Lafawndah

Yasmine Dubois, known professionally as Lafawndah (also known as KUKII) is a singer, songwriter, producer and director.

Lafawndah
Background information
Birth name	Yasmine Dubois
Also known as	KUKII
Born	Paris, France
Genres	Experimental avant-pop
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Concordia !K7 Latency Warp
Website	lafawndah.com

Early life

Lafawndah was raised in Paris, France, and is of Egyptian, Iranian, and English descent. She has lived across the world in various cities, including Los Angeles, Mexico City and London.^[1][2]

Career

During her time in Mexico City, Lafawndah co-founded the girl group NIDADA.^[3] After a term at the Red Bull Music Academy, she recorded and co-produced her self-titled EP Lafawndah with Garagem Banda, which was self-released in 2014.^[4]

In 2016 Lafawndah's Tan EP was released on Warp Records. The project was created with contributions from L-Vis 1990 and Nick Weiss of Teengirl Fantasy.^[5]

In 2018 Dubois partnered with Midori Takada to create the multimedia piece Le Renard Bleu, Takada's first release for almost twenty years.^[6] Centred around Le Renard Bleu, Takada and Lafawndah produced their stage work Ceremonial Blue, which was performed at the Barbican in London during the spring of 2019.^[7]

In 2019 Lafawndah's debut album Ancestor Boy was released on her own label Concordia, and distributed by !K7. Ancestor Boy was a highly collaborative project, with features from Kelsey Lu, Julie Byrne, Gaika, ADR, L-Vis 1990, Jon Hassell, Valentina Magaletti, Jamie Woon, Joao Filipe, and Bonnie Banane, plus a cover of 'Vous et Nous' by Brigitte Fontaine and Areski Belkacem. The album received critical acclaim, and was on multiple 'album of the year' lists for 2019.^[8][9]

The Fifth Season, Lafawndah's second album was released on 8 September 2020. Once again she worked with tuba player Theon Cross, trombonist Nathaniel Cross, Valentina Magaletti on percussion, Nick Weiss on keyboard and production, plus a guest appearance from Lala &ce. Lyrics of the lead single "You, At The End" come from a poem by the artist Kae Tempest,^[10] and The Fifth Season also includes a cover of Don't Despair by Beverly Glenn-Copeland.^[11]

Lafawndah has had an extensive touring career, taking her theatrical live shows around the world. She has also toured with Kelela in both 2015 and 2017, and supported the American band Hundred Waters.^[12] In 2018 Dubois adapted her Honey Colony mixtape in to an ongoing concert experience which made its debut at the Southbank Centre, including guests such as Tirzah (feat. Mica Levi and Coby Sey), Kelsey Lu and Elheist.^[13][14] She has released two bootleg-style Honey Colony mixtapes to date featuring reworkings of songs around vocal stems from artists such as Klein, Kelela, Kelsey Lu, Cardi B, and Bonnie Banane.^[15]

In addition to her own music, Lafawndah has produced and composed for brands such as Kenzo, Chanel, i-D, Courreges, and has also directed her own music videos.^{[16][17][18][19]}

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Release Date	Album Details
Ancestor Boy	22 March 2019	Label - Concordia • !K7 Format(s) - Vinyl, CD, digital download
The Fifth Season	8 September 2020	Label - Latency Format(s) - Vinyl, digital download

EPs and Remix albums

Title	Release Date	Album Details
Lafawndah	6 May 2014	Self-released Format(s) - Digital download
Tan	5 February 2016	Label - Warp Format(s) - Vinyl, digital download
Le Renard Bleu	9 July 2018	Midori Takada & Lafawndah Label - !K7 Format(s) - Vinyl, digital download
Ancestor Boy II	6 December 2019	Label - Concordia • !K7 Format(s) - digital download
The Fifth Season (Versions)	16 June 2021	Label - Latency Format(s) - digital download

Singles

Title	Release Date	Album
Town Crier	5 February 2016	Tan
Joseph	4 October 2018	Ancestor Boy
Daddy	14 January 2019	Ancestor Boy
Substancia	22 February 2019	Ancestor Boy
Storm Chaser (Cobra Rasteira) x Linn Da Quebrada x Pininga Rework	12 November 2019	Ancestor Boy II
Rare Baby (as KUKII)	27 June 2024	TBC

Remixes

Title	Artists	Release Date
Due West (Lafawndah Remix)	Kelsey Lu	15 November 2019
Vietnam (Lafawndah Remix)	Tricky	11 March 2021

References

1. Lester, Paul (2015-11-20). "New band of the week – Lafawndah (No 80)". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
2. "Lafawndah is the multilingual musician who knows pop isn't a dirty word". i-D. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
3. Dummy. "Next: LAFAWNDAH". DummyMag. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
4. "Review: LAFAWNDAH - LAFAWNDAH EP". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
5. Bychawski, Adam (2016-02-02). "Lafawndah: 'When you're listening to my music, I want to control your body'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
6. "Midori Takada / Lafawndah: Le Renard Bleu EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
7. "Midori Takada & Lafawndah: Ceremonial Blue | Barbican". www.barbican.org.uk. 7 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
8. Dazed (2019-12-11). "The 20 best albums of 2019". Dazed. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
9. "2019's Best Albums". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
10. "Review: Lafawndah - You, At The End". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
11. "Pop Polymath Lafawndah Breaks Down the Inspirations for 'The Fifth Season'". HUNGER TV. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
12. "Hundred Waters Announce Tour". Pitchfork. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
13. "Lafawndah reimagines Kelsey Lu and Cardi B on Honey Colony Vol. 2". FACT Magazine. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
14. "126297 The Honey Colony: Bonnie Banane Kelsey Lu Lafawndah Tirzah + more 2018". Southbank Centre. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
15. "Listen to Lafawndah's unreal remixes of Kelela, Kelsey Lu, and more". The FADER. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
16. Dazed (2017-06-26). "Kenzo celebrates heritage with entirely Asian model line-up". Dazed. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
17. "nozomi iijima's five paradoxes | The Fifth Sense | i-D". The Fifth Sense. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
18. "Courrèges Spring 2020 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show". Vogue. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
19. "Lafawndah flamenco dances with her mother in her video for 'DADDY'". FACT Magazine: Transmissions from the underground. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2020-01-22.