Ezra Collective return with details of fourth studio album ‘Here Because Of Hope’

Ezra Collective are back, having just announced that their new album, ‘Here Because Of Hope’, will arrive on 18th September via Partisan Records. 

The follow-up to 2024’s ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’, this next LP will be the boundary-breaking jazz outfit’s fourth full-length, and is set to continue expanding on their signature community-oriented, connection-first ethos with a spate of collaborations (Pa Salieu, Lila Iké, Leona Lewis and Libianca), as well as including excerpts read by actor Letitia Wright.

Raising the curtain on ‘Here Because Of Hope’ is lead single ‘Only Love’, a Pa Salieu-featuring cut that incorporates West African grooves, bright horn flourishes, and Pa’s distinctive, deeply personal flow. Speaking about how the collaboration came about, Ezra Collective’s bandleader Femi Koleoso has reflected: “In 2024 we had the beautiful moment playing at Wembley Arena, looking out into the crowd and seeing Pa Salieu dancing and partying with his friends and in that moment, I had the very thought we need to make a song together for this kind of setting.” 

Explaining more about the album as a whole, the Mercury Prize-winning group have noted that “it feels like our first records were really Ezra Collective as children, [and] this one really feels like Ezra Collective as adults.” Continuing, they share: “we were really determined to write an album that still sees the prominent importance and final destination being joy, but also recognises the pain and the momentary difficulties that people are facing.

“This album is the journey from that pain to joy, and the connective word in the middle is hope. We hope that this album makes people dance, We hope it makes people cry. There are stories woven into every single fabric of the record, and those stories most eloquently put by 5 adults that met as children.”

Dive into the full tracklist of ‘Here Because Of Hope’ and watch the official video for ‘Only Love’ below.