EA Wave Reimagines Ami Faku is the cross-continental colab you never knew you wanted but desperately needed - I’ve had it on repeat since its release last Friday. This project sees Kenya’s EA Wave, a music/art collective pushing creative boundaries and redifining East Africa’s sonic landscape, re-work some of South African Afro-soul singer Ami Faku’s most loved songs.

Each member of the collective adds their unique sound to this 5 track project which opens with Hiribae’s take on Ndikethe Wena. His love for jazz is evident as he incorporates a funky walking bass-line and sultry saxophone and piano riffs on this mellow, soulful take. This track exudes comforting, warm vibes and serves as the perfect soundtrack for a calm Sunday afternoon with the homies.

Sichangi’s re-make of Ungowami comes next. He builds a full-bodied track, taking several sonic elements and distilling them into one smooth take; he meshes low-frequency 808’s and heavy drums with Faku’s powerhouse vocals, infusing ambient, nature sounds that make you feel as though you’re in the middle of an enchanted forest. On Love Drunk, Ukweli takes an R&B approach, a move characteristic of his production style. He builds a stripped down, beat-driven, woozy R&B track that leaves room for Faku’s warm, caressing vocals to take centre stage.

Nu Fvnk brings his signature experimental production on Mbize. He leans into a minimalistic approach, predominantly using Faku’s vocals in various forms. He warps her voice and uses snippets of it as integral building blocks of the tracks beat. This sweet, less is more take allows you to focus on Faku’s beatiful voice. Fvnk hits us with a surprise at 2:55 - distorts, gritty

Jinku closes out the tape with his remix of Ebhayi. Pounding polyryhtmic, afro-percussive beats take centre-stage but he still manages to create a cozy pocket for Ami Faku’s soulful vocals to shine. He craftily interwines hypnotic saxophone riffs throughout the track adding a psychedelic element to the song.

Stream EA Wave Reimagines Ami Faku here.