Ibibio Sound Machine are back with new single ‘Return To Sender’
IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE
Share new single ‘Return To Sender’
Announce UK tour including Islington Assembly Hall on 25 November, full dates listed below
Ibibio Sound Machine share ‘Return To Sender’, a tightly wound electro-funk cut that runs on pulsing basslines, clipped synths and sharp horns, locking into a groove that displays the leaner evolution of the sound they’ve been honing in recent years.
At the centre is Eno Williams, percussive, melodic and unflinching as she moves between English and Ibibio with controlled intensity. Her vocal cuts through the track’s driving rhythm and cool synth backdrop, pushing towards release without ever tipping into excess.
Eno explains that ‘