Since becoming the first jazz act to win the UK’s coveted Mercury Prize in 2023, Ezra Collective‘s five members have stayed busy — working on individual projects and dropping a single, “Ajala,” in April — and now they’re back with the announcement of their next studio album. Dubbed Dance, No One’s Watching, the project is the group’s fourth studio album, and its announcement was accompanied by the release of another new track: the Yazmin Lacey-featuring “God Gave Me Feet For Dancing.”
If “Ajala” and “God Gave Me Feet For Dancing” are any indication, Dance, No One’s Watching will live up to its name, with heavy dance grooves driven by the band’s multitude of influences from jazz to Afrobeat, calypso, hip-hop, reggae and more as well as virtuosic performances from drummer Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, saxophonist James Mollison III and keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones.
Besides Lacy, features across the 15-track album include Olivia Dean, M.anifest, and Moonchild Sanelly. “No matter how people found us, or what kind of music they like, we just want to give any Ezra Collective listener an injection of good vibrations for their soul,” Femi Koleoso told Hypebeast in an April 2023 interview.
In conjunction with the album announcement and single release, Ezra Collective has revealed full dates for an extensive summer tour that’ll kick off in New York City as part of the Big Apple’s SummerStage concert series on July 7, then head to Europe and Asia before concluding with a London homecoming concert on November 15 at the OVO Arena Wembley.
Dance, No One’s Watching is available for pre-order now, with the first 1,000 vinyl or CD buyers receiving a signed postcard from the group. Watch the “God Gave Me Feet For Dancing” video above, and check out a full track list/tour date lineup below.
01 Intro
02 The Herald
03 Palm Wine
04 God Gave Me Feet for Dancing (ft. Yazmin Lacey)
05 Ajala
06 The Traveller
07 N29
08 No One’s Watching Me (ft. Olivia Dean)
09 Hear My Cry
10 Shaking Body
11 Expensive
12 Streets Is Calling (ft. M.anifest & Moonchild Sanelly)
13 Why I Smile
14 Have Patience
15 Everybody
