Album Review: Ezra Collective - 'Here Because Of Hope'
With a spirit of joy, freedom and possibility at it’s heart, Ezra Collective prove once again that music is medicine with their album ‘Here Because of Hope’.
A decade since releasing their first EP, Ezra Collective have grown up together. As men, as artists, as people who had a dream for things to change for the better. With their new release, ‘Here Because of Hope’ that dream fuels it all as they share a message of a renewal and salvation that lives on the other side of pain.
Split into three sections, ‘Here Because of Hope’ is a journey through jazz, geography and time. Interwoven with poetry read by Leticia Wright, Ezra Collective follow the evolution of Black music, tracing its history across the diaspora. Each a landmark, the songs trace the movement of people and histories that have shaped not only Ezra Collective’s work, but more widely contemporary British Black Music as a whole. From its roots in Africa, through to America and the Caribbean all the way to the streets of London where the band call home, the album is a celebration of the culture, tradition, people and resilience that has shaped entire generations of sound.
The stories begin with ‘Blow Your Trumpet’, slow and steady. With laid back rhythms and a simple melody flanked by piano, the titular trumpet welcomes listeners into a soundscape that is warm, inviting and full of intoxicating charisma. Ife Ogunjobi is nothing short of sublime, personifying the band’s effortless ability to sit right in that perfect pocket of a groove. ‘Sweet Echo’ is exactly as it’s title would suggest with flavours of Afro-Jazz and a bassline by TJ Koleoso that pushes the energy forward and the temperature up. Where ‘Don’t Worry’ is gentle and introspective, ‘Only Love’ is an invitation from Pa Salieu to dance. The first course closes out with ‘Someday’, which with its gorgeous blend of organ, guitar, horns and piano embodies the warm carefree feeling of summer.
‘Birdie Signs’ is a gearchange as shimmering piano from Joe Armon-Jones is punctuated by a deep, reggae-meets-dubstep type beat. It’s followed by ‘The Last Stand’ where you are transported to the dark of night by orchestration that would be right at home in the depths of a smoky dancefloor. Lila Ike, the second feature thus far, joins the party on ‘Well Organised’. A tribute to Jamaica and her longstanding ability to heal with melody, steel pan melodies and Ike’s silky smooth tone stand out proud. A love letter to Latin America, ‘El Corazon’ truly is the heart of the record, with percussion performances by band leader Femi Koleoso worthy of a fiesta. Once again, the trumpet line is front and center for ‘Bunny on The Rise’, an injection of pure jazz chaos that can’t help but leave you smiling.
Leona Lewis is well and truly swoon-worthy on ‘All I Need’. ‘Jubille Feeling’ is lightning in a bottle levels of special. With an accompanying London-shot video directed by Ebenezer Blanche, it combines the band’s jazz foundations with the dancefloor momentum of London club culture. Taking inspiration from the name of the church he grew up at and the meaning of the word itself (a year when everyone’s debts are settled and prisoners are set free), it paints a picture of the euphoric joy of wanting nothing more than to dance along with the music. ‘Black Flag’ is a window into the intimate, more subdued moments that come at the end of a night out once the club has closed. James Mollison’s sax line against synths and percussion is dreamily rich, soaring over echoey orchestration. Things close out with ‘Most High’, where accompanied by Libianca, Ezra Collective give thanks to all that has shaped who they are.
Whilst critical acclaim is nothing new for the band, this album shapes up to be their best yet. ‘Here Because of Hope’ as a body of work will resonate with everyone, creating a sense of community against a world of division and disconnection from one another. It is a reminder that we need to cherish and celebrate everything that has built us into the people we have become; the stories, the culture, the roots laid by the people that came before. In spite of pain, in spite of struggle, in spite of all that is thrown at us, there has to be joy. Hope is the thing that gets us through. Hope is what makes the joy feel possible.
Words by Kirsty-Ann Thomson
