ETANA’S FOURTH ALBUM “I RISE” DROPS ON OCTOBER 18!

 Etana–

ETANA’s fourth album, I Rise, is scheduled for release on October 18 by VP Records. It hears the singer working with respected producer Clive Hunt.

While she says the 15-track set shows growth as a person and artiste, Etana shares songwriting credits this time around.

Fab Five stalwart Astley ‘Grub’ Cooper, C Sharp band members Dwain ‘Wire’ Campbell and Aeion Hoilette, and Serita Lewis contributed songs to I Rise.

Having done the lion’s share of writing on her previous albums including last year’s Better Tomorrow, Etana says it was good to collaborate on her latest.

“You get different vibes and different sounds from different people,” she said. The new direction did have some hitches.

“The song Jamaica Girl (written by Cooper), I thought it had a Festival feel so I asked for the melody to be changed a bit. There was some change but not much; it’s not everything you want you get,” she told the Observer.

Clive Hunt

One song Etana called the shots on was How Long, a hard-hitting number which looks at what she says is Jamaica’s social and economic deterioration.

“It really addresses suffering in the country and is directed at people in government,” she said.

I Rise contains two covers: The Wailers’ Selassie is The Chapel and Stepping Out of Babylon, originally done by Marcia Griffiths.

Hunt’s presence is significant. He has an impressive resume as a session musician and producer.

His credits are diverse. They include The Abyssinians, Grace Jones, Jimmy Cliff and French singer Pierre Poljak.

Etana, who did a 17-date tour of France in June and July, is expected to start promoting I Rise in October with dates in South Florida and Atlanta.