After five years spent in West Africa, the Blanc Manioc producer and DJ returns with video ahead of upcoming album.
Jérôme Fouqueray, better known as Praktika, has evolved a lot in twelve years. In 2014, the French DJ went to West Africa for the first time with the intention of exploring his passion via new sounds. Since then, he has been living between many places, from Burkina Faso to Mali, through to the Ivory Coast, always looking for new musicians to gel with. Praktika had notably participated in the organization of the Africa Bass Culture festival in Burkina Faso, a perfect symbiosis between electronic and traditional music. In 2017, with the Ivorians Toussaint and Siddiki Sangaré, he formed this trio which became popular in Abidjan through a residency at the Bushman Café, a cultural Mecca in the capital. Since 2019 he has released the majority of his work on Blanc Manioc.
Whether through travels to Mali or beyond, the DJ never stops discovering young artists and is developing an alternative style that mixes electronic sets with live improvisation alongside n’goni player Assaba Dramé..
Praktika is back this year with a new album, Benkadi (“good understanding”), on which he continues to mix techno with the sounds of his fellow travelers. The video for “Fôli,” meaning “music” in Bambara marks an ode to the musical freedom he lives. We follow Aida, a young woman from Bamako in love with hypnotic contemporary dance. In pursuing her dream she ends up being welcomed in by musicians, including Ko Saba, a great figure of Mandingo rock, who guides her towards artistic freedom.
The album Benkadi will be released on April 2 by Blanc Manioc.
Listen to Praktika in our Songs of the Week playlist on Spotify and Deezer.
