Ibibio Sound Machine have laid out plans for new album ‘Pull The Rope’.
The record finds the band – which hinges on core duo Eno Williams and Max Grunhard – engaging with evolution, using sessions to reconfigure their music-making.
Recorded across a two week span with producer Ross Orton at the controls, ‘Pull The Rope’ lands on May 3rd. An exhilarating live act, Ibibio’s club-focussed afro-futurism is taken to a fresh level on the incoming project.
New single ‘Got To Be Who U Are’ is a propulsive return, kicking off the album in fine style. Ibibio Sound Machine say the song is “about the idea that what brings us together is stronger than what separates us. No matter where we may go, we will always carry the essence of who we are in our hearts, and yet the places and things that separate us are not as important as we may be led to believe. Be happy and proud of who or what you are.”
“Musically, the track begins by stating its message over a traditional African mbira part and then drops into a similar vocal except now over more of an electronic dance vibe which is meant to have an uplifting tone to it to carry along the message that we may be in Europe, Africa or America, but a simple sound or thought can instantly connect us.”
“The places mentioned in the chorus – Surulere, Isale Eko, Ikoyi, Yaba – are all areas in Lagos, Nigeria where Eno grew up. The different parts of the music are connected even though they are using totally different sounds, symbolising movement of people across the world and the fundamental connection between places and people no matter where one may be.”
Tune in now.
Photo Credit: Matilda Hill-Jenkins
