Welcome to Real World Records

Off the Grid is a journey that joins the origin story of dance rhythms from Africa to electronic dance music of today's clubs and festivals, connecting African folklore and storytelling to rap, jazz and hip hop. This is not a new fusion but a celebration of the family tree of music that has roots in the diaspora. Although it's not a sound many people will have heard, it's a sound that connects us all with our history, joining the dots of popular music and the importance of preserving the lessons of our ancestors.

Tree is eight immersive compositions that take the listener through twenty-four hours in the life of one of nature’s most majestic creations. The album imagines what it would be like to be sat completely still under a tree that you love, being alive to the ever-shifting interplay of light, colour, weather and sound. Summoning the folkloric power of ancient forests through a crescendo in emotion and sound, before bringing us back to sunrise, and a reflection on the journey we’ve taken.

On their third album, Bokanté have plugged into the blues, tracing the genre's roots in West Africa and the Arab world through the diaspora into the retro-modern present. These nine tracks tell — with lyrics sung mainly in Guadeloupean Creole — of outsiders and seers, memories and joy; of black history, global unity and the futility of war. Of taking time to rest, feel, love. Of the redemptive power of music — as a conduit, a change maker, a muse.