Snarky Puppy’s Michael League fuses his groove-driven world with international influences featuring band members who have played with everyone from Paul Simon through Yo-Yo Ma to The Lee Boys.Bokanté is a band conceived by Snarky Puppy founder and GroundUP Music creator Michael League Plays Music, the process of formation was all but conventional. The music and some of the melodies were written by League, demoed while on tour with other bands, and then sent to vocalist Malika Tirolien with lyrical concepts attached. Tirolien then wrote lyrics and melodies, demoing and ping-ponging the new content back to League.Two-time Grammy award-winning guitarists Michael League, Chris McQueen, and Bob Lanzetti (all from Snarky Puppy), percussion legend Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon, Sting), pedal and lap steel virtuoso Roosevelt Collier Music (The Lee Boys, Karl Denson), and unplaceable percussionists André Ferrari (Väsen) and Keita Ogawa (Banda Magda, Yo-Yo Ma) come together as Bokanté to create a diverse ensemble rich in groove, melody, and soul. The word bokanté means ‘exchange’ in Creole, the language of Tirolien’s youth growing up on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Now living in Montreal, she stands among eight musicians from four continents, each one accomplished in their own right and well versed in music far beyond that of their point of origin.Last summer the band took their thrilling live show on an international tour appearing at WOMAD, North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival and many more. 2018 brings exciting times for Bokanté and their rapidly increasing fan base. Following the success of their debut album, 'Strange Circles', a second album is to be recorded with Het Metropole Orkest along with more international touring. Bokanté are a force to be reckoned with and 2018 will see the band further enhancing the incredible impact they have already begun to make.‘One of the best surprises of the year was a blistering set by the newly-formed international ensemble Bokanté…. Percussion and guitar-heavy (including lap and pedal steel), the band’s unusual instrumentation, evocative compositions (check Strange Circles) and searing energy makde this one of the festival’s most memorable concerts' (JazzTimes)Have a look at them in action 
https://youtu.be/SraN0GFTcDQ

Podcast: Rhythm Passport Presents… #21

Rhythm Passport holders, welcome on board! We are ready to take off on our monthly two-hour musical journey around the world, zigzagging between continents, regions, and countries in no particular order. The first warm breezes of summer are finally in the air, and today we’re going fully tropical with plenty…

Artists: Andi Otto , Blanc Manioc , Bokanté , Bombino , Boom Pam , Captain Planet , Conjunto Media Luna , D. Pallavi , Felipe Orjuela , Fuensanta , Guiss Guiss Bou Bess , Hippo Sound System , Humazapas , IDLIBRA , Inna de Yard , Jembaa Groove , Laliboi , Les Sympathics de Porto Novo , Loboko , Mamer , Max le Daron , Mokoomba , Mulato Bantú , Mungo's Hi Fi , Noga Ritter , Nortec Collective , ONIPA , Petite Noir , Pigeon , Shorey , Tabaco

Daily Discovery: Bokanté – Adjoni (Official Video)

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Artists: Bokanté

Interview: Bokanté – ‘Love, Openness and Empathy’ (October 2018)

A band steeped in societal message, Bokanté strive to bring more awareness to social abstraction and human indifference. Through a cultural exchange and mingling of musical languages, the new group (formed by Snarky Puppy founder Michael League) cover a diverse spectrum of styles. Despite the heavy theme of their lyrics,…

Artists: Bokanté

Album Review: Bokanté and Metropole Orkest – What Heat [Real World Records; 28th September 2018]

Two hot, Grammy award-winning jazz outfits – Bokanté (founded by Michael League of the multicultural New York-based group Snarky Puppy) and Metropole Orkest (the jazz and pop orchestra whose chief conductor Jules Buckley had previously collaborated with Snarky Puppy in 2016) – released What Heat on 28th September 2018 for…

Artists: Bokanté

Album Review: Bokanté – Strange Circles [GroundUP Music; September 2017]

Bokanté, the pop-up band debuted by New York-based jazz band Snarky Puppy founder Michael League, have just put out their first fusion pop-oriented album on GroundUP Music. The project, which name means ‘exchange’ in Creole, brings together a showcase of artists from varying sides of the globe, including lead vocalist…

Artists: Bokanté

Review: Väsen @ The Ropetackle Arts Centre (Shoreham-by-Sea, 9th November 2015)

With seventeen albums under their belts Swedish folk group Väsen have been together for twenty-five years – and doesn’t it show! The three players – Roger Tallroth, Olov Johansson and Mikael Marin play as one, their instrument being a thirty-three-stringed polska-playing machine (the ‘polska’ being a Swedish folk dance). The…

Artists: Väsen