Zambia: El Mukuka releases ZEBRA album

ZEBRA is a manifesto for the El Mukuka sound as well as a culmination of his musical transformations throughout his 20s, experimenting with techniques that blend with Afro-house music and European dance and pop music. The cover of the album is in black and white colours representing El Mukuka’s racial mix and his entire genetic and cultural makeup.

Some of the songs featured on the 12-track album include ‘No Wasted Time’ featuring Karyendasoul (SA), James Sakala (Zambia) and Marocco (Zambia), ‘UNASIFU’ featuring Enzo Siffredi (Germany) and BAQABO (Tanzania), ‘The Harvest’ featuring Mumba Yachi (Congo) and ‘Bosana’ featuring Gaz Mawete (DRC) and HVMZA (Belgium). Other guest artists on the record are Argento Dust (SA), Adekunle Gold (Nigeria), Kyle Deutsch (SA), Janou (Germany), Kreative Nativez (Zambia) and XAS (Spain).

The songs on the album were sung in six different languages including English, Swahili, Lingala, French, Bemba and Spanish. In a way, ZEBRA is a pan-African album for the world, with 12 of the 16 features coming directly from the continent.

African culture meeting European culture is literally the definition of El Mukuka and that mix serves as a fountain of inspiration for the 30-year-old artist. El Mukuka’s experimentation with fusion dance music began in his late teenage years while studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

“Since my first professional release back in 2013 entitled ‘Heart’ under my full name Eleftherios Mukuka, I have had people, mostly industry people, criticise my take on dance music,” El Mukuka said. “They criticised my slightly mainstream side, my passion for sweet and uplifting melodies and harmonies, my non-purist approach to Afro-house music and my super picky taste in whom I collaborate with (especially on vocals). ZEBRA is unapologetically me, at this point in my life. I’m happy to be wrapping up this chapter of my life and excited about what is to come. I feel like my edgy side is ready to come out.”

So far, the singles taken off the ZEBRA have already raked in over three million streams on Spotify alone. Mukuka is currently touring Europe and Africa with shows in Spain, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya and Uganda, among others.

With a fast-growing international career, El Mukuka has become a leading proponent of the Zambian electronic music scene and an inspiration for young DJs and producers.