Where I'm Meant to Be
Individual men playing the drums, piano, guitar, trumpet and saxophone in a small and cramped room
Studio album by
Ezra Collective
Released4 November 2022
GenreJazz
Length68:34
LabelPartisan
ProducerEzra Collective, Riccardo Damian
Ezra Collective chronology
You Can't Steal My Joy
(2019)		 Where I'm Meant to Be
(2022)
Singles from Where I'm Meant to Be
  1. "Victory Dance"
    Released: 7 June 2022
  2. "Life Goes On"
    Released: 24 August 2022
  3. "Ego Killah"
    Released: 22 September 2022
  4. "No Confusion"
    Released: 1 November 2022

Where I'm Meant to Be is the second studio album by the London jazz quintet Ezra Collective, released on 4 November 2022 by Partisan Records. The album was produced by the band and Riccardo Damian, and features musicians including Sampa the Great, Kojey Radical, Emeli Sandé, and Nao, as well as the filmmaker Steve McQueen.

The album received a positive reception from critics. It won the Mercury Prize in 2023 and was nominated for Best Jazz Record at the 2023 Libera Awards. It debuted at number one on the UK's Jazz & Blues chart, spending six non-consecutive weeks at the top spot.

Background and release

On 7 June 2022, Partisan Records announced they had signed the group and released their first single with the label, "Victory Dance", which came with the group's first official music video directed by Femi Ladi.[1] The album was announced on 24 August for a 4 November release date, along with the release of the second single, "Life Goes On" featuring Sampa the Great.[2] "Life Goes On" came with a music video directed by Nathan Miller which was shot in London and Lusaka.[2] The third single, "Ego Killah", was released on 22 September with an official visualiser.[3] The fourth single, "No Confusion" featuring Kojey Radical, was released on 1 November with a music video directed by Douglas Bernardt.[4]

The album's cover art is a photograph of a studio in South London.[5] The image is filled with items including musical instruments and things the band take inspiration from.[5] It also includes a selection of personally important items, such as a Kazakhstani flag representing a time they performed a concert in the country, and a Fela Kuti record.[5] The image was inspired by the cover of Thelonious Monk's Underground, which depicts Monk as a French Resistance fighter, though the group did not include a Nazi flag in theirs.[5]

On 11 November, the album debuted at the top of the Official Charts Company's UK Jazz & Blues Albums Chart[6] and at 24 on the UK Albums Chart.[7] The album spent six non-consecutive weeks at number one on the jazz chart.[6]

Reception

Where I'm Meant to Be ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[8]
Metacritic84/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Clash9/10[11]
The Daily Telegraph[12]
Gigwise[13]
The Guardian[14]
Loud and Quiet7/10[15]
Mojo[16]
Record Collector[5]
The Skinny[17]
Uncut7/10[18]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Where I'm Meant to Be received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 from 8 critic scores.[9]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Where I'm Meant to Be awards and nominations
Year Organisation Award Nominee Result Ref.
2023 Libera Awards Best Jazz Record Where I'm Meant to Be Nominated [19]
Mercury Prize — Where I'm Meant to Be Won [20]
AIM Independent Music Awards Best Creative Campaign Where I'm Meant to Be Won [21]
Best Independent Video "No Confusion" Nominated [21]
2024 MOBO Awards Album of the Year Where I'm Meant to Be Pending [22]

Year-end lists

Where I'm Meant to Be on year-end lists
Publication No. Ref.
Clash 36 [23]
Double J (2023) 20 [24]
The Economist – [25]
Far Out 37 [26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ife Ogunjobi, Joe Armon-Jones, James Mollison, Femi Koleoso, and TJ Koleoso, unless otherwise stated

Where I'm Meant to Be track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Life Goes On" (featuring Sampa the Great)
3:24
2."Victory Dance" 4:56
3."No Confusion" (featuring Kojey Radical)
3:14
4."Welcome to My World" 7:14
5."Togetherness" 4:34
6."Ego Killah" 5:55
7."Smile"
5:03
8."Live Strong" 7:37
9."Siesta" (featuring Emeli Sandé)
  • Sandé
  • Ogunjobi
  • Armon-Jones
  • Mollison
  • F. Koleoso
  • T. Koleoso
5:48
10."Words by Steve"
1:48
11."Belonging" 5:57
12."Never the Same Again" 6:43
13."Words by TJ"T. Koleoso0:39
14."Love in Outer Space" (featuring Nao)
5:41
Total length:68:34

