Ezra Collective have just released their new video and single titled ‘Only Love’ featuring Pa Salieu, from their upcoming album ‘Here Because Of Hope’, dropping on September 18th via Partisan Records.
Ezra Collective have always carried the spirit of celebration inside their music, but ‘Only Love’ feels especially profound in the way it balances joy with reflection. The track arrives with the warmth and rhythmic freedom that have made the London group one of the most vital acts in contemporary British music, yet it also carries the weight of experience and cultural memory. Every section feels alive with intention, from the layered percussion to the glowing brass arrangements, creating a sound that moves with both confidence and compassion.
Pa Salieu’s contribution deepens the emotional atmosphere without overwhelming it. His voice cuts through the instrumental richness with a grounded intensity that has become central to his artistic identity. Over the last several years, he has developed a reputation for blending vulnerability, political awareness, and streetwise realism into something unmistakably personal, and ‘Only Love’ continues that evolution beautifully. His presence here does not simply function as a feature but as an extension of the song’s emotional architecture.
What makes the track especially compelling is the sense of movement embedded within it. Ezra Collective have spoken about Here Because Of Hope as a journey tracing Black musical traditions across continents and generations, and ‘Only Love’ immediately establishes that vision with elegance. The rhythms feel deeply connected to West African musical foundations while still embracing the improvisational energy of London jazz and the pulse of modern British rap. The result is music that honors heritage without sounding nostalgic or confined by it.
Ezra Collective’s legacy already feels historic in scope. From their Mercury Prize victory to their groundbreaking BRIT Award win and Wembley headline performance, the band have consistently expanded what British jazz can represent on a global stage. What remains remarkable, though, is how communal their music still feels. ‘Only Love’ carries that same spirit of togetherness, offering a reminder that technical brilliance means little without emotional sincerity behind it.
The production deserves special recognition for how organically everything unfolds. Nothing feels overcrowded despite the density of ideas flowing through the arrangement. The grooves breathe naturally, allowing moments of tension and release to emerge with subtle power. Even during its most energetic passages, the song maintains a sense of calm optimism that lingers long after it ends. Few artists can make music this musically intricate feel so inviting.
As the opening statement for Here Because Of Hope, ‘Only Love’ sets an inspiring tone for what promises to be one of the year’s most meaningful releases. Ezra Collective and Pa Salieu have created something that feels expansive without losing intimacy, politically aware without becoming heavy handed, and deeply rooted while still reaching forward. In a cultural moment often defined by noise and division, this song chooses connection, humanity, and rhythm as its guiding principles.
Featured image by Sergio Pontier.
About ‘Here Because Of Hope’
‘Here Because Of Hope’ was recorded largely in a week-long session at Miraval in southern France. Ezra Collective – Femi Koleoso on drums, TJ Koleoso on bass, Joe Armon-Jones on keys, James Mollison on saxophone and Ife Ogunjobi on trumpet – are joined by special guests including Jamaican singer Lila Iké, British singer-songwriter and actress Leona Lewis, Cameroonian singer Libianca, Salieu, and BAFTA-Award winning actress Letitia Wright, known for her role in the Black Panther films, who introduces each chapter of the album with spoken word.
The seed was planted in the band’s imagination long before a note was recorded. They had been obsessing over a question: why does so much Black music born out of pain sound so joyful? From Fela Kuti’s afrobeat—written as a soundtrack to civil war—to the calypso born out of the slave trade, to grime emerging from the poverty of East London, the pattern was everywhere. The music said something that defied its origins. “We started thinking and obsessing about how many Black genres where the story is painful, but the result is this dance floor feeling,” says Femi. “And we came up with hope. It’s the hope that one day this pain will change and take me to that place. So we’re going to write in anticipation of that place.”
Each movement is devoted to a different geography and its sonic heritage: West Africa, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. The West African movement reaches back to the roots; the Caribbean movement traces the diaspora’s journey; the UK movement lands in the place these five musicians call home.
‘Here Because Of Hope’ begins in West Africa. Following an opening spoken word by Wright, “Blow Your Trumpet” hits with a deep groove and does exactly what the title demands: cuts through, announces presence. “Sweet Echo” shines a light on highlife, the golden age of Ghanaian guitar music.
The album’s Caribbean movement is about journey—the passage of people and culture across the Atlantic, and the new forms that emerged from that movement. “Well Organised” is built around an interpolation of reggae legend Max Romeo’s “I Chase The Devil” by Jamaican singer Lila Iké, its roots deep in the soil of the nation’s sound system culture. “El Corazón” brings the full heat of salsa to the record, its rhythms unmistakably shaped by the Latin Caribbean.
The final movement brings it back home, to the United Kingdom and London, the city that shaped them. Ezra Collective view London as a crucible for something new, shaped by the sounds of many cultures mixing together. The pace slows to a sultry burn on “All I Need,” featuring British hero Leona Lewis. “Jubilee Feeling” and “Black Flag” capture the joy of five musicians finding the groove together in real time. The album comes to a euphoric conclusion with “Most High” featuring Libianca.
‘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