Bokanté is the group project with which Artist in Residence Michael League also performed at North Sea Jazz in 2017. This eight-member group of outstanding musicians revolving around singer Malika Tirolien from Guadeloupe, which released its debut album on League’s own label GroundUp last year, sounds multicultural, but in the most refreshing sense possible. Starting point: a combination of West-African music, delta blues, and Led Zeppelin. A musical journey, starting in the Middle East going towards Africa, via South America, ending somewhere in North America. Michael League says about his band: “We are not limited to a specific genre; in addition to blues, we also play rock and Caribbean music, among others. What makes it so interesting is the fact that we take the journey with bandmembers from all those different corners of the world.” To increase the effect, the group is bringing some special guests with them to Rotterdam this year.
