Disclosure Takes an International Approach on New Single

In keeping with their tradition of enlisting international collaborators, Disclosure teamed up with Fatoumata Diawara on their new single, “Douha (Mali Mali).” They’ve worked with Diawara in the past on the Grammy-nominated 2018 single “Ultimatum,” and “Douha (Mali Mali)” again shows why the two artists work so well together. It’s an inspiring tune well-suited to the dance floor.

Disclosure — brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence — first teased the song during its April Boiler Room session, which it delivered live from isolation, and fans have been asking for it ever since. 

On the song, Diawara sings in celebration of her birthplace and urges all Malians to be proud of their country.

The accompanying music video directed by Mahaneela features images of ethnically diverse dancers strutting their stuff in both urban and rural settings. 

“Right now, all over the world, we’re going through an incredibly strange time,” says Mahaneela in a press statement. “I wanted to make something that was visually beautiful, but also felt symbolic of what we’re all going through. People feel more isolated than ever, and I wanted to create something joyful that really shows the power music and movement has and the connectivity it brings.” 

Shooting any video during a global pandemic is challenging, but the international effort employed here has delivered amazing results. Filming Fatoumata plus a series of different dancers — all moving together to the song, all over the world — Mahaneela shot the video in three countries using nine different locations with three separate local film crews, all adhering to safety guidelines. Together, they captured remarkable rural and cityscapes in Como, Italy, Johannesburg, South Africa and New York.

The song can be found on Disclosure’s new album, Energy, which is due out on Aug. 28 on vinyl, CD and cassette in addition to its digital release.

This year marks 10 years since Disclosure debuted with the single “Offline Dexterity.” In that decade, Guy and Howard Lawrence, who are still in their twenties, have released two albums – Settle (2013) and Caracal (2015) — while garnering 5.1 billion streams and 4.8 million album sales.

Photo Credit: Hollie Fernando