Ibibio Sound Machine

Born in London in the early 2010s around producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard and Benji Bouton, and later organised as a stage ensemble around singer Eno Williams, Ibibio Sound Machine developed a repertoire that blends afrobeat, afro-funk, highlife, disco, post-punk and electronic music. The group draws as much on West African grooves from the 1970s and 1980s as on more synthetic rhythms, with songs shaped by Williams’s voice. Williams was born in London and partly raised in Nigeria, where she was influenced by the Ibibio language and by traditional narratives incorporated into some of the lyrics. Ibibio Sound Machine released a first single in 2014 and a self-titled album the same year on Soundway Records, then followed with Uyai in 2017, Doko Mien in 2019, Electricity in 2022 and Pull the Rope in 2024. For Electricity the band worked with Hot Chip on production, moving in a tenser, more danceable direction without abandoning its mix of brass, percussion and electronic lines. Since their beginnings, Ibibio Sound Machine has occupied a space between contemporary Afro scenes, indie and electronic music, operating as a collective designed for both studio work and live performance.