ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ꜱᴜʙꜱᴄʀɪʙᴇ☝🏻
Rea Inu
See The Light
Tojo
Carry me home
A.O.A
Integrity
Caribou
Synchro System
Baba Ayoola
Something’s Going On
Ozan Kouklè
Per la rassegna acieloaperto.
I Kokoroko sono un collettivo Afrobeat con base a Londra, fondato dalla trombettista e compositrice Sheila Maurice-Gray. Dopo l’enorme successo del loro brano d’esordio ‘Abusey Junction’, pubblicato dall’etichetta Brownswood nella compilation-manifesto ‘We Out Here’, e dell’omonimo EP, i Kokoroko tornano finalmente a pubblicare nuova musica illuminando l’inizio di questo 2022 con il nuovo elettrizzante singolo ‘Something’s Going On’, pubblicato l’8 febbraio 2022 via Brownswood, e annunciando l’atteso disco d’esordio ‘Could We Be More’ in uscita il prossimo 5 agosto.
Vincitori del premio Miglior Gruppo agli Urban Music Awards 2020 e ai Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2021, i Kokoroko sono specialisti nello scuotere gli animi, grazie a un suono nutrito di strumenti a fiato e percussioni che attinge alle radici dell’Africa occidentale e ai colori della Inner London;
The band's line-up, which had been through a number of changes over the years, stabilized during the pandemic, and now their sound is evolving. It has always been a mixture of traditional Nigerian music, jazz, funk, and Ghanaian highlife. It's a blend that perfectly expresses the cultural diversity of modern London, including its long-established traditions of dub and soul. As Maurice-Grey explains, "London is not just one culture, there's so many different pockets of culture." But the enforced lay-off from gigs gave the band two years to write and record new material, as well as allowing individual members to work on their own side projects: Maurice-Grey, for example, is also a member of the bands Nerija and SEED Ensemble. Kokoroko, meanwhile, are back in action this year with a new single, "We Give Thanks," an international tour, and, on August 5, a new album: Could We Be More.
If Kokoroko has a signature sound, it's the rhythm section setting things up with a soft, hypnotic, undulating groove, followed by the three-woman horn section with the tune, and a little later, the same three singing a refrain in harmony. Maurice-Grey has always wanted to establish a clear, instantly recognizable sound for Kokoroko, and nowadays she has her ears fixed on American funk and soul.