Less than a month out from the release of their debut album, A New Tomorrow (March 3rd), Los Angeles, CA band Zulu has shared new single “We’re More Than This.”
Never ones to be pigeonholed, the song trades in the heavy hardcore sound of prior singles for a jazz-infused hip-hop. Guitarist Dez Yusuf takes over vocal duties, delivering an impassioned performance, and also created the video for the song alongside vocalist Anaiah Lei and videographer Tyler Bradberry.
Speaking on the track, Yusuf states: “When we first started writing for the record Anaiah and I had bounced the idea of maybe doing some jazz or R&B songs and putting some raps on the record. I know Satchel and Anaiah had jammed out some different ideas that I hadn’t really been present for. We were actually ending our tour with Sasami when I first heard the music for ‘We’re More Than This’. We were in the van at a rest stop and Anaiah played it off a video of him and Satchel jamming. It just hit me all in an instant.
I didn’t think much beyond the lyrics of ‘must I only share my pain,’ which is a running theme throughout the album. But it’s ironic because I go forward with sharing glimpses of pain and trauma, but that’s really the setup to show the things I’ve (we’ve) become in spite of that pain. This is really a song of resilience and encouragement. Saying that we can still be more than the tropes that are Put on us. That we are more than commodified versions of our trauma.”
A New Tomorrow marks Zulu’s first full-length, following EPs Our Day Will Come (2019) and My People..Hold On (2020). The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by collaborator Zach Tuch’s (Dare, Trash Talk), with Lei taking the lead on production. After spending months toying with different instrumentation and samples, and pulling influences ranging from reggae to death metal, the result is an eclectic 15 tracks.
The band is currently on tour with Show Me The Body, Jesus Piece, Scowl, and TRiPP JONES, and will make multiple festival appearances across the US and Europe this Spring including Adjacent Festival (NJ) and Outbreak Fest (UK). You can find a full list of tour dates below.
A New Tomorrow is available for pre-order now through Flatspot Records.
Zulu is vocalist Anaiah Lei (vocals), Braxton Marcellous (guitar), Dez Yusuf (guitar), Satchel Brown (bass) and Christine Cadette (drums).
Tour Dates with Show Me The Body + Jesus Piece + Scowl + TRiPP JONES:
2/10 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall
2/11 – Durham, NC @ Motorco
2/13 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
2/14 – Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
2/15 – Miami, FL @ Gramps
2/16 – Gainesville, FL @ The Wooly
2/17 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea’s Live
2/18 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio at The Factory
2/19 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
2/21 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
2/22 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
2/24 – El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
2/25 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
2/26 – San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
2/28 – Orange County, CA @ The Observatory
3/1 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent
3/3 – Santa Cruz, CA Santa Cruz @ Vets Hall
3/4 – Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre
3/5 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
3/7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
3/8 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
3/9 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
3/10 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
3/11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell
3/12 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
3/14 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
3/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Underground Music Venue
3/16 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
3/17 – Detroit, MI @ Tangent Gallery
3/18 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
3/19 – Montreal, QC @ Corona
3/21 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
3/22 – Albany, NY @ Fuze Box
3/23 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
3/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
5/27 + 5/28 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Adjacent Festival
6/22-24 – Ysselsteyn, NL @ Jera on Air
6/23-25 – Manchester, UK @ Outbreak Fest
6/23-25 – Ferropolis, GER @ Full Force Fest
Press:
“The fast-rising L.A. group play a style of hardcore that’s often fast and uncompromisingly angry, pushing and pulling between blasts and breakdowns.” – Revolver
“The LA band is increasingly one of the brightest lights in the scene, cutting a line between powerviolence and hardcore.” – Afropunk
“A competent meld of metallic heft, jazzy breakdowns and even spoken word, the album reiterates the range of the songwriters who showcase ability well beyond their years.” – Knotfest
“‘Fakin’ Tha Funk (You Get Did)’ beams with aggression and assertiveness that only further cements Zulu’s place in the upper echelon of modern hardcore.” – Alternative Press
“Unfiltered rage at its most authentic” – BrooklynVegan
