Approximately one year ago, Etana released Gemini, her sixth album. She had great expectations for the set but the restrictions of Covid-19 prevented her from doing adequate promotion.
On June 25, the singer/songwriter released Pamoja (Swahili for togetherness) a new album that came one month after her performance at the Spread Love Reggae Festival in North Carolina. After a frustrating year of being unable to reach out to fans, getting back on the road is a relief.
“Yes. Omg! It was the first time in a long time that I released an album and was not able to tour. The first time doing a release without physicals. The first time doing a release without in-person interviews. It was very weird,” said Etana.
She is one of the headliners for the Big Ship Music Festival in Port Charlotte, Florida on July 3. Next week, Etana is booked to do four shows in Texas, including major cities of Dallas and San Antonio — a perfect introduction for Pamoja which has 16 songs.
There are several collaborations on the set including with high-profile acts like Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, Alborosie and Stonebwoy from Ghana. While hit songs give an album a boost, Etana said the charts were far from her mind when writing for Pamoja.
“To be honest, I don’t think about where a song is going to go or try to put a track in a particular box. I just write, follow my heart and I go with the flow. I think it’s the same for the co-writers, we just go with what feels good,” she said.
Some of the songs on Pamoja are Malaika, which she sings in Swahili; Turn Up Di Sound with Marley and Jamrock Vibez, with Alborosie.
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