At the beginning of this year, Chicago production duo Tensei returned after a hiatus to drop an EP by the name of Constellate. The EP featured many guests, including New Mexico vocalist A. Billi Free on the opening track, “Liquid Tongues.” If you enjoyed that track in particular, you’re in for a treat, because now Tensei and A. Billi Free have teamed up to give you a full-length album, I Luma.

Taking the title for the Samoan phrase for “in front,” A. Billi Free is front and center for this album, with Tensei using their expertise to give her the push they know she deserves. Tensei have always been a versatile duo who know how to combine the best of Chicago’s rich musical traditions, so it should come as no surprise that on this album we get a nice mix of soul, jazz, house, hip hop, and R&B. Ultimately, this is a very danceable album, but it’s also weird enough to bring in clarinet alongside clavinet, bass, and drums on the opening track, “Flourish.” Both Free and Tensei like to walk the line between pop accessibility and experimental music that pushes the form, and in that way this project reminds me a little of Georgia Anne Muldrow. Free has a great ear for harmonies, and she clearly draws upon jazz and gospel for her vocal lines. She has a very clear delivery with a really strong tone, which helps highlight her lyricism as well. She also shows that she can drop some rhymes as well, which she does with ease on “Against the Wall.” As a lyricist, Free does a good job of writing about the everyday life, while bringing in discussion of the bigger picture spiritual and philosophical questions that we all grapple with. The only drawback to the album is that it doesn’t have a particular standout moment, such as a clear single that would attract new listeners within a few seconds. The flipside to that, though, is that those listeners who are just a little bit more patient will find themselves with an album that really grows on you with each listen, with all sorts of thought-provoking moments to explore each time through, all while remaining very danceable.

I Luma is a great introduction to A. Billi Free. She has great chemistry with Tensei, and together they’ve made an album that is funky and danceable while at the same time takes a lot of musical risks and pushes some musical boundaries. It’s a difficult balance, but they found it and thrived in the making of this album.