New band alert! Last month, the free-floating underground R&B singer Liv.e announced that she was teaming up with the great drummer/producer Karriem Riggins to form a new duo called GENA, and they shared their debut single “Circlesz.” Today, GENA drop another promising track, and they also unveil plans to release their first LP next year.
GENA’s name is an acronym for “God Energy, Naturally Amazing,” and they’re also partly named after Gina from Martin. As in: “Damn, Gina!” They made their debut at the Detroit jazz festival earlier this year, and their new song “HOWWEFLOW” is closer to astral, psychedelic jazz than to, say, Kehlani. Riggins supplies a loping, off-kilter beat, while Liv.e floats off into the ether, riding the groove rather than structuring it into a conventional song.
GENA’s full-length debut promises more of this kind of freeform collaboration, and it includes contributions from musicians like Isaiah Sharkey, James Francies, and Telemakus. Below, check out the Mackai Sharp-directed “HOWWEFLOW” video, in which the duo floats through a chaotic office, and the tracklist for The Pleasure Is Yours.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Who’s Got a Problem With Gena”
02 “Theybetterbegladihavetherapy”
03 “Left The Club Like ‘Really N***a!'”
04 “You’ve Outdone Yourself Today”
05 “Unspokern”
06 “TGD”
07 “readymade
08 “Douwannabwithastar”
09 “This Is So Crazy”
10 “Lead It Up”
11 “HOWWEFLOW”
12 “Doobie Doo Wew”
13 “Circlesz”
14 “Dream a Twinkle”
15 “Thatsmyluvr”
16 “omo iya ati baba”
The Pleasure Is Yours is out 2/27 on Lex.
