Loueke formed the trio Gilfema with Massimo Biolcati (bass) and Ferenc Nemeth (drums), classmates from the Berklee College of Music, and released two albums on the ObliqSound label: Gilfema (2005), and Gilfema + 2 (2008), featuring clarinet players Anat Cohen and John Ellis.
In 2007, he signed a record deal with ObliqSound, for a duo project with Ablaye Cissoko, a master Kora-player and singer from Senegal, which Goetze produced.