Ash, or the musical expression of diversity
 Ibeyi means twins in Yoruba, an African dialect imported to Cuba during the 17th century by slaves coming from current Nigeria and Benin. It is also the name a French-Venezuelan-Cuban duo composed of 22-year-old twin sisters Lisa-KaindĂ© and Naomi Diaz, daughters of the late Miguel Anga Diaz, member and master percussionist of Buena Vista Social Club. Strongly influenced by their father, managed by their mother, and composed of twin sisters, Ibeyi is also the story of a family. In 2013, the duo signed with XL Recordings, an independent music label known for releasing a few albums a year but which notably worked with artists such as The xx or Sigur RĂłs. Ibeyi released its eponymous debut album in 2015, which focused on personal topics such as their origins and the mourning of their late father and sister. This first album was greatly influenced by the multicultural origins of the twins and notably their Yoruba roots. They also find inspiration in a great variety of musical genres (jazz, soul, R&B, etc.) as well as in the percussionist career of their father. For instance, the web media Pitchfork, specialized in independent music, wrote âMusically, Ibeyi ground themselves firmly within these traditions, but they weave them together with jazz, soul, hip-hop and downtempo/electronicaâ[1] in the album review by Minna Zhou. An article by the Guardian wrote: âThe Paris-based French-Cuban duo are one of the most talked-about acts of 2015â[2]. They also notably appeared in BeyoncĂ©âs short film âLemonadeâ in May 2017. The duo rapidly became famous and toured in North America, Europe and Cuba. Ibeyi released a highly expected second album called Ash on September 29th, 2017. This new album contains 12 tracks and features several artists such as Kamasi Washington or the rapper, Mala Rodriguez. Ash maintains some of the influences found in their debut album, but also explores a whole new range of sounds, textures and styles. It is the musical expression of the alliance of tradition with modernity.
This album addresses different topics ranging from personal experiences to broader societal themes and issues such as feminism and racism. Overall, Ash is a combination between a cry of lamentation and alert, and a strong, powerful momentum. Certain tracks, such as Deathless or No Man Is Big Enough For My Arms, specifically target a topic. Deathless is an account of Lisa-KaindĂ©âs personal experience of racism while she was wrongly arrested when she was 16 years old for she was thought to be using drugs. Impersonating the policeman, Lisa-KaindĂ© sings âyouâre not clean, you might deal, all the same with that skinâ. Through this personal account, Ibeyi raises the issue of racial profiling and more broadly, racism. Differently, No Man Is Big Enough For My Arms is a female-positive and powerful song which takes a political position placing social awareness at its core. It contains remixed references to a speech by Michelle Obama, especially this famous quote: âthe measure of any society is how it treats its women and girlsâ. The albumâs final track, also called Ash, alerts the public for an immediate need for change by claiming at unison âwe can feel somethingâs wrong. Can we keep going on? We are ashes, moving aroundâ. Most of the lyrics on this album are in English, but for the first time there is a song (Me Voy) fully written in Spanish. Additionally, like in the debut album, the presence of Yoruba lyrics is significant. The African dialect is essentially used for chorus segments which take the form of prayers and ties the content of the album to the twinsâ roots. Unlike on the first album, French is absent from Ash. The lyrics also make an extensive use of repetition of words or groups of words which gives them a very minimalistic facet. Finally, water is a recurrent theme in this album, as it was in the previous one. Per Alisha Acquaye[3], water can be used âas a metaphor for healing, persistence, peace, spiritualityâ.
The musical setting and instrumental components of Ash are incredibly diverse, creating a complex ambiance in each track and throughout the album. Vocals are mainly an alternation between Lisa-KaindĂ© (usually the lead singer), whose voice is high-pitched and soulful, and Naomi, who has a rather deep and âveiledâ sounding voice. Additionally, vocals have sometimes been modified to sound electronic, as in Me Voy or Transmission/Michaelion. There is, also, a recurring contrast between solo vocals and choirs, especially during choruses. Finally, the vocal arrangements sometimes generate dissonance in the apparent stable harmony, such as in Ash or I Carried This For Years, which creates a very particular atmosphere and a sense of motion. The distribution of skills between the twins before further production is very clear: Lisa is in charge of the lyrics and initial composition of the melody on the piano, while Naomi, who clearly inherited from her fatherâs skills, is the rhythm queen with drums, electronic beats, cajĂłn, etc. Ibeyi subtly combines acoustic instruments with synthesizer and electronic sounds. Piano is almost always present, since it is usually the carrier of the main melody line. Ibeyi greatly relies on percussive components such as drums, cajĂłn and batĂĄ (two traditional instruments played by the twinsâ father). This album also features important sax lines and a solo played by Kamasi Washington in Deathless, invoking a jazzy style. Electronic sounds and synthetic components constitute another important part of Ashâs musical setting mainly as synthetic drums (beat) and âelectronic voicesâ (for instance in Me Voy). Rhythm is particularly important in Ibeyiâs music and thereby, songs generally feature an up-beat tempo. This aspect is without a doubt an heritage of their fatherâs percussionist skills. The absence of any form of beat in Waves, makes this song stand out of the rest. Its minimalist musical setting creates a particularly intense and chilling atmosphere. Furthermore, Ash contains abundant samples and loops. For instance, the introduction track plays a sample of a Bulgarian choir in the background. Samples and loops are notably used to put an emphasis on certain messages. The use and repetition of numerous quotes of Michelle Obamaâs speech (âNo man in the worldâ or âyour story is my storyâ) exemplifies this.  Repeatedly, Ibeyi creates moments of musical âsuspensionâ or minimalism, such as in Waves, or Transmission/Michaelion, the core track of the album, which builds an evolving musical texture. It features an interlude during which the twinsâ mother reads a passage from Frida Kahloâs Diary in Spanish. This interlude is also a transition from a flat-rhythmed and unadorned first part, to sequences of strong drums combined with melodic piano lines.
The diversity and complexity of Ashâs musical setting makes it particularly difficult to determine the musical genre of Ibeyi. The duoâs variety of influences and multiculturalism as well as the shifts in atmospheres and styles from song to song, make them a rather âgenre-agnosticâ group. Their music is rooted on their traditions (Yoruba prayers) and heritage (strong presence of rhythm by playing cajĂłn and batĂĄ like their father) but also finds influences in modern musical production techniques, by extensively using samples, loops, synthesizers, etc. Additionally, Ibeyiâs important influence by jazz and R&B is shown by the considerable presence of gospel-style structures (such as call-and-response with choirs in Deathless) and the introduction of jazzy sax lines. Hip-hop and rap culture can also be found in Ash, with the use of spoken-word, synthesizer, drum machine, samples, etc. Finally, this album also features a song touching a more popular genre, dipping into reggaeton (Me Voy), which strongly differs from the style of music they created so far. Therefore, Ibeyi has a unique style made of tradition and modernism. Defining Ibeyiâs genre would require creating a whole new category, otherwise one would exclude one or more elements which constitute the richness and complexity of their style.
So, Ibeyiâs second album, Ash, takes their style further from their debut album. While staying true to their Cuban- and Yoruba-induced essence, they explore deeper modern techniques by embracing electronic and hip-hop influences. As the Guardian writes, Ash ârefracts African-Cuban roots through a 21st-century digital prismâ[4]. This approach has given them the means to convey a strong message beyond the basic presentation of self of the debut album. Hence, by featuring several artists from different backgrounds and styles and infusing their music with samples, the twins were able to construct a musical mosaic free from music genres norms and classification. Hence, more than a single genre influenced by the past, Ibeyi rather has a multi-genre style and positions its music in permanent contrast between acoustic and synthetic, tradition and modernity, jumping from solo vocals and choral richness and from textural and rhythmic minimalism to strong drums and up-beat tempo. Finally, Ibeyi is a young group, probably still in an exploratory phase, and they signed with an independent record label which worked with a great diversity of artists. This suggests a certain openness and curiosity which will give Ibeyi the liberty to explore their potential even more, before settling for a specific style.
[1] Anderson, Stacey. 2017. Ibeyi, Ash. October 4. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/ibeyi-ash/.
[2] Samadder, Rhik. 2015. Sister Act: the twins behing Ibeyi. February 15. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/15/sister-act-twins-ibeyi-music-french-cuban
[3] Acquaye, Alisha. 2017. Ibeyiâs 'Ash' Is An Empowering Soundtrack to the Elements and the Fight for Equality. October 3. http://www.okayafrica.com/ibeyi-ash-album-review/.
[4] Empire, Kitty. 2017. Ibeyi: Ash review â girl-positive and outward-looking. October 1. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/01/ibeyi-ash-review.
