Ibibio Sound Machine

Ibibio Sound Machine consists of Eno Williams (vocals), Alfred Kari Bannerman (guitar), Anselmo Netto (percussion), Jose Joyette (drums), Derrick McIntyre (bass), Tony Hayden (trombone, synth), Scott Baylis (trumpet, synth) and Max Grunhard (saxophone, synth), musicians from very different backgrounds that came together in London. Together, they create a unique sound inspired by the elements of the golden era of West-African funk & disco and modern post-punk & electro. As Eno Williams, the Nigerian singer and leader of the band once explained: ‘Our music is Afrocentric with electronic funk and disco influences and lyrics in Ibibio, my mother’s native Nigerian language’. Williams spent most of her childhood in Nigeria where her mother often recounted numerous folk and children's stories from her own heritage and passed them on. Williams took this inspiration and crafted lyrics from these stories and conveyed them to modern themes. The band’s self-titled debut album was released in 2014 and the follow-up, ‘Uyai’, was released in 2017. In 2022, Ibibio Sound Machine released ‘Electricity’, their latest studio album which received critical acclaim, garnering positive reviews from outlets such as Pitchfork and The Guardian, preaching their uplifting energy and heart-thumping beats.