London based group Ibibio Sound Machine, Fronted by British / Nigerian vocalist Eno Williams, combine elements of West African highlife, disco, post‐punk & psychedelic electro soul.
Folk stories, recounted to Eno by her family as a child in her mother's South‐Eastern Nigerian Ibibio language form the creative lyrical fabric of the album. A unique sound born out of the mixed up nature of London today, Ibibio Sound Machine was started by producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard and Benji Bouton. After first tracking all the bass and drum tracks they joined up with Ghanaian guitar legend Alfred ‘Kari’ Bannerman (from fellow Soundway signing Konkoma), before adding Brazilian Anselmo Netto on percussion and synth/horn men Tony Hayden & Scott Baylis to Eno Williams' lyrics.
A dose of electronica with a forward‐looking, refreshingly un‐retro approach that's influenced by London as much as by West Africa, give the vocals and guitar lines space to breath without being overwhelmed.
From the banging sub‐bass of ‘Lets Dance’ to the spiritual, gospel‐tinged notes of the album's opening track ‘Voice of the Bird’, the band have turned in a dynamic and, at times, beautiful take on modern afro‐soul music.
Review:
The self-titled debut by Ibibo Sound Machine is quite literally unlike
any other African-electronic music fusion project. The group is fronted by Eno
Williams, a London-born singer of southeastern Nigerian (Ibibo) descent. DJs and
producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard, and Benji Bouton heard Williams and built
a band around her. They created a slew of grooves for that voice based on the
West African highlife, funk, and disco they all loved, then enlisted Ghanian
guitarist Alfred “Kari” Bannerman of Konkoma, Tony Hayden and Scott Bayliss
on synths and horns, and Brazilian master percussionist Anselmo Netto to
illustrate the rhythms and vocals. Williams' voice possesses a timeless quality.
When she's singing a tune with folk roots, such as opener “Voice of the Bird
(Uyio Inuen),” it sounds like it comes from the ether of the historic past. It
can have a gritty quality as well, as evidenced by the careening bubbler
“Let's Dance (Yak Inek Unek).” The fat horns and sub-basement bassline are
triple-timed by a criss-crossing array of rhythms. “The Tortoise (Nsaha Idem
Ikit)” is a dark, funky groover with squelchy synths, breaks, and popping
handrums on top of a rubbery bassline and Afrobeat horns. Distorted mbiras and
bright guitars fuel the bright soulful horn lines on “I'm Running (Nya
Fehe).” Williams' open-throated vocal evokes the historical past above
Bannerman's punchy single-line fills. There's great humor here, too, as
African disco reigns supreme in “Talking Fish (Asem Usem Iyak),” as
primitive drum machines, cheesy analog synths, and J.B.‘s-styled horns throw
down the funk to a folk tale! (Williams’ lyrics are all based on stories and
tales from her grandmother's village.) “Woman of Substance (Awuwan
Itiaba),” is loops, frenetic, winding bass, and snaky guitar and flute lines
as the singer delivers the words in an earthy, soulful, near-moaning voice. The
only track not saturated in rhythm is the brief, haunting closer “Ibibo
Spiritual” with Williams' multi-tracked voice creating its own polyphonic
call-and-response. Ibibo Sound Machine is an auspicious debut. The producers
molded their rhythms around that beautiful voice with taste, creativity, and
integrity, and the band plays the hell out of it all.
All Music Guide – Thom Jurek