Photo: Magali Dougados

Yalla Miku have announced the follow-up to their 2023 self-titled debut album, titled 2. This new release sees the Geneva-based collective shift from a seven-piece to a quintet, with a new lineup that includes two fresh faces, Emma Souharce (synths and electronics), known for her experimental work with Boxing Noise, and Louise Knobil (bass), who brings her distinctive vocal jazz sensibilities to the group. On the new album, the band blends a wide range of sounds, distilling a mix of post-punk, Afrofunk, disco, dub, krautrock, and East African influences into a cohesive and bold collection of ten tracks. Their upcoming effort “mutates and evolves many times over”, as the press release describes. “They’re a folk outfit, a dance-party band, a gang of rockers, balladeers, improvisors and general intercontinental musical magpies who know (and show) there’s no reason to limit one’s horizons in this day and age.”

We’ll have to wait until November 7th for 2 to be out through Bongo Joe but Yalla Miku have already shared the lead single, ‘Alemuye’, an effusive and joyous track sung in Amharic by the group’s krar player Samuel Ades Tesfagergsh. Take a listen now.

Boasting an excitingly rich and refreshing catalog of artists, Bongo Joe Records has been rolling out an impressive array of releases, including CTD favourites Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, La Tène or Madalitso Band. There’s more great things to come and Yalla Miku is the latest band to join the label and set to release an eponymus debut album next month.
Yalla Miku brings together musicians from North and East Africa and musicians that are part of the fabric of Geneva’s experimental scene. Founded by Cyril Yeterian (banjo, electric guitar, voice) and Cyril Bondi (drums and voice), the band also comprises Simone Aubert (synths, guitar, and vocals) and Vincent Bertholet (bass and vocals) of post-disco electro pop duo Hyperculte, Moroccan guembri player Anouar Baouna, Eritrean krar player Samuel Ades and Algerian darbouka player Ali Bouchaki.

Speaking about the new project, Yeterian who is also the founder of Bongo Joe, comments:

“I’ve always had this project (Yalla Miku) to show the real international Geneva, and with all these different activities I am fighting to keep the city interesting and honor the underground life that happens here”

Rather than devising a mélange of musical styles and traditions and having European artists collaborate with foreign artists, Yalla Miku, as the label describes, aims to “honor this meeting of cultures by specifically drawing attention to those points of contrast between different traditions, voices, and instruments, creating a lively, polyphonic conversation that gives each musician the freedom to improvise and tell their own story.”

The upcoming album, which arrives on March 31st, combines varied influences, from gnawa and Eritrean folklore to krautrock and electro-trance, for an ineffable and vibrant celebration of musical encounters. For an exhilarating taster of what’s on offer, listen to lead single ‘Asmazate’ below.