Malika Tirolien is a Montreal-based Guadalopean singer-songwriter and pianist that has been creating music all her life. Growing up in a creative family, it was noted that she responded strongly to music and melody since she was a baby. After beginning to play the piano as a small child, it became clear that she was reproducing melodies that she heard with ease and had a natural talent. Since that time, Tirolien has gone on to tour the world and has sung on a Grammy winning album - Family Dinner Vol. 1 by Snarky Puppy. 

Tirolien is also the lead singer of the critically acclaimed Guadalopean group Bokanté. After their debut album Strange CIrcles was released in 2017, the group toured Europe extensively and were nominated for Best New World Music Album at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards held in 2020.

In addition to her work with Snarky Puppy and Bokanté, Tirolien has worked with the band Groundfood, and has collaborated with and been featured by many other artists. Tirolien has also opened for several notable musicians, the most memorable for her being Lauryn Hill. 

As a solo artist, she has released two solo albums, with 2021’s Higher being her most recent touring work. The album is based around a very intentional concept: “The whole concept is to travel into the mind of a character that is going from anger to forgiveness, letting herself be pulled in the air by her higher self to leave her ego and resentment on the ground,” she says of Higher. “I would love people to feel better, to feel like some negative energies have been lifted after the concert.” As an artist that takes inspiration from everything around her and the experiences and feelings that are evoked, her performance is a remarkable offering.

You can experience the transcendental music of Malika Tirolien and Highsoul in Calgary this Saturday, June 18th at the King Eddy presented by BuckingJam Palace. The show starts at 8:30pm and will showcase a new genre called Highsoul, “a mix of soul, R&B, hip hop, jazz and with a touch of psychedelic.” You can purchase tickets for the event here.