Werkha (aka Tom Leah) is a multi-instrumentalist, producer & DJ hailing from Manchester and Cumbria. He has been consistently releasing music and creating live experiences for over a decade. 

 

Werkha’s music fuses analogue jazz-funk vibes with the UK’s electronic, resulting in a number of releases nestled between the sounds of broken beat and cinematic moments. Deep synths and delectable drums ride alongside live horns and a wealth of string textures. Shortly after his track “Sidesteppin” was picked up by Gilles Peterson for his Brownswood Bubblers compilation, Werkha’s debut landed on the acclaimed Brighton imprint Tru Thoughts. He went on to sign to the Worldwide Award-winning First Word Records, releasing his self-produced sophomore album ‘All Werk Is Play’ in 2022. This featured collabs with MC Chunky (Eglo Records / Swamp 81), Ellen Beth Abdi (A Certain Ratio), Kemani Anderson (Secret Night Gang), Nick Blacka (GoGo Penguin) and Tom Driessler (Tom Misch / Jordan Rakei) amongst others. 

 

These releases, alongside collaborations and remixes for the likes of Quantic, Bryony Jarman-Pinto, Marcos Valles and Andrew Ashong, have garnered support from across BBC 6Music and BBC 1Xtra courtesy of Lauren Laverne, Jamz Supernova, Tom Ravenscroft, Huey Morgan and Afrodeutsche, as well as cosigns from the likes of DJ Paulette, Scratch DVA, Zakia (NTS), Jyoty (Rinse FM), and LeFto. 

 

His vibrant energetic live shows include a selection of instruments, looped and fused with a mix of tightly packed samples that set the moment alight, blending beauty and dance. He has toured across the UK and Europe with Bonobo, Chet Faker, Todd Terje, Rebecca Vasmant and Mr Scruff, performed as a member of Bryony Jarman-Pinto’s band and shared stages with Crazy P, GoGo Penguin, LeFto and MCDE. Across live shows and DJ sets, he has performed at legendary venues including The Roundhouse, The Jazz Café and Manchester Cathedral, and at various festivals including Glastonbury, We Out Here, Love Supreme and Latitude. 

 

In addition to making music, Werkha has been working with a mental health arts charity in Stockport and continues to collaborate with Reform Radio to curate opportunities for upcoming Mancunian artists. As Werkha says, “a commercial music entity doesn’t exist without a grassroots industry to propagate it”. He has simultaneously been creating and building another side-project, Saturama - a live audio-visual experience aimed at reconnecting to our rainforests in the UK, which has received support from organisations like Earth Percent, Plantlife, Manchester Museum, RSPB Haweswater and Kendal Mountain Festival.