Personnel

Ezra Collective

  • Femi Koleoso – drums (1–9, 11, 12, 14), vocals (10)
  • TJ Koleoso – bass guitar (1–9, 11, 12, 14), vocals (13)
  • Ife Ogunjobi – trumpet (1–9, 11, 12, 14)
  • James Mollison – saxophone (1–9, 11, 12, 14)
  • Joe Armon-Jones – keyboards (1–9, 11, 12, 14)

Additional musicians

  • Junior Alli-Balogun – percussion (1–9, 11, 12, 14)
  • Sampa the Great – vocals (1)
  • Kojey Radical – vocals (3)
  • Benjamin Totten and Oluwatobi Adenaike-Johnson – guitar (3, 4, 9)
  • Jorja Smith – vocals (5)
  • Mark Mollison – guitar (6, 11)
  • Wayne Urquhart – cello (7, 8, 11, 12)
  • Stella Page – viola (7, 8, 11, 12)
  • Antonia Pagulatos, Athalie Armon-Jones, and Sam Kennedy – violin (7, 8, 11, 12)
  • Angel Silvera – vocals (9, 14)
  • Emeli Sandé, Louise LaBelle, and Teni Tinks – vocals (9)
  • Steve McQueen – vocals (10)
  • Nao and Petra Luke – vocals (14)

Technical

  • Ezra Collective – producers
  • Riccardo Damian – producer
  • Jess Camilleri – engineering (9)
  • Tris Ellis – engineering (14)
  • TJ Koleoso – programming (9)

Charts

Chart performance for Where I'm Meant to Be
Chart (2022–2024) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 9
UK Albums (OCC)[7] 24
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[28] 3
UK Jazz & Blues Albums (OCC)[6] 1

References

  1. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (7 June 2022). "Ezra Collective sign to Partisan, release new song & video, "Victory Dance"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 Gallagher, Alex (24 August 2022). "Ezra Collective share Sampa the Great collaboration "Life Goes On" and announce new album". NME. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Murray, Robin (22 September 2022). "Ezra Collective's "Ego Killah" Embodies That Low-End Swagger". Clash. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (1 November 2022). "Ezra Collective and Kojey Radical pay tribute to Tony Allen on new single "No Confusion"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Waring, Charles (7 November 2022). "Where I'm Meant to Be | Ezra Collective". Record Collector. p. 104. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "Where I'm Meant to Be by Ezra Collective reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Where I'm Meant to Be by Ezra Collective Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Ezra Collective – Where I'm Meant to Be". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Aitken, Abbie (3 November 2022). "Ezra Collective – Where I'm Meant to Be". Clash. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Hewett, Ivan (4 November 2022). "Phoenix haunt the Louvre, Sault offer songs to God – the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  13. ↑ Kinsella, Cian (2 November 2022). "Album Review: Ezra Collective – Where I'm Meant to Be". Gigwise. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Hutchinson, Kate (6 November 2022). "Ezra Collective: Where I'm Meant to Be review – brilliant follow-up from the inventive party band". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  15. ↑ Jenkins, Dafydd (31 October 2022). "Ezra Collective – Where I'm Meant to Be". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  16. ↑ Cowan, Andy (December 2022). "Ezra Collective - Where I'm Meant to Be". Mojo. p. 87. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  17. ↑ Marcelline, Marco (1 November 2022). "Ezra Collective – Where I'm Meant to Be". The Skinny. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  18. ↑ O'Connell, Sharon (December 2022). "Ezra Collective - Where I'm Meant to Be". Uncut. p. 26. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  19. ↑ Simon, Perry Michael (16 June 2023). "A2IM Announces 2023 Libera Awards Winners". AllAccess. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  20. ↑ Griffiths, George (7 September 2023). "Mercury Prize 2023: Ezra Collective announced as winner of 2023 Mercury Prize". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  21. 1 2 Parkel, Inga (26 September 2023). "AIM Awards 2023 winners in full, from Björk to Wet Leg". The Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  22. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (14 December 2023). "Little Simz and Stormzy top 2024 MOBO award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  23. ↑ Aitken, Abbie (15 December 2022). "Clash Albums of the Year 2022". Clash. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  24. ↑ Saville, Dylan (12 December 2023). "The 50 best albums of 2023". Double J. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  25. ↑ "The best albums of 2022". The Economist. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  26. ↑ "The 50 best albums of 2022". Far Out. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  27. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  28. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
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