If you’re fluent in Yoruban you probably already know that Ibeyi means “twins.” You will also understand one-third of the lyrics sung by the French-Cuban duo of Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz the twins in Ibeyi.
XL chief Richard Russell who discovered them on YouTube co-produced their debut album and it sounds as though he let the Diaz twins control just how much or how little they put into their production. The minimalism certainly accents their wide-ranging fusion of music — the rhythms and vocals toy with degrees of jazz downtempo pop R&B and folk — not to mention their French and Afro-Cuban heritage.
Ibeyi said the album is “about love and family and people who are gone” and melancholy is a driving mood throughout. But as sombre as some of it sounds it’s hard not to hear these beguiling songs as celebratory prayers in the revering lyrics of “Ghosts” and “Think of You.”
Continuing the tradition of their late father Buena Vista Social Club percussionist Anga Diaz Ibeyi have fashioned their own unique brand that has plenty of room to grow.
