Twins Naomi and Lisa are Ibeyi – two gorgeous French Cuban musicians who are turning everything you know about music around. Not yet one year old, this XL Recording project and album is the most decadent of desserts.  What started out as an EP, was handed over to XL Recordings and eventually became an album. At 19, the girls exude courage, spontaneity and playfulness. Their music is worldly, religious and sung in a mix of English and Yoruba.

Excited, I stayed up extra late last night neatening my surroundings while I waited for Naomi and Lisa’s call. Eventually, the girls popped up after a few failed Skype attempts. Appearing casual, Lisa took the reins of the conversation, not because Naomi was shy, but she didn’t feel the need to chime in. She sat there, one leg up and one leg down, blowing away smoke rings. Like any true fan girl or music-catfish predator would, I began by telling them how I came across their first single, “River.” (The story begins my sorry jetlagged post-ADE self in Sydney, driving at 5am when “River,” came on the radio. I pulled over almost immediately to Shazam it… and well the story ends with this interview – making sure I got in touch somehow)  

Lisa begun by scratching the surface of the birth of Ibeyi, “at 13 I started to write songs myself and I thought I would keep them to myself, let alone an album. Then the idea of an EP came” – at which point Naomi blurted out – “and I said to Lisa that she is not doing this without me. “ Lisa giggled and continued,”we did this EP but it never came out and the day before the EP was meant to come out, we met XL Recordings and in four months our life changed completely because I was at the university, thinking I was going to be a music teacher.” At that point I laughed at the disregard I had for my music teachers and any potential they held, “in four months we were recording. We met Richard and everything changed.”

Below, the girls took time out to Skype me for an ol’ chat:

Naomi hadn’t said much so I pried in her direction, “How different was the original EP before you started working on it in the studio?

“Completely different!” she exclaimed, “the original EP we were not playing, we were just singing. The producer with whom we made the EP said to us ‘don’t put this EP out because now you guys can play in your own EP or album.’ I think that’s when we knew we wanted to be the only musicians in the album.” I chimed in and asked if it was because they couldn’t or because they were afraid to do everything. Naomi rushes in “it’s because before the album we were not prepared but at the same time we were ready that’s the difference. We were ready to, try.” Lisa explained that the amazing thing about Richard (owner of XL Recordings) is that he encouraged them to make the album just the two of them with electronic sounds. “He’s an amazing person and that’s why it work so well,” the girls then clasped their hands at the same time and said, “it fitted perfectly.”

I went on to ask them, from the perspective of a struggling artist, how they got in touch with XL Recordings and whether or not it was a cold call.  “No No No!” They shouted, “it was through the video someone sent to him but we didn’t know at the time that he was sending it. Now we know who – hah!”

One hour into Skype, the atmosphere was now incredibly comfortable so I thought I’d broach a deeper conversation, “There is a sense of spirituality that comes across in the album. What does spirituality mean or you, OR, what spirituality are you trying to express through the album?”

Lisa confidently said, “spirituality for us is a way to connect with everything, to connect with yourself ..” Naomie intervened “with each other.” “I think there’s nothing much more spiritual than art, I mean signing is spiritual,” Lisa became increasingly more passionate, “people say oh the music is spiritual” and yells “BUT SINGING IS SPIRITUAL.” I attempted my following question but her passion admirably overtook the conversation, “it’s a way of living, too.” Naomi clarified, “it’s not like we meet someone and be like, Hi I’m Naomi and I’m spiritual.” I agreed and said that what my question was intended to find out the meaning of spirituality beyond it’s cliche label.

I gathered ultimately that for them spirituality is communication through means of singing. Lisa: “it’s a way of living of course, it’s a way of seeing life differently and the beautify of life and knowing, ‘yes’ you are going to die one day and we know that and we lost a lot of loved one and it’s a way of saying ‘of course you will die but enjoy it’ and there are other things. Death if part of life but you can enjoy it and feel good. It’s about feeling good; the little things that make you feel good every day.”

We moved onto the music and I asked about the origin of the hip-hop flavour in their music, “Is there a hip hop sub-culture in Cuba?”

Lisa assured me it came from her mother’s influence while Naomi went on to say, “It’s like, I listen a lot of hip hop on a daily basis. I said to Richard, cause when we went to the studio, I was the one who knew what I really wanted to do, while Lisa was the one who knew what she didn’t want to do.

“Is there anything else other you want to say to fans, a last note?”  I asked. “I think, yes, there is something. In the album in the song, “Think of you” there’s a piece of the work of a friend that passed away that we wanted to celebrate.”

“Will you be touring Australia anytime soon?,” I said. “We hope! we really want to go, not now, but after we go America,” they replied.

Below: Label owner, Richard Russel’s remix of River