Ezra Collective have announced that they will release a highly anticipated new album titled ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’ later this year. This will be the follow up to the band’s Mercury prize-winning album, ‘Where I’m Meant to Be’ and will be released on the 27th of September via Partisan Records. The announcement comes alongside new single ‘God Made Me Feet For Dancing’.
The new single off the album ‘God Made Me Feet For Dancing’ sees the London Jazz collective collaborate with acclaimed London singer Yazmin Lacey. The release of the latest single from the upcoming album was accompanied by a music video which was directed by Tajana Tokyo, who has also directed videos for Beyonce and Janelle Monae, and it really captures the joy and positive energy and unity around dancing on a night out. watch the music video below.
The single matches the title of their forthcoming album ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’ which was written throughout 2023 as the band was touring the world, and it documents the dance floors they saw globally. The second single off the album ‘God Gave Me Feet For Dancing’ highlights the the joy of these dancefloors and calls on listeners to embrace dancing.
Speaking on the release of the new single drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso commented on the Church’s influence on the band’s view of dancing saying that “Myself, Ife, and TJ all grew up in church, and it played a massive role in how we view the purpose of dancing. Dancing is bigger than just the club space. Dancing is a community thing, dancing is a spiritual thing, and ‘God Gave Me Feet For Dancing’ is like a window into that element of Ezra Collective for the five of us. There’s a story in the Bible that talks about ‘David dancing before the Lord’, and that’s always been something that has inspired me. So, ‘God Gave Me Feet For Dancing’ is meant to look at dancing in a more spiritual capacity, like it’s our God-given ability to shake away the badness of life and dance instead.”
The London bands last album ‘Where I’m Meant to Be’ was released to an amazing reception, winning them the 2023 Mercury prize award, making them the first jazz act to win the award in its 31 year history, with the band giving a breath-taking performance of ‘Victory Dance’ and drummer Femi Koleoso giving a magnificent winning speech, really putting the jazz band on the map. This then saw the band sell out huge shows performing at the likes of the Hammersmith Apollo and the Royal Albert Hall.
The first taste of Ezra Collective’s upcoming album, ‘Ajala’, which sees some afrobeat instrumentation, was released in April and is titled after Nigerian Journalist, Olabisi Ajala. Talking about the title Femi Koleoso said that “‘Ajala travel’ is slang for someone that can’t sit still. It’s the way a lot of people would describe me, but for me it’s also what a great drum beat does, it’s what great music does to me, it means I can’t sit still and I just want to move. Ajala is all about that movement.’
