Ibeyi is the Yoruba term for the divine spirit that exists between twins. It too is the name of the French-Cuban twin duet, Naomi and Lisa-Kaindé Díaz. The style their kind of music falls under is, in a way, distorted. While some songs have a more electronic sound, there is a definite R&B, soul and experimental feel sowed into music. The pair, going by 'Ibeyi' displayed just this through the release of their album Ibeyi, which seems to highlight their mixed musical identity. As a result a deeply evocative, personal and thought provoking album has been birthed – despite coming from a differing culture myself, even I felt nostalgic somehow listening to their music.

The album itself feels like an extended prayer. 'River' is placed at the very beginning of the album, and as the lyrics follow, is both cleansing (of what we know from the generic musical sound) and ensnaring. The song seems to be dedicated to the Yoruba goddess of sweet, fresh waters, and in its outro, we hear them asking to be cleansed by Oshun, the Yoruban diety. It’s clear that a lot of thought has been made in placing this song first, especially since the resonant beat of it can be overwhelming, but as it follows through, it’s difficult not to feel submerged into the album already which seems to sonically introduce us to their cultures.

The album’s sound in places sounds similar to modern pop, as displayed in 'Singles', and are easy for anyone to relate to or enjoy. Themes from the simple depression that routes from being single during times where couples seem to surround us while simple R&B sounds are unusually incorporated by classic instruments. So little sounds seem to used – on the mentioned song, only vocals, a simple rhythm on the cajón, piano and a computer generated rhythm are played, and while this may seem idle, the attention seems to divert to the beautiful vocals on the front and the sound of the song itself.

In fact, this is done repeatedly on other songs including 'Think of You', 'Faithful', 'Mama Said', 'Stranger/Lover', and the divine 'Yanira'.

Somehow, as every debut album attempts to but doesn't always succeed in being, Ibeyi is a declaration of self. The only critique that came about me was that some songs seemed a bit bare since the production seemed to be smoothed over in the sense that the quality of the production felt concealed. The production on some records resembled that of mixtapes (although I have heard spectacular mixtapes in the past). Seeing that, I can imagine this affecting someone’s response to the album, even if the simplicity of some numbers had been expedient.

Understanding that African beliefs and practices are most certainly an influence in Cuba's music, hearing Yoruban dropped into some numbers definitely made me smile and the album a bit more personal for me. Themes like depression, the loss of their father are just two things that make the album personal and to say the least, powerful. Even then, it can be enjoyed – and isn’t that what music is about?

 

 

- My Rating: 4.5 Stars