Behind the scenes with Bokanté in new video for ‘Fanm’

In their latest video, Bokanté take us behind the scenes during the recording process for their latest single, 'Fanm', featuring the Metropole Orkest and conductor Jules Buckley.

‘Famn’ which translates as ‘Woman’, is the second track to be made available from the hotly anticipated second album by the band, What Heat.

“Malika wrote this to celebrate the power of women at this really timely moment,” says band leader Michael League, “She’s great at writing songs about social and political issues in ways that are never preachy; this song you want to dance to. I wrote it on oud to take advantage of the percussiveness of this instrument, how funky it is and how much fun it can be to just groove on.”

“Much of the actual percussion comes from the Turkish daf, and we added touches like shoving paper into the acoustic guitars to give them a buzzing sound like a balafon [West African xylophone]. Jamey, André, and Keita swing beautifully from start to finish, like a machine. Roosevelt takes a beautiful dobro solo at the end.”

Bokanté will perform music from the new album with the Metropole Orkest on a limited run of shows in Europe later this month, alongside dates in the US in October.

Stream ‘Fanm’ / Pre-order album

Bokanté - behind the scenes during the recording of their second single, 'Fanm'

Feature Release

  • What Heat

    Bokanté + Metropole Orkest (Conducted by Jules Buckley)

    Released 27 September 2018

    Bokanté traces the blues from its roots in Africa and the Arab world throughout the diaspora and into a modern context. Led by Michael League (Snarky Puppy), the album features Guadeloupean vocalist Malika Tirolien and is a collaboration with the Metropole Orkest and arranger/conductor Jules Buckley.

By Online Editor

Published on Wed, 19 September 18

Further reading

The Almighty Groove offers Colombian rhythms and African roots on debut EP Frère d’Afrique

The Almighty Groove is the new production imprint of long-time musical adventurer, John Hollis.

Ríoghnach Connolly wins RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Award

Ríoghnach Connolly of The Breath wins Best Folk Singer at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, 2025.

Swaken Lyrics

Bab L' Bluz second album, Swaken, released in May 2024. These are the song lyrics in English, French...

Track of the day: ‘Too Many Have Gone’ by The Breath

The Breath reveal their first new music since the release of their third album, Land of My Other. A...