Ibeyi – Ash (UK import)

Ibeyi is a Cuban/Venezuelan musical duo based in France. It consists of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. The duo sings in English, French, Spanish and Yoruba,^] In Yoruba, Ibeyi (Ìbejì) means “twins”.Their music has elements of Yoruba, French and Afro-Cuban, and fuses jazz with beats, samples with traditional instruments.,^] Lisa, the lead singer, plays the piano; Naomi plays the traditional Peruvian/Cuban percussion instruments cajón and Batá drum.

Ash is the second studio album of French-Cuban R&B duo Ibeyi, consisting of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. It was recorded in November 2016 and produced by Richard Russell. Ash differs from their self-titled first album for its more societal themes, features from high-profile artists such as Kamasi Washington, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Chilly Gonzales, and its upbeat tone. Ash has themes similar to those on Beyoncé‘s Lemonade (2016) and Solange‘s A Seat at the Table (2016) regarding racism, empowerment, and female problems. In presenting them, it uses samples from writings such as Claudia Rankine‘s Citizen: An American Lyric (2014), a diary by Frida Kahlo, and Michelle Obama‘s speech about Donald Trump and his sexual misconduct.

Ash was released on 29 September 2017 by XL Recordings and was critically well received in general. Multiple reviewers highlighted its uplifting take on political issues and its dynamic sound and style. However, some critics disliked the addition of electronic processing such as auto-tune as well as the preachy way it presented it messages. The album landed on the year-end lists of publications such as Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Clash, and Exclaim!. Commercially, it peaked at number 19 on the French Albums Chart, and two of its songs, “Away Away” and “Deathless”, reached number 175 and 190 on the French Singles Chart respectively. Mint.