UK Afro-jazz collective Kokoroko announce debut album 'Could We Be More,' share new song

UK 8-piece Afro-jazz collective Kokoroko have an EP and various other tracks dating back to 2018, and now they’ve finally announced their debut full-length album, Could We Be More, due August 5 via Brownswood Recordings (pre-order). “I think home has hugely informed the way we write and play our music,” band member Sheila Maurice-Grey said. “Everyone comes from different backgrounds but the thing that unites us in Kokoroko is that we all have a similar love and appreciation for afrobeat and highlife, whether that’s Ebo Taylor or Pat Thomas. Onome Edgeworth adds, “It’s that feeling when you’re younger and you hear something and you feel some ownership over it. For me, Nigerian music and soul was played in the house a lot so I felt I had ownership over it so when I heard it elsewhere, there was a certain pride and energy filled with it. Recreating a piece of music that fills you with pride, ‘this is a piece of me and this is what I came from.'”

The 15-song album includes recent single Something’s Going On,” as well as the bright, lively, kinetic new single “We Give Thanks.” Speaking about the new song, the band says, “We were imagining playing live with this one – it’s definitely written with that energy we get towards the end of a set. Some shows, like La Cigalle in Paris or Paradiso in Dam have legit felt magical for us & you always want to give that energy back. This is us trying to do that.”

Listen to both singles below…

Tracklist
1. Tojo
2. Blue Robe (Pt. I)
3. Ewà Inú
4. Age of Ascent
5. Dide O
6. Soul Searching
7. We Give Thanks
8. Those Good Times
9. Reprise
10. War Dance
11. Interlude
12. Home
13. Something’s Going On
14. Outro
15. Blue Robe (Pt. II)

Kokoroko — 2022 Tour Dates
25th March The Foundry, Sheffield
26th March Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds
30th March O2 Ritz, Manchester
31st March Riverside, Newcastle
1st April The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
3rd April Motion, Bristol
4th April Concorde 2, Bristol
6th April Electric Brixton, London
7th April Engine Rooms, Southampton
8th April Sub89, Reading
22nd April Banlieues Bleues Festival, France
26th April Paterskerk, Netherlands
27th April Oranjepop Festival, Netherlands
28th April Paradiso, Netherlands
29th April Ancienne Belgique, Belgium
11th May Victoire 2, France
12th May Auditorium, France
13th May L’Epicerie Moderne, France
14th May EMB, France
15th May L’Aeronef (club room), France
19th May La Sirene, France
20th May Auxerre, France
21st May Jazz sous les Pommiers, France