Banished Music, Strange News Touring, and Astral People have brought together one of the planet’s newest and truest musical pairings: GENA (God Energy, Naturally Amazing).
After dropping their Lex Records debut The Pleasure Is Yours earlier this year, GENA, the duo consisting of Liv.e and Karriem Riggins, will create a world that’s analogue and ethereal, percussive and poetic, bridging eras without ever settling in one.
With a career that began with working alongside the likes of Earl Sweatshirt and Pink Siifu, Dallas-born Liv.e brings a raw, experimental approach to R&B, her smoky, unpolished vocals gliding through Riggins’ warm, percussive universe.
Rooted in jazz, soul, and hip-hop as living language, Detroit native Riggins, known for his work with Common, Erykah Badu, Paul McCartney, The Roots, Madlib, and a close kinship with the late J Dilla, has extended his lifelong dialogue between jazz improvisation and beat science.
The Pleasure Is Yours is the sound of Liv.e and Riggins bringing each other’s music to life and finding a new language together, one rooted in rhythm, vulnerability, and exuberance.
For those who love a local connection, maestro Brandon Haru can be heard laying down some keys on the album.
GENA is set to descend those Neck of the Woods stairs and show us what they’ve got on Thursday, the 1st of October in Auckland. Tickets on sale now.
