“Oh you with a spine, who would work your mouth against this Magic of mine
The sky encloses the stars, I enclose Magic
I enclose Magic”
– ‘Spell 31’ taken from The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
At the beginning of 2021, Afro-Cuban French twins Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz, better known to the world as Ibeyi, headed back into the studio in London to begin work on their third studio album. Feeling a sense of chaos, due to the state of the world, Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi set out to invoke the ancient teachings of their ancestors to remobilise the power of their birth given destiny as Ibeyi. The result of this summoning arrives today via the duo’s new single and music video for ‘Made of Gold‘ – out via XL Recordings – featuring Gambian-British rapper Pa Salieu, who stars alongside Ibeyi and the Ebinum brothers, in a powerfully, symbolic visual conceptualised by Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi and directed by Daniel Sannwald.
Ibeyi – ‘Made of Gold’ (feat. Pa Salieu) (Official Video)
Stream / Download: https://ibeyi.ffm.
In the Yoruba religion, Ibeyi is an Orisha represented by a pair of twins. Masters of perception and a personification of true harmony, Ibeyi is one of the most powerful Orishas, a spiritual force of nature believed to enclose magic. Taking inspiration from the The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, when Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz came across a poem from the book titled ‘Spell 31,’ it reawakened in them the divine powers of Ibeyi.
Speaking further on the new single, Lisa-Kaindé shares: “The first song we produced in the studio was ‘Made of Gold.’ Whilst we were creating the layers of the backing vocals, we could feel that we were making contact with our ancestors; that what we were recording was calling on the brujas and our ancestors for their ancient knowledge. ‘Made of Gold’ is about connecting to our ancestors’ knowledge, to the truths of the past and the power of the ancient. The line is not broken, nor is it lost. Protected by these spells, our third album will see us conveying our reconnection to that power and channeling that magic into our new music.”
For the music video, Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi drew inspiration from Frida Kahlo’s ‘The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Diego, Me, and Senor Xolotl’ painting. Encircled by Mother Nature, Ibeyi – just like Kahlo – are seen wrapped in her arms as a symbol of their deep connection to earth and the divine feminine. Starring in the video is Naomi as the queen of thunder, a reference to her Yoruba God Shango, and Lisa-Kaindé as the queen of water, a reference to her Yoruba Goddess Yemaya. Emerging from the sky, to join the sun and the moon that is depicted, rapper Pa Salieu mythically appears declaring, “we are the reincarnation.”
Ibeyi released their critically-acclaimed sophomore album Ash in 2017, which featured appearances from Michelle Obama, Kamasi Washington and Meshell Ndegeocello. The duo’s globally acclaimed, eponymous debut album (2015) earned the twins fans and collaborators in some of the most iconic artists of today including Beyoncé, Alvin Ailey, JR, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Prince, Roy Hargrove, Adele, and Emicida; a result of Ibeyi’s uniquely, captivating blend of Yoruban music with modern jazz, pop, soul and hip-hop. Their music and original compositions have been featured in the films ROMA and How to Stop a Recurring Dream, and in campaigns for Chanel, Nike, and Louis Vuitton. Ibeyi are currently at work on their third album, which is due for release in 2022.
Ibeyi – ‘Made of Gold’ (feat. Pa Salieu) is out nowvia XL Recordings
