Ezra Collective have today released their new video and single titled ‘Well Organized’, featuring Jamaican singer Lila Iké, from their upcoming album ‘Here Because of Hope‘, dropping September 18th via Partisan Records.
Ezra Collective have reached that rare point where every new release arrives with the burden of expectation, yet they somehow make it look embarrassingly easy. ‘Well Organised’ could have settled for being another impressive crossover between jazz and reggae inspired rhythms, but that would be far too predictable for a band that has spent the last decade making genre labels look increasingly useless. Instead, this latest preview from ‘Here Because of Hope’ feels like another reminder that the group’s greatest talent is making ambitious musical ideas sound completely natural.
The song builds itself around a steel pan melody that refuses to leave your head, carrying a warmth that immediately evokes generations of Caribbean musical history without slipping into nostalgia. Borrowing emotional DNA from Max Romeo’s legendary ‘I Chase The Devil’ is no small gamble, yet Ezra Collective approach the source material with respect rather than imitation. They understand that honoring a legacy means creating something worthy of standing beside it instead of hiding behind it. Funny how many artists still have not received that memo.
Lila Iké proves to be the perfect collaborator because she never arrives simply to decorate the track. Her voice becomes another essential instrument within the arrangement, wrapping every lyric in effortless soul while matching the band’s vibrant musicianship beat for beat. The chemistry feels completely organic, as though everyone involved was chasing the same emotional destination from the very first note. Nothing feels forced and nothing feels calculated beyond making listeners grin without realizing they are doing it.
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Ezra Collective have always excelled at making technical brilliance feel inviting instead of intimidating, and ‘Well Organised’ might be one of their finest examples of that balancing act. Every rhythm shifts with precision, every instrumental flourish earns its place, and every melodic turn opens another layer of the song instead of showing off for its own sake. Lesser bands mistake complexity for personality. Ezra Collective have long understood that groove is the personality, and everything else simply supports it.
Thematically, the single opens the Caribbean chapter of ‘Here Because of Hope’ with confidence and genuine affection for the musical traditions that shaped its identity. That broader journey across Africa, the Caribbean, and Britain gives the upcoming album an intriguing framework, but ‘Well Organised’ succeeds because it never feels weighed down by concept. The ideas are woven into the music rather than pinned to it with an explanatory note. Imagine that. Storytelling through songs instead of press release buzzwords.
Following landmark achievements that include rewriting expectations for modern British jazz and proving that community can be every bit as important as virtuosity, Ezra Collective continue to sound like a band moving forward instead of looking backward. ‘Well Organised’ captures everything that has made them one of Britain’s most vital musical forces while hinting that ‘Here Because of Hope’, arriving September 18 via Partisan Records, could become another defining moment in an already remarkable career. If this is only one stop along the journey, the full destination is shaping up to be something special indeed.
Featured image by Sergio Pontier.
About ‘Here Because Of Hope’
Built around an interpolation of Max Romeo’s immortal classic ‘I Chase The Devil’, the single announces itself with a steel pan melody lifted from a spontaneous recording Femi Koleoso made while visiting London’s Kinetika Bloco Youth Club. That melody became the emotional foundation of the song, eventually blossoming into one of the album’s most transporting moments. Joined by one of Jamaica’s most celebrated voices, they pay tribute to the country’s rich musical legacy while placing it firmly within Ezra Collective’s unmistakable sound.
Recalling his time at the Youth Club, bandleader Femi Koleoso says: “They were playing steel pans and the most beautiful line caught my attention. I recorded it on my phone and lived with it. It had the emotion and beauty that I associate with dancehall, bashment, reggae and so many other beautiful sounds that come from Jamaica. We began to build stories, melodies and rhythms one by one. When it felt like home, we called our sister Lila Iké to furnish the house with love and good vibes.”
Across Here Because of Hope, Ezra Collective trace the movement of Black music across Africa, through the Caribbean and ultimately into Britain, celebrating the sounds, cultures and communities that have shaped generations of music while exploring how hope transforms pain into moments of joy. If lead single “Only Love” ft. Pa Salieu opened the album’s West African movement, “Well Organised” marks the beginning of its Caribbean chapter. Pitchfork recently named the album one of its Most Anticipated Albums of Summer 2026, calling it “the latest in a series of flash points for the unstoppable Ezra Collective” and praising the band’s “riotously fun live show that has made them British national treasures.”
The forthcoming project marks a bold new chapter for Ezra Collective following a historic few years that saw the band become the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize before going on to win the BRIT Award for Group of the Year. Expansive, emotional and deeply rhythmic, the album follows the journey of Black music across continents while celebrating the communities, traditions and cultures that continue to shape it today.
Over the past decade, Ezra Collective have become one of the defining British bands of their generation, redefining British jazz on stages from Wembley Arena and the Royal Albert Hall to New York’s Blue Note, Glastonbury, Central Park SummerStage and Sydney Opera House. They will bring that world to North America this year, including an August appearance at LA Jazz Festival and November headline dates in San Francisco, Toronto, New York City and Montréal. The North American run follows their biggest global headline tour announcement, spanning Australia, Asia, the United States and Europe before culminating in their largest UK tour to date with two special nights at London’s O2 Academy Brixton in March 2027.
‘Here Because Of Hope’ Tracklist
- Part I (Read by Letitia Wright)
- Blow Your Trumpet
- Sweet Echo
- Don’t Worry
- Only Love (ft. Pa Salieu)
- Someday
- Part 2 (Read by Letitia Wright)
- Birdie Sings
- The Last Stand
- Well Organised (ft. Lila Ike)
- El Corazon
- Bunny On The Rise
- Part 3 (Read by Letitia Wright)
- All I Need (ft. Leona Lewis)
- Jubilee Feeling
- Black Flag
- Most High (ft. Libianca)
About Ezra Collective
Few bands in British music carry the weight of community, culture and craft quite like Ezra Collective. Formed in the youth clubs of London and shaped by the rich musical life of the capital’s churches, clubs and streets, they’re a band whose story has always been inseparable from the environments that made them. Five musicians who grew up together, aged together, and have over a decade documenting that shared life in sound. Their journey from their formation in 2012 and first EP Chapter 7 in 2016 to the present day is one of the most compelling ascents in contemporary British music.
Rooted in jazz but never confined by it, Ezra Collective became a living argument that jazz could be joyful, urgent and entirely relevant—as much at home in a sweaty basement as on a festival main stage. Speaking of which, Ezra Collective have appeared at the world’s finest festivals and on the finest stages. In addition to their beloved studio albums and praise from the Guardian, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and the New York Times, recent collaborations include with Fred Again and Catriel y Amoroso on Beto’s Horns, Ezra Remix, plus Olivia Dean, Jorja Smith, Sampa the Great, Greentea Peng, Nubya Garcia and many more.
LINKS:
https://ezracollective.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ezracollective/
https://ezracollective.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BRAUN0yN8557PLRZIr02W