Bokassa are back with ‘Doesn’t Matter If You Love It Here’, a riff-loaded new single that the Norwegian stoner punks describe as a melodic banger with a metallic edge and a desert vibe, equally suited to a long road trip or a Friday night blowout.
The track shows a different side to the band vocally while keeping the air-guitar-friendly riffs and an earworm chorus front and centre. Frontman Jørn Kaarstad explains it is a song about something running its course and being beyond saving, drawing a parallel with the strained relationship between humans and the planet’s natural resources.
It was produced, engineered and mixed by two-time Grammy winner Adrian Bushby (Foo Fighters, Muse, The Darkness) and mastered by George Perks (Don Broco, Enter Shikari), recorded at England’s Otterhead Studios. The video leans gleefully into B-movie territory, with the band hosting bass player auditions that end rather bloodily, a grindhouse homage to the campy 70s and 80s slasher films Kaarstad grew up loving.
The single is the first release on the band’s own label, Kings of Stonerpunk Records, marking a return to the DIY spirit that defined their early years. Kaarstad notes they have always done a lot themselves, right back to booking their own shows for the first five years, including the Metallica tour, and that going independent again has been a long-held dream finally realised.
Bokassa are Jørn Kaarstad and Olav Dowkes.
We have long enjoyed Bokassa’s knack for marrying genuine heaviness with a sense of fun!
