History

Deep Southern guitar drawls open this sun-drenched record. History, Bokanté's third album, is anchored in the blues while drawing upon influence from both vocalist Malika Tirolien's Guadeloupean heritage, and a cornucopia of styles and sensibilities from across the globe.

Six years since the group's ambitious debut, Strange Circles, their sound has continued to expand. Driven by a mighty percussion quartet of André Ferrari, Jamey Haddad, Keita Ogawa and Weedie Braimah, the record – developed in situ at the home of bassist and bandleader Michael League on the outskirts of Barcelona – sounds like an ensemble firing on all cylinders.

After being plunged into the Delta headfirst on opener ‘Bliss’, the album's second track ‘Adjoni’ picks up the pace. Pairing ludic melodic passages from Malika with densely percussive interjections, the song is augmented by typically barnstorming licks from Roosevelt Collier on the lap guitar. These rhythmic tensions are further explored on ‘Pa Domi’, which overlays a languid groove with playful cross-rhythms and ethereal vocal lines.

While many virtuosic supergroups could be accused of overplaying and showing off, this record is assiduously put together and far from cacophonous. History's balance of sonorities and textures is testament to the group all being on the same page: shifting from unbridled urgency and insatiable grooves to meditative introspection in an instant. This ensemble seemingly have it all. And killer songs to boot.