Release Date: 20/03/26 - TEMESGEN
This record will be released
TEMESGEN’; is a six-track aural odyssey that balances uncompromising experimentation with a deep sense of home, comfort, and exploration. In accordance with the ZENA's mission, the project is seeking to redefine and reimagine Ethiopian music for a new generation.
Artist: ZENA
Genre: Contemporary Jazz
Label: Brownswood
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”.
ZENA arrive on Brownswood Recordings with a bold debut that’s equally at home across jazz-minded selectors and leftfield crate-diggers. The duo’s momentum is fuelled by Yohan Kebede’s landmark year with Kokoroko; from the release of Tuff Times Never Last to an NPR Tiny Desk, a North American tour, and their biggest headline show yet at O2 Academy Brixton, alongside Menelik’s quietly formidable reputation in London’s inner circle, shaped by time on the road and in the studio with Muva Of Earth and Bill Laurance.
RIYL: Mulatu Astatke, Hailu Mergia, Khruangbin, Solange, Admas
TRACKLIST:
A1 - ZENA!
A2 - MY LOVE YOUR LOVE
A3 - KAZANCHIS
B1 - IT'S YOU (ANTE NEH) [ft. Meron T]
B2 - LONG TIME NO SPEAK
B3 - TEMESGEN
About the artist
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.
This Vinyl product is a:
- Standard Pressing
If this album is something you would like to buy when it's released, drop us a line on chat@capsulerecords.co.uk or let us know when you are next in store.
