Description
Ibibio Sound Machine will release Uyai on March 3. Fronted by Londonborn Nigerian singer Eno Williams, Ibibio Sound Machine is a clash of African and electronic elements inspired in equal measure by the golden era of West African funk, disco, modern postpunk, and electro. The intervening time since their selftitled debut album in 2014 has been spent forging a reputation as a highenergy live act appearing on stages such as Laterhellip with Jools Holland, Glastonbury, Roskilde, and the BBC 6 Music Festival, as well as at iconic venues such as Shakespearersquos Globe Theatre in London as part of Lauren Lavernersquos ldquoWonder Womenrdquo series. The album title Uyai means ldquobeautyrdquo in Ibibio language and refers to the strength and free spirit of women in general and, in particular, the courage of the women in Enorsquos family, to whom she often refers in her writing. ldquoIt is a continuation of Ibibio Sound Machinersquos story in which the worlds of West African highlife and electronic London collide via the storytelling lyrical thread of frontwoman Eno Williamsrsquo vocals in the Ibibio language of Nigeria,rdquo the band explains. ldquoThere is a darker, edgier quality to the sound that maybe reflects the difficult journey the band took from making the first album to completing the second one. The songs are based more around themes of empowerment, freedom, and the liberation of dance for women, and people in general.rdquoThe songs of Uyai tackle the stories of lifemdashboth large and small. The album opens with ldquoGive Me a Reason,rdquo a song about the 276 Chibok girls who were abducted in northern Nigeria in 2014 and remain missing to this day. Eno challenges, ldquoWhy should girls be denied the right to education, and why should people in general not be free to be who they want to be in their liferdquo On the lighter side, ldquoThe Pot Is On Firerdquo is a food dance celebrating the ldquohappy placerdquo when the food will be ready soon. ldquoItrsquos also metaphorical,rdquo Eno writes. ldquoSomething is brewing which will soon bear fruit.rdquo Weird and wonderful folk stories, recounted to Eno by her family as a child in her motherrsquos Ibibio tongue, form the creative fabric from which the bandrsquos unique musical tapestry is woven. Evocative poetic imagery and empowering messages set against an edgy, AfroElectro soundscape give the band a unique space within the current wave of modern Afrocentric sounds sweeping across the globe.
