Bokanté – Bòd Lanmè Pa Lwen (Duo Version)

Band members Michael League and Malika Tirolien visited Real World Studios a few months ago and reimagined two of the tracks from their second album as a duo, the first of which is now available. Malika’s impressive vocals take centre stage, with Michael League building a multi-layered rhythmic accompaniment.

In an interview for Real World, Michael League talked about the background to the track:

“This track is a hopeful tune about perseverance, action, and what can happen if we continue to struggle and push forward. Malika is singing about trudging through the desert and finding an oasis (‘We walked, we suffered/But we’ve stood firm and now we’ve arrived’), which is represented musically by a transition from down tempo blues to a heavy up-tempo thing with Moroccan-style percussion; Jamey [Haddad] toured with Berber groups and he loves putting a three feel over grooves in different time signatures. Knowing that made me write it into several songs on the record. The Metropole steams through high-speed linear figures that Malika cooked up. It’s stunning to hear an orchestra with such agility and groove.”