Set for release on March 20th via Brownswood Recordings on all digital platforms as well as vinyl, ‘TEMESGEN’ is a six-track aural odyssey that balances uncompromising experimentation with a deep sense of home, comfort, and exploration. In accordance with the duo’s mission, the project is seeking to redefine and reimagine Ethiopian music for a new generation.
Speaking on the inspiration behind the EP’s title, Yohan said: “‘TEMESGEN’ means “Thank God” in Amharic, and for me, I never heard my mother receive good news without saying it aloud. After the first couple gigs we did as ZENA, we saw how people reacted to our music and how it resonated with them. It spurred in us a feeling of overwhelming gratitude, after which the EP kind of named itself”.
Coinciding with the EP’s release, ZENA has unveiled ‘MY LOVE YOUR LOVE’ as the project’s lead single. Drawing from a rich blend of psychedelic funk, dub, R&B, jazz fusion, interwoven with the rhythmic and melodic language of Ethiopian Raya and Lasta music, ‘MY LOVE YOUR LOVE’ is slow-burning and fluid composition with a trance-like flow.
Beholding distinct twangy guitar lines and sonorous synth work, the track emerged bit by bit through improvisation, with spontaneous moments driving its evolution and transcendent climax. Elaborating on the song’s conception and their decision to release it as a single, the duo said: “It was one of the first songs we started working on. It’s become a favourite and we found it's always a bit of a mood lifter”.
The unveiling of ‘MY LOVE YOUR LOVE’ comes after the release of their bold reinterpretation of Admas’ 1984 cult classic 'ANCHI BALE GAME’, which served as their standalone debut single. Upon its release, the single earned acclaim from The Voice Newspaper, CLASH, NOTION, OkayAfrica and Rough Trade for reworking the original track into a brooding and languid mix of alternative R&B, trip-hop and downtempo electronica.
Born out of a mutual love and respect for the music of their shared Ethiopian heritage, ZENA are charting a new endeavour where Ethiopian musical traditions meet the future. Building upon the roots and foundations laid by legendary Ethiopian musicians Haliu Mergia, Alemayehu Eshete and Mulatu Astatke, ZENA fuses the haunting spirituality and earthiness of the ethio-jazz tradition with a modernity, sensuality and sense of disruption that is distinctly London.
ZENA’s formation comes off the heels of a momentous year for Yohan Kebede, who with Kokoroko released their second studio album ‘Tuff Times Never Last’ last July. Upon its release, it was met with mass critical acclaim from the likes of The Guardian, The Times, Bandcamp Daily, Hypebeast, Mixmag, The Voice Newspaper, Pitchfork, PAPER Magazine, SPIN, The Fader, Essence, MOJO, UNCUT, NOTION and The Arts Desk. Eventually parlaying into a on NPR’s famed ‘Tiny Desk’ series, a North American tour and the biggest headline show of their career at the O2 Academy Brixton in London.
Menelik Mulugeta Claffey, better known mononymously as Menelik is a bassist and producer who’s spent years in the inner circle of London’s music scene. Spending significant time on the road and in the studio with Alina Bzhezhinska and keyboardist and Brian Jackson on the Alice Coltrane Celebration Project, Bill Laurance and Divine Earth (fka muva of Earth) Bill. A long-term elusive figure, his lowkey presence has become almost synonymous with his name and a signature.
Tracklist:
1. ZENA!
2. MY LOVE YOUR LOVE
3. KAZANCHIS
4. IT'S YOU (ANTE NEH) [feat. Meron T]
5. LONG TIME NO SPEAK
6. TEMESGEN
