Though born and raised in Austin, Texas, dj poolboi’s always looked far beyond the Lone Star State for inspiration. The bedrock of his club sound draws much of its inspiration from the deep, soulful sounds of Chicago and Detroit, but for his latest single “malo okoma” it was the southern African nation of Zambia that came calling.
Connecting with celebrated Zambian singer Theresa Ng’ambi, together they transformed the track from an already vibrant and rousing piece of house music into a joyous love letter to Ng’ambi’s home, all sung in the Chewa language and delivered in a Zambian folk style. That’s pushed even further to the front in the video from director Verb. Shot entirely in Zambia, the video takes us on a guided tour of the country, from lakeside to countryside before stopping off in town to shake a leg with the locals.
Speaking of the single, Theresa Ng’ambi says: “Sung mainly in the Chewa language, ‘malo okoma’ translates into ‘a beautiful place’. That was in my mind while I was at one of my lowest moments in a time where I had a lot of pain from experiencing flashbacks of past tragedies. I started a journey to heal myself by giving the best positive energies to affirm a healthy world I wanted to live in. Visualising ‘a beautiful place’ that has no war, hatred, inequality, Covid, viruses or forms of pain or sadness”.
The new single is the latest extract to be heard from poolboi’s upcoming third album, stay just a little while longer, which is slated for release on March 18.
