about this guy's beats. His first release is something special - The One Eleven is a 111 track album, clocking in at 1 hr and 11 minutes. He'll be releasing 11 tracks (see where we're going with this?), every week for the next 10 weeks, with a final track on the eleventh week. This is all available at our new blog www.verbalise.net - see above for more info. Check One Eleven's artist page for an interview and insight into the world of the numerically-focussed beatmaker.

This month First Word celebrates our fourth birthday. Four years ago we drove through the snow to a pressing plant in Nottingham to pick up our precious first twelve inch. Now at our 21st release, 2008 is set to be bigger than ever for us, with more compilations and new albums from kidkanevil, Homecut, Mike-L and new signings Eliphino and One Eleven. We've got a load of events planned as part of the festivities, including next Friday (14th) where the amazing Quantic Soul Orchestra are in town. Check our myspace page for more gigs - the next few months see us in Leeds, Sheffield, London, Penzance, Lihtuania and beyond.

It's new release time at First Word - Mike-L has cooked up a couple of hot new tracks that we've put on a beautiful 7". It's the second in our seven eleven series (every seventh release on the label is a 7") and it is filled with the trademark Mike-L funkiness. Emu Brown is a straight-up dancefloor banger, created on his Emu sampler as a tribute to the Godfather of Soul James Brown. B-Side The Word For This Is Cool is a more jazzy affair, providing the perfect contrast to the flip. Click the link to the left to pick up your copy from our shop.