Some records you find. This one found me — on a rooftop, half a world from where I slept last.
I wrote "Time Zone" for everyone who has ever loved across a meridian line. You know the arithmetic: it's midnight in Lagos, and somewhere in Toronto the light is still gold, pouring across a kitchen table. Five hours apart, one moon above both. The whole song lives in that hinge — the hour where her night and his golden hour touch, like two time zones holding hands.
This is alté the way I love it: velvet over structure. Soft drums that don't raise their voice, warm keys like late-evening amber, space in the mix the way there's space between two cities. The chant in the chorus — pole pole, Swahili for "slowly, gently" — came to me on a slow walk down Kilimanjaro's lower slopes years ago, a guide's murmur that became a philosophy: no need to rush what's real. And the send-off? E go be. It'll be alright. It always is.
To the world citizens, the diaspora kids, the ones whose hearts keep office hours on two continents — this one's your anthem. Your midnight is somebody's golden hour. Same moon outside.
[Instrumental Intro — 12 bars — warm keys, soft drums, vinyl haze let the groove establish]
[Verse 1]
It's midnight in Lagos, last call at the bar
You're closing the day down beneath one far star
Two cities, one ocean of wire and light
I'll send you the moon like a postcard tonight
[Pre-Chorus]
They say distance is a river — I say it's a road
Every hour between us is a story untold
Set your clock to my heartbeat, don't fight the divide
I'll be there when the sun and the moon collide
[Chorus / Chant]
Pole pole, pole pole — same moon outside
Your midnight, my golden light
Pole pole, pole pole — hearts don't divide
Two clocks, one love, we'll be alright
[Verse 2]
Five hours between us, a sea and a smile
You call it an ending — I call it a while
Your midnight is falling, my gold hour burns
The world keeps on turning, and love keeps its turns
[Percussion Break — 8 bars — shakers and keys, let the pocket breathe]
[Bridge]
Clocks never learned to measure you
Maps were drawn by hands that never flew
Wherever the needle lands, it's you
Fé mi, fé mi — I'm coming through
[Chorus / Chant — final, call-and-response]
(Pole pole!) Same moon outside
(Your midnight!) My golden light
(Pole pole!) Hearts don't divide
(E go be!) We'll be alright
[Instrumental Outro — fade with field-recording warmth, murmured "e go be… e go be…"]
Alté / Afro-R&B in the quiet-storm lineage — 98 BPM, velvet vocals, soft drums, warm keys, spacious moonlit groove. Part of the GlobalGrooves daily rotation: Thursday's moonlit lane.
Written & produced by Zola (Zola Music) · AI-assisted production · A GlobalGrooves release, powered by NXagents
