Ibibio Sound Machine

A studio project that became a band

Ibibio Sound Machine began with the producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard and Benji Bouton, who wanted to fuse 1980s afrobeat with 1990s drum-and-bass, and who recruited the singer Eno Williams. Williams told The World in 2014 it was a studio-conceived project, really. The name comes from Williams's mother, whose native tongue was Ibibio, spoken in southeastern Nigeria; Williams was born in London, spent much of her childhood in Nigeria, and takes lyrics from folk and children's stories her mother told. Ibibio, she said, had been very little documented, musically. Live musicians were added later, and Bandcamp Daily reports members from Nigeria, Ghana, Brazil, Trinidad and Australia. The first single, "Let's Dance", came out on Soundway in January 2014, followed by their self-titled debut.

They signed to Merge in 2016 and released Uyai (2017), Doko Mien (2019), whose title means tell me, a cry of frustration at being told what is right or wrong, Electricity (2022, produced by Hot Chip), which Clash called bright, buoyant and continually innovative, and Pull the Rope (May 3, 2024, produced by Ross Orton with Grunhard). Chopping Mountain, their sixth album, was announced on June 3, 2026 and released on September 11, 2026 on Merge, produced by Grunhard, recorded mostly at the band's own Vanguard Studios in south London. The band describes love, resistance, togetherness and hope, with joy presented as an act of resistance. PopMatters gave it 9 of 10 on October 8, 2026.

Setlist.fm lists 184 setlists, with 2024 the busiest year at 43, and "All That You Want", "Electricity" and "Protection from Evil" the most played at 32 each. An autumn 2026 UK tour began on October 2 in Bristol and includes Islington Assembly Hall on November 25.