Brooklyn via Botswana artist Lollise has shared he full length debut, titled ‘I Hit The Water’ via Switch Hit Records, The debut album finds her expanding on her roots as a former touring member of Underground System and FELA! Band.
Along with the news. Lollise has also shared the single “Mme Mma Ndi.” Working at an uncharacteristically reserved tempo, the chugging song unfolds with Kalanga drums and heavenly vocal melodies that rest atop a voicemail recording from Lollise’s mother. Across five minutes, Lollise assures her mother that she has retained the important values she instilled and that her choices as an adult must be trusted. It’s accompanied by a warm video, co-directed by Erin Boyd and Morgan Greenstreet, centered on footage of daily routines and inspired by the work of Malian photographer Malick Sidibé.
On “Mme Mma Ndi” Lollise shares:
“This is one of the first songs that I wrote and that we recorded for this album. It opens with a voicemail from my mother. In our mutual first language, Kalanga, I tell my mother that my lifestyle looks incongruent to our cultural norms but that I’ve kept the important teachings she gave me and discarded the rest. I’m asking her to trust my choices, even if she doesn’t understand. This album is also a tribute to her, to her wisdom and ingenuity. This song uses Kalanga drums, in the rhythm used to accompany ceremonial songs for community events. Bakalanga matumba drums are found in three sizes – low pitched, medium pitched and high pitched. We worked with Nikhil P. Yerawadekar (Low Mentality, Living Language, formerly Antibalas, Kendra Morris, Say She She) on this song.”
On the video, she adds:
“The concept was heavily inspired by 1970s Malian photo studios, in the style of Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keita. Since I am not from Mali, I added a universal element to it, highlighting a series of mundane daily tasks such as doing laundry, cooking or serving food: these are special events that are integral to forming connection and intimacy with family members, in this case my stand-in mother, and stand-in female cousins. I also leaned into a diasporic interpretation of the video concept: I cast my musician friends and music lovers Erminia Apolinario as my mother (Brazil), Attis Clopton as the photographer (US), Kyla Marshell as a cousin (US) and Kyra Assibey-Bonsu as a cousin (Ghana). I also collaborated with Busayo, a Nigerian clothing brand based in New York for the wardrobe.”
Check it out, here
Purchase the album here
