Everyone knows ‘Higher Love’, the 1986 hit by Steve Winwood and Will Jennings. It’a a formidable song to cover, and yet, Chicago born, New York raised Malou Beauvoir gives it her best shot, and hits the mark. Meanwhile, Kamoken, aka Cheff Loncher, and Chico Boyer, an activist and community leader, as well as the owner of Kamoken Studios, provide the instrumentation required for Beauvoir to realise her vision for ‘Higher Love’. Kamoken are signed to Beauvoir’s Panthera Music International label, through which she promotes modern Haitian music and art. ‘Higher Love’ is the first single from Malou Beauvoir’s new album.
Beauvoir turns ‘Higher Love’ into a modern spiritual hymn; with Kamoken she weaves body-moving Haitian rhythms into the song, along with a new Haitian Creole chorus. The artist was inspired after watching the news:
“As I sat through confinement in New York during the pandemic, I watched as Trump’s messages strove to divide Americans and fuel the flames for racism in the U.S. and internationally. I realized that the only way to hope to change this broken system was to get every last person out there voting. One evening, I turned on the radio and heard ‘Higher Love.’ The rest is history.”
Malou released it with the hope that the track will not just inspire and empower Caribbean-American voters, but also inspire ALL Americans to exercise their most important right as citizens.
The accompanying video is a lyric video, but so much more. With bright, striking colours, the words are set in a very striking, hand-drawn type, while dancers gather and take over rooftops, gliding around, making the city their stage. Flowers bloom in time-lapse, as they echo the promise of a new day, so evocative in the song. They serve as a reminder to keep living, to keep thriving, and above all, keep reaching for that higher love.
Watch and listen to ‘Higher Love’ below. You can find out more about Malou Beauvoir and her music online on her official website.
