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0000+00000, the long awaited sophomore album from ÌFÉ is finally out on 2 x LP limited edition vinyl and all digital platforms!!!

This second album from ÌFÉ (pronounced Eeeh-FAY), is a companion piece to the critically acclaimed 2017 debut album IIII+IIII (pronounced Edgy-Og-Bay). Like it’s predecessor, the numbers and symbols of the album’s title, 0000+0000 (pronounced Yay-koon May-yee), form a prophetic sign from the Ifá religious practice, this time heralding the birth of night and a fearless embrace of death. The artist Otura Mun—working under the conceptual alias of ÌFÉ—wrote, performed, and produced the entire album, with an array of special guest contributors including: Lex, an emerging vocalist from the New Orleans underground; Robby The Lord, a dynamic performer from the Congolese Sapeur culture of Paris; and the soulful young Yoruban guitarist Saint Ezekiel. The London Lucumi Choir contributes vocals to the album’s final track, “Closing Prayer”, with storied New Orleans percussionist Bill Summers—of Herbie Hancock’s legendary Headhunters— joining Mun on drums for the album’s finale. In addition, Polish American singer Lavoski, a steady ÌFÉ collaborator, contributes vocals to the majority of album’s eleven songs. 0000+0000 was mixed in Austin, Texas by engineer Stuart Sikes. Known for his work with Cat Power, Jack White, and Loretta Lynn, Sikes functions as a crucial collaborator on the album, bringing his own unique analog warmth to the electronic landscape created by ÌFÉ.

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Otura Mun (pronounced Oh-too-rah Moon), a Bàbálawo, or high priest, initiated into Ifá in Cuba, sees his ongoing ÌFÉ project as an extension of his spiritual life, the Ifá and Orisha religious practices being the lens through which the music is conceptualized. ÌFÉ is also an extension of Mun’s lifelong study of African diasporic percussion, a pursuit that has taken him from collegiate drumlines through the same Dallas jazz and soul scene that birthed Erykah Badu to Puerto Rico, where, for 20 years, Mun studied under master drummers tied to the island’s rich Afro-Latin musical traditions. While living in Puerto Rico, Mun built up an extensive discography producing tracks and albums for singers and MC’s drawn from the island’s underground hip-hop and indie scenes. Out of this hyper-creative environment and cultural work, the concept and direction for ÌFÉ was born in Mun’s San Juan studio in 2015.

In 2020 ÌFÉ moved to New Orleans, a change meant as a creative catalyst and for undertaking further musical study, but equally as a political decision, the African-American artist deliberately seeking to engage with a city rooted in Black American culture, community and history. 0000+0000, which began as early sketches in San Juan, was fully realized in New Orleans, becoming a necessary bridge for Mun between his past experiences and a new era, while still acting as a continuation of his efforts to connect dots within the African diaspora in the Western hemisphere.

The album’s overarching themes of night and death find their origin in the signs of Ifá, but also in the traditions of New Orleans’ culture where the transitioning of life into death is honored with celebrations of dance and music. ÌFÉ’s new album expresses Otura Mun’s exploration of where we are now, collectively as a country and as a planet: examining how a death, an ending, offers a chance for new birth, new life. “In 0000+0000 the sun has set in the visible world. The night and the ‘magical’ world has come to life,” states Mun, “In many ways the record is saying the sun has set on Western world. It is the fear of it’s inevitable death that we must overcome if we hope to transcend and survive as human beings. Nothing lasts forever.”

0000+0000 2xLP Bandcamp Merch

0000+0000 by ÌFÉ

1. PRELUDIO II feat. Lex
2. FIREFLIES
3. FAKE BLOOD feat. Robby The Lord
4. TU SABES K SI
5. WEDNESDAY’S CHILD feat. Saint Ezekiel
6. THE TEARER (Bembe)
7. PRAYER FOR SHANGÓ
8. VOODOO ECONOMICS (WolfMan)
9. HEART FULL OF LOVE
10. MR. ENVY
11. CLOSING PRAYER feat. The London Lucumi Choir

The Living Dead Vinyl Mock Up

This November saw the release of 3 song EP of new music from ÌFÉ. The Living Dead | Ashé Bogbo Egun dropped on 12″ Vinyl and All Digital Platforms via Discos Discos on November 17th. The EP is a collection of songs for the spirits of the ancestors and the deceased in 3 movements.

Of the music ÌFÉ producer Otura Mun says, “One of the things that has helped me confront the difficulty in dealing with the sadness and pain associated with the deaths of those around us is my belief that death in the physical world is not the end. As part of my spiritual practice I commune with my ancestors on a daily basis, praying for their upliftment and light for their assent, while asking for their blessings and support in my everyday life. The idea being that we are all on the same wheel of life at different points. Each playing our role to support and honor the others. The Living Dead I Ashé Bogbo Egun is my interpretation of traditional ceremonial Lucumi (Yoruban Diaspora) prayer songs in honor of the dead. The music features ceremonial Bata drumming performed electronically in ÌFÉ’s signature style, each movement building in intensity. Ifá teaches us in the odu Yekun Meji that we should not fear death but embrace it as a natural part of life. As we approach the end of 2020 I felt that it was important to acknowledge and celebrate those who have passed before us. Ashé Bogbo Egun, ‘power to all deceased’.”

The Living Dead | Ashé Bogbo Egun is available on 12″ Vinyl and Digital HERE!

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Grab the New full length Live album here. 2O20 Live at ILÉ ÌFÉ

Like most folks, my world today is not at all what I thought it would be as I sat down to jot out my New Years resolutions for 2020 this past January. I certainly couldn’t have told you I would be locked in my house without human contact for 9 months (and counting) and I definitely wasn’t thinking about covering Bad Bunny, recording Fuck The Police, or putting out a live album this year or anytime soon. 2020 has shaken things to the ground and keeps on giving. Despite the tougher moments, this year in many ways has been a year of incredible growth and optimism for me personally. Often the simple things in my life are the most powerful. Health, family, safety, joy, discovery, the gift of love. I wasn’t able to tour this year, but I was blessed with the opportunity to develop my craft and to perform from my home for audiences around the world in a capacity that challenged me and inspired me to push beyond what I was capable of creating or delivering the year before. I’ve grown this year. This time of reaching, learning and experimentation has been a tremendous gift. Thank you to all that have supported ÌFÉ over the years and have tuned in over the Summer and Fall to see what ÌFÉ has been up to. My deepest thank you. We have 2 huge releases coming right around the corner. An EP of band new music will be dropping on vinyl and digital on November 17th and a full length LP of all new music early 2021. Stay tuned!!!! But for now…

2020 Live at ILÉ ÌFÉ is sort of mixtape bootleg compilation of classic and unreleased ÌFÉ songs performed live in quarantine at my home during the Summer and Fall of 2020 and mixed together “sound system style” by yours truly. The songs were recorded as a duet between myself and ÌFÉ’s newest voice, Lavoski. She had joined the group at the beginning of this year and was preparing to go on tour with us this Spring when the world hit the breaks on human contact. She’s been beyond supportive of me during these months and it has been an absolute joy to make music with her this year. She’s an incredible young singer and her talent has pushed me to places that I was unable to reach as a singer and performer in the past. Thank you Lavoski!!

The other folks on this record are you guys!! Thank you to everyone who DM’d in and left messages for ÌFÉ. In a room with only two performers you all have filled this recording with love. Thank you all.

Like many musicians, I don’t know when I’ll be able to perform with the rest of my band or when I’ll be back out on the road, but I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had this year to sing and play for you. That’s such a blessing. I hope you enjoy this collection of songs. They’re made with love. Ashé Orunmila, Ashé a la Ochá, Ashé bogbo Egun. Health and happiness to all – Awo Ni Orunmila Otura Mun

ÌFÉ performs Bad Bunny’s “Estamos Bien” in a Rumba style while in quarantine at their studio ILÉ ÌFÉ in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The video features ÌFÉ producer and front man Otura Mun and the project’s newest voice, Lavoski.

“Before the quarantine Lavoski and I had been putting together a straight ahead Rumba project to sort of keep our chops up. She came into one of the rehearsals singing this song and I loved the way it sounded in Rumba. One thing led to the next and before we knew it we were all in quarantine at home and our rumba sessions at the house became impossible for the health reasons everyone is aware of at this point. After resisting several offers to play in virtual form I got an offer that made sense for us to do as a duet. So as I was thinking about what Lavoski and I could do together I remembered the Bad Bunny tune and suggested we put it together for fun. I pre-recorded all the conga and percussion parts myself at home and Lavoski and our good friend Andrea Beltran laid the background vocals at her house, then we got together to perform her lead vocal and my lead drum together. It was the first time I’d been near another human being in 4 months. This song and video was the closing number of our performance at IBA’s virtual Tito Puente Concert Series 2020. I know it was written with Hurricane Maria in mind, but I think it still strikes a nerve in this moment, maybe it always will in Puerto Rico or any place that’s taken a beating. Gracias Benito para este temazo.”- Awo Ni Orunmila Otura Mun

The entire 30 min performance can be seen in 4K video here

Screenshot_2019-10-25 How ÌFÉ’s Electro-Jazz Fusions Tap Into the Afro-Caribbean Divine WEB

Many thanks to Jhoni Jackson and the folks at Rolling Stone U.S. for this chance to sit down and talk shop on this new single. Check out their interview here!