Members of the band Snarky Puppy have created a side project named Bokanté, led by bass player Michael League.
Bokanté originates from an exchange of emails between League and Guadeloupian vocalist Malika Tirolien. The bassist would write and send music and melodies while on tour, and then send them to Tirolien with lyrical concepts attached. After a while, they finally got together and recorded their first album at New York’s Dreamland Studios. This album is titled Strange Cicrles and will be release on June 9.
Bokanté, which means exchange in Creole, also includes guitarists Chris McQueen and Bob Lanzetti from Snarky Puppy, as well as percussionists Haddad Andé Ferrari and Keita Ogawa plus pedal and lap steel virtuoso Roosevelt Collier.
Jazzfm.com reports that “League says the music goes from Zeppelin-esque blues stomp to folkloric Caribbean kaladja over the course its ten tracks, blending the extensive and varied knowledge of the individual players with a strong, yet empathetic, lyrical approach.”
Watch the video for Bokanté’s new track Jou Ké Ouvè below.