Live at Fano Jazz by the Sea - Italy July 2017

An experiment conceived by Snarky Puppy founder and GroundUP Music creator Michael League.
The word bokanté means “exchange” in Creole, the language of vocalist Malika Tirolien’s youth growing up on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

The band’s debut album, “Strange Circles,” 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. Singing in both Creole and French, Tirolien’s words draw nuanced pictures of the struggles we face in our world today- racism, the refugee crisis, a dying planet, apathy towards human suffering- and offer words of thankfulness for those things which unify us, as well as hope for the future of our race. Through it all, Bokanté is a vibrant image of what it wishes to see in the world: connection, unity, and love- through exchange.

Malika Tirolien - vocals
Jamey Haddad - percussion
Keita Ogawa - percussion
André Ferrari - percussion
Roosevelt Collier - lap and pedal steel guitars
Bob Lanzetti - guitar
Chris McQueen - guitar
Michael League - baritone guitar & bass