Denise Chaila releases new single "Energy feat. Murli" and teases new project It's A Mixtape

Rapper and poet Denise Chaila has announced the release of her new EP It's A Mixtape for next month, and has also released a new single, "Energy feat. Murli".

Featuring her longtime collaborator and fellow Narolane artist Murli, "Energy" was written by the Limerick-based Zambian MC at a time when she "was tired and grieving". It's a beautiful melding of jazz, hip-hop, and soul, all about learning to be more in tune with your own self. Stream it below.

"Singing ‘you can’t take my energy’ while mentally and emotionally drained, living through incredible uncertainty and trying to find stable ground from moment to moment became a challenge I didn’t intend to set myself," Chaila said of the track. "One I’m glad I did."

"The song began as a beat with a time signature that I just couldn’t understand how to write to. One which I allowed to linger in my drafts for months because I was too nervous to attempt writing to it and potentially ruin a very beautiful song. Every step of the process has been measured, unhurried, full of conversation and gentle risk taking. Stepping outside my comfort zone like this made me gag as much as it made me smile."

Her latest release since her debut album Anseo, It's A Mixtape is set to be released on November 26th. Chaila also teased "something special veryyy soon" on Twitter while announcing the news.

Tonight at midnight me and @MuRliMuRl are releasing a song. It’s called “Energy”. If you wanna know how I feel about this last wild (wild) year of pain and joy? This is it.

Thank you for this photo @Mochilla. Stay tuned for my EP in November. And something special veryyy soon. pic.twitter.com/OJcMgdoslW

— denise (@DeniseChaila) October 28, 2021

Chaila also recently collaborated with fellow Limerick artist B+ (aka Brian Cross) on a short film Energy: A Visual Mixtape, commissioned by Ormston House Cultural Resource Centre in Limerick for their Feminist Supermarket.

Screened at the Belltable Theatre on October 27th, the short film, which they wrote and directed in 2021, assembles a constellation of ideas and shared research interests. The film eulogizes local spaces including Ardnacrusha Power Station, Mount Trenchard, and People’s Park, montaging archival and contemporary footage to form visual couplets marrying diasporan histories, racial discrimination and political ideologies, magic and music.

Energy: A Visual Mixtape will be exhibited at Ormston House until 4 December 2021.

Listen to "Energy feat. Murli" by Denise Chaila now.