Ezra Collective - Dance, No One’s Watching

When I do visit my home islands or west and central Africa, I can imagine this being my soundtrack for the trip. The laid back swing of jazz that we know and love, meshed with the upbeat notes of brass instruments and soul grabbing percussion are so sweet, it’s like the first bite of a festival.

The album is spilt into acts which help to tell a story. To me the first half is the warm up of a dance, everyone is finding their feet, getting their lips wet and taking in the growing atmosphere - no real bruk out has started, but it’s brewing. We then enter act 2 and 3 which starts slow and then picks up with Hear My Cry - something in it ignited my West Indian soul and I just wanted to swing my hips. The bass and pace throughout this portion of the album was just right, and truly sold it for me.

We get songs that we can wind down to like N29, No Ones Watching Me and Have Patience, which is a beautiful piano solo.

While the majority of the album is just music, EC gave us a few gems with features from Yazmin Lacey, Olivia Dean, Moonchild Sanelly and M.anifest. Their vibes gave the album some more texture and in some ways a voice, which was a nice break in-between the various instrumentals.

Everybody is truly a song of celebration. All  the good vibes and energy through the whole album comes to a close with a musical thankfulness and I felt that in my spirit.

If you are after an album that will give you everything with just a touch of vocals, this is it. Soul fulfilling. Thank you Ezra Collective for such a hearty album. I truly danced because no one was watching. 

Rating: 5/5

Top songs 

• palm wine 

• N29 

• No Ones Watching Me ft Olivia Dean

• Hear My Cry 

• Everybody