Ibibio Sound Machine is an English electronic afro-funk band from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Formed in 2013, the band currently consists of vocalist Eno Williams, guitarist Alfred Kari Bannerman, percussionist Afla Sackey , drummer Joseph Amoako, bassist Philip PK Ambrose, trombonist/keyboardist Tony Hayden, trumpeter/keyboardist Scott Baylis and saxophonist/keyboardist Max Grunhard.

History

The band was formed in

in 2010 by producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard, and Benji Bouton. The trio were interested in producing music fusing elements from 1980s

afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecti ...

and '90s drum-and-bass. They approached singer Eno Williams to create vocals for the project. After the first sessions had been successfully finished, live musicians were added to create a full band. These included the

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

guitarist Alfred Bannerman from the band KonKoma and Afro-rock band

Osibisa Osibisa are a Ghanaian-British Afro-Rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London based Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in ...

, Brazilian percussionist Anselmo Netto, and multi-instrumentalists Tony Hayden and Scott Baylis. The band released their first single in January 2014 on Soundway, entitled ''Lets Dance''. Their self-titled debut album followed in March the same year. In 2016, the band signed to

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded ...

to create their follow-up record. Their second album, '' Uyai'', was released in 2017. In 2022, they released Electricity, produced by

Hot Chip Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...

. The album was received very positively, garnering positive reviews from outlets such as

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

and

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

. Clash Music called the album "Bright, buoyant, and continually innovative"
retrieved October 11, 2022 and Exclaim described it as "Ibibio Sound Machine manage to come across as enormously focused and imaginative while staying true to their wildly diverse, free-flowing modus operandi."
retrieved October 11, 2022

Musical style

Ibibio Sound Machine is a clash of African and electronic elements. According to the band, their sound is inspired in equal measure by the golden era of West African funk and disco, modern

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

, and electro. The name of the band itself finds influence from Eno Williams' mother, whose native tongue was

Ibibio Ibibio may refer to: *Ibibio language *Ibibio people * Ibibio Sound Machine, an English electronic afro-funk band who sing in Ibibio See also * Ibiblio ibiblio (formerly SunSITE.unc.edu and MetaLab.unc.edu) is a "collection of collections", ...

. While Williams was born in

, she spent most of her childhood in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

with the rest of her family. Her mother often recounted numerous folk and children's stories from her own heritage and passed them on to her daughter. Williams took this inspiration and crafted lyrics from these sources and married them to modern themes.

Members

;Current members *Eno Williams – vocals *Scott Baylis – trumpet, synth *Max Grunhard – saxophone, synth *Alfred Kari Bannerman – guitar *Tony Hayden – trombone, synth *Joseph Amoako – drums *Philip PK Ambrose – bass *Anselmo Netto – percussion

Discography

Studio albums

*2014 - ''Ibibio Sound Machine'' (Soundway Records) *2017 - '' Uyai'' (Merge Records) *2019 - ''Doko Mien'' (Merge Records) *2022 - ''Electricity'' (Merge Records)

References

External links

Official website
*
Discogs Entry
Musical groups from London English electronic music groups Merge Records artists {{UK-electronic-band-stub