The last single before the album drops...
The third single from my latest project Embers releases on all platforms today, and it’s a remix of a song written back in 2012 that never saw an official release until now. With the world on fire from Palestine to the Congo to Sudan to Ethiopia, I’ve started working this song back into my live sets because it just feels timely, even though the lyrics are reflecting on events in Ethiopia from our parents generation. And like most of the songs on Embers, I made the beat this year.
I also wanted to take a moment to shoutout one of my biggest influences in storytelling, Haile Gerima!
The album I released last year, From the Ashes of Our Homes, opens with a reflection on the day Ijeoma and myself fled from an actual house fire, and expands to a full-length meditation on the loss of home and safety so many of us have experienced these last few years as a result of wars, the pandemic, the climate catastrophe - and how do we build something new from the ashes of our collective homes.
There were a few of the earliest songs I recorded for Ashes that never made the final cut, that I was planning to release as an EP at some point after the album. I got carried away with the remixes though, and what I originally thought would be a good 3 songs turned into another whole 12 song album, remixing and reimagining songs from 7 different projects that I’ve been a part of in my career.
The title of the project, Embers, is a nod to Haile Gerima’s film “Ashes & Embers” as it’s a natural follow-up to the Ashes album, but also the concept Haile talks about, of his mother burying fire by ash, to preserve embers that can be used to start a new fire the next day, resonates deeply with the concept of this remix album and the intergenerational healing work happening in the music. I tried to capture a bit of that conversation in this song, “Distance”.
This is the last single before the album drops next week. I’m also unveiling the full track list! Pre-orders up now on both Bandcamp and iTunes.
Love.
PS: Are you in Seattle or anywhere in Europe? Keep reading.
Tickets are still available for my next few shows in Seattle!
On June 17th, I will be opening up for the Madaraka Festival Tour (with Nyashinski, Eddy Kenzo, Savara of Sauti Sol, Dynamq, Naomi Achu and more) at the Neptune Theatre, tickets for that are available here.
And on June 21st at the Nectar, I will be joining my brother Khingz for an Abyssinian Creole set, opening up for dead prez along with Rell Be Free and Mostafa. Tickets for that show are available here.
For our people in the EU: This August, Supreme La Rock, Mid Century Modern (the duo of King Khazm and Jesse Kogita), and myself will be in Europe, and we are currently booking a tour. Know anyone out there that wants to book a show? Let us know!
Appreciate y’all so much.
Got a few incredible podcast episodes coming your way this week and the next too :)