Recently various lists have appeared along the lines of: Cuban musicians to hear before you die. Frequently appearing in these selections, which like all, are permeated by the preferences and subjectivity of the author, is a twin sister duo, their name taken from the Yoruba tradition on the island, who have left more then a few open mouthed, or at least with the urge to download their first album or copy it from any respected music lover they might know.
At this point many of you should know that I am talking about Ibeyi, the famous French-Cuban duo composed of twin sisters, Naomi and Lisa-Kainde Díaz, daughters of renowned Cuban percussionist Anga Díaz and a French-Venezuelan singer.
Let’s review a little history. Naomi and Lisa were actually born in France, and spent two years of their childhood in Cuba, before they returned to Paris to study at a classical music school. At seven years of age, Lisa took up piano while Naomi, following the death of her father, opted for the cajón and batá drums. Based on this musical foundation they formed Ibeyi, a duo defined by the keen musical sensitivity of these two young artists, who have created a peculiar and distinctive world, through the use of hip hop, jazz, electro, blues and Afro-Cuban rhythms, understood within the musical concepts emerging in this century’s contemporary creations.
Lisa and Naomi are faithful to the minimalist motto of less is more. Their painstaking work with keyboards, piano, drums and vocals, has led to the creation of a sound which gives the impression of stealthily walking through the jungle, being submerged in an ocean or wandering the most desolate corners of a huge city. Both manage to extract the most from each track, each musical experiment, to create a fiercely contemporary work, that any music lover worth his or her salt should have in their personal collection. No doubt they are not the only musicians following this path, but they stand out among the rest with their enigmatic explorations rooted in Afro-Cuban rhythms, a culture which beats strong throughout Ibeyi’s luminous and refined repertory.
Last year they released their debut album Ibeyi with record label Xl, a reference in the world of independent music. The album produced by the influential Richard Rusell, put them in the spot light and saw them participate in various major international festivals. Just press play and the album leaves you walking the entire night through the twin’s restless imaginary world, as if under a spell or in a fit of black magic. Certainly, when you listen to the album it seems like you are standing before two sisters who have made a pact with the unseen, with the spirits of their ancestors, with some secret of humanity which has remained guarded for centuries. Its difficult to choose between the 13 songs on their album but “Mamma says,” “Oya,” “River,” “Ghosts,”and “Yanira,” put Ibeyi (Twins in Yoruba) in that class of works which ultimately become a discovery.
Some have wanted to label Ibeyi’s music as underground, but it can’t be denied that they have achieved the perfect balance between commercial and alternative, with a dignity and depth which runs throughout their work from start to finish. If you are familiar with bands like Bristol or others from France’s experimental scene, you will feel quite comfortable when you venture into the landscape of this album, which, to get the most, would best be heard in one go.
On the other its not enough to just listen to the album. In fact the magnetism of their live performance is another of the twins’ virtues, something they finally revealed last May when they played on the island for the first time during the Musicabana festival, where they brought this world full of magic, evocations, and luminous darkness built from their roots, their spiritual connection and perennial beat of their ancestors.
