Speaking at a Guardian Live event during the Love Supreme festival in Sussex, British jazz band Ezra Collective's Femi Koleoso and James Mollison reflected on their artistry, formative influences and hopes for the future of British music. The interview marked the announcement of their forthcoming fourth album, Here Because of Hope, due for release in September, which the band describe as a more honest reckoning with pain after years of being associated with joy. The pair also used the platform to argue that communities, rather than governments, should take responsibility for supporting young musicians.

Koleoso recounted how a chance encounter at a jazz jam at the Haggerston pub in London led to a mentorship with the late Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, prompting months of overnight Megabus trips to Paris for lessons focused on restraint and space in his playing. The duo reminisced about performances from London homecoming shows to the "total mayhem" of Fela Kuti's Shrine venue in Lagos and a chaotic, crowd-surfing set at Fuji Rock in Tokyo. Addressing arts budget cuts, Koleoso urged people to become "pillars of the community" by teaching others, while explaining that the new record was shaped by recent personal grief, including the loss of a child at a youth club.