“We have a shared desire to change the general view of Ethiopian music,” says keyboardist/producer player Yohan Kebede, one half of Zena alongside bassist/producer Menelik. Following the former’s success in Kokoroko, and the latter’s work with the likes of Bill Laurance, Divine Earth and Alina Bzhezhinska, the London-based duo have come together to reimagine their heritage sounds. Debut EP ‘Temesgen’ riffs on Ethio-jazz legends while branching into Ethio-pop and eskista rhythms. Adding in some R&B, dub and psychedelia to this heady mix and the results are as uplifting as they are sexy. But Zena’s music is less about rewriting tradition and more about tracing their personal connection to it. In this conversation, Zena (meaning “legacy” in Amharic) reflect on celebrating Ethiopian music in their own special way.

Where did your love of music begin?

Menilik: My parents don’t play music but they listen to it in a way that musicians do, so music has been a part of my life since day one. My mum loves Ethiopian music from the 60s and 70s, stuff like Hailu Mergia, Alemayehu Eshete and Mulatu Astatke.

Yohan: For me, it was the opposite. My dad and brother were in the military so it wasn’t an artist-friendly environment. I found the piano myself. But my mum used to have a restaurant in Finchley Road called Tobia, which had a band called Kirar Collective play every weekend. And on Saturday morning I took Ethiopian dance lessons which I always loved. I am also really into Manalemosh Dibo.

How have those heritage artists shaped the sound you’re making as Zena?

Menilik: We’re drawing from the sonic world they created. Those organs but not quite a normal organ. Yohan mentioned Manalemosh – that bright 80s, 90s sound. We’re conscious of that, with a healthy dose of freedom.

Did you have a clear vision for your EP while creating it?

Yohan: There’s a perception that Ethiopian music is calm and spiritual, like sitting in a circle burning incense. There’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s not how I experienced it growing up. Like West African music, it’s also fun, hot and sweaty. That’s why with the song ‘My Love, Your Love’ we wanted an eskista banger. With ‘It’s You (Ante Neh)’, a love song Kuku Sebsibe would sing. And with ‘Long Time No Speak’, we thought if you slow down guragigna, what would it sound like?

Why name the EP ‘Temesgen’, meaning thank god / be thankful?

Menilik: It reflects how we feel. We’re lucky to be where we are. I was surrounded by amazing mentors. Even the fact that we met. We wanted to acknowledge that.

We love latest single ‘It’s You (Ante Neh)’ with Meron T. How did that collaboration come about?

Yohan: I met Meron two years ago through [mutual friend and musician] Hagan. We hadn’t started Zena at this point but she’s in the bank of [Ethiopian] musicians in my head because there’s not many of us. My favourite type of songs are love songs. It’s the one thing that every person will relate to regardless of the genre. And when writing lyrics, I love to write from the perspective of a woman. It’s a fun exercise. So, this song was inspired by ‘Zelelaye’ by Yared Negu but from a woman’s perspective.

Your first release was a cover of ‘Anchi Bale Game’, the 1984 classic by Admas. How do you balance honouring its legacy while bringing something new to it?

Menelik: I don’t want people to hear it and think this sounds mad different but also I don’t want to do a cover song. It’s nice that you said it sounds familiar but you don’t quite know what it is. That’s kind of what we’re going for. If you know you know. I’ve been trained through different styles of music and didn’t necessariliy grow up learning how to play it authentically. And now, we’re still studying the greats before us. So that’s how I’d respect it, by internalising it further and bringing it deeper into my musical voice.

Tell us about the worlds you create within your music videos?

Yohan: I love fun, playful videos that give you a reason to engage with the song outside of just listening. ‘It’s You (Ante Neh)’ and ‘My Love Is Your Love’ were filmed on the same day with a whack green screen, but the fact that it’s whack makes it kind of sick. There’s a song by Manalemosh Dibo called ‘Asa Belew’ which is where the inspiration came from. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well it’s come together and how people are responding to it.

You were in Addis Ababa recently. How did it feel playing your music there?

Yohan: It was nerve wrecking. Menelik had his whole matriarchal structure at the show – his grandma, his mum and her sister – and at one point his grandma was crying. The place was packed and we had to turn people away. It was amazing. Where else in the world are people going to sing ‘Anchi Bale Game’ word for word? And everyone was doing eskista when we played ‘My Love Is Your Love’. The music started coming out while we were there, so we had teenagers running up saying they loved our music, and we were hearing ‘Ante Neh’ playing in cafes. It was sick. We’re going to go back in April. There’s no distribution infrastructure so we’re physically taking the vinyls ourselves, as well doing another show, a pop-up and a party.

‘Temesgen’ by Zena is out now on Brownswood Recordings.