Ibibio Sound Machine is a newer group that I’ve been checking out for the past 4-5 years. I found them late one night on a rerun of Later with Jools Holland and was totally impressed. They bring a nu-school, grooving pop element to West African music, reminiscent of the Lagos 70’s psychedelic funk sound with more up to date production. These guys are legit and they moved me to purchase several CD’s within the week. Unfortunately, the group is based out of London, so it’s not very easy to go to their shows. However, I recently had the opportunity to see them up close and personal at a small local venue here in town and it did not disappoint! This is hands down the best show I’ve seen in 2022 and I’ve seen some great artists this year (Snarky Puppy, Herbie Hancock). It definitely is one of the better shows I’ve seen in recent years and this one will be high up on the all time list. I would say that these guys are probably my new favorite live show. I can’t wait to see them again!

Ibibio Sound Machine is an 8-piece group featuring drums, bass, congas/percussion, guitar, horn section and vocals. Although eight pieces is usually a pretty healthy large sound, the band sounds so much larger! Some of this is due to the multi-tasking horn section. These guys were pretty cool in that all three players also played keyboards in addition to running various samples and midi oscillations. Talk about double duty–these guys were busy all night and really added a nice fullness to the overall sonic element. In particular, each one was featured at several points in the set, playing either horn or keys. The trumpet player had some surprisingly serious skills on the keyboard.

The guitarist was a classic vintage old-school African player. You could really hear in his sound and it fit with the group very nicely. He had a cool distorted tone with delay and was featured often within the compositions. When not jamming on his Strat, he occasionally played what I believe is an “Akoting”, a 3- stringed instrument that resembles a banjo and is primarily monophonic with a cool unison sound. His syncopated rhythm riffs were a nice counterpoint to the tight dance rhythms from the drums and bass. He also looked the part, with his vintage multi-patched denim coat and Kangol style hat.

The drummer and percussion player were top notch and the entire rhythm section was off the hook. After listening to the CD sound for so many years you kind get used to the studio version–more tightly compressed drums, electronic tones and overall cleanliness of the rhythm section. Although it sounds great, finally getting to hear live drums, congas and bass performing these compositions was a treat. It really brought forth the live element that this group excels at. In addition, the meter was impeccable, much like an atomic clock. My guess is that the drummer had a click in his ear with all the midi stuff going on in the background, but who cares? The groove felt wholesome, natural and it really put the floor under the music. Needless to say, everybody was dancing!

The star of the show is vocalist Eno Williams. She is an exceptional front woman, a talented vocalist and has quite the quiver of dance moves! I couldn’t believe how awesome she was! Her presence was incredible and she had such a natural ease to her style that you could tell she had been doing this for years; she really commanded the room from start to finish. She sings both in English and traditional Ibibio (Nigerian dialect) and delivers really catchy lyrics with great phrasing. She engages the crowd with call and response segments and directs the entire dance floor as she moves on stage. Every once in awhile she’ll let out the classic African vocal trill, almost as a response to the obvious excitement in the room. And don’t let me forget to mention her cool, yellow African space suit. This girl has an eye for cool fashion.

The group was in town promoting their newest album, Electricity, which is their fourth release to date. This album is a little bit more electronic and more straight ahead than some of the previous ones, but equally as entertaining and fun to listen to. The band opened with the title track, Electricity, which is kind of a droning throwback to 80’s synth music. They went quickly into Talking Fish, which is a classic off the first album and one of my favorite tunes. This one brings that 70’s Nigerian feel and funks big time.

After that I lost track of the song order–everything was cool and hitting eleven at that point. I do know that they played Wanna Come Down (Doko Mien), Give Me a Reason, Guide You and The Chant (all 3 from Uyai). In particular, I think The Chant was the apex of the night. This had an extended dance party middle section with a cool call and response “eh, eh, eh” back and forth between the crowd and Eno. It was like all of us in the crowd were an additional background instrument. She had everyone moving to the right and then left, dancing back and forth like a conga line at the same time. Super fun element on top of a great song!

Spiritual Evil and All That You Want were some of the newer cuts from Electricity. They are both cool tunes in their own right. Spiritual Evil is a quasi African techno-feeling groove that has a hard driving dance beat and synth bass underneath a psychedelic horn line that weaves in and out of the chorus. All That You Want is the radio hit, featuring a memorable vocal and easy grooving half time dance vibe. Of all of their tunes, this is probably the most likely to put them over the top, as it is a great combination of their sound and today’s dance-pop radio production. They ended the set with Let’s Dance (ISM title album), which was the first song that I ever heard from them on Jools Holland. They came back out for an encore and introduced the band, but I have no idea which song this was.

All in all, a wonderful show! I’m so happy to have stumbled upon it and what a great value for the $26 ticket? I want to give a shout out to the Motorco venue as well. This was my first time to their place and I have to say it was very easy and laid back to move about. It kind of reminds me of the wharehouse district back home in RINO or old Santa Fe. The room is a classic brick “Hall” but not too large, maybe holding 150-200 peeps at most. They have a nice outdoor food and beverage beer garden area that is a great place to kick back while waiting for the show. I also want to extend a thank you for bringing an act to town that perhaps many venues would have overlooked.

Most of all, A HUGE THANK YOU to Ibibio Sound Machine. These guys are so real and authentic on and off stage. It was a treat to chat with Eno for a bit after the show at the merch table. And of course, I had to buy some vinyl from the group. Thank you again and can’t wait until next time!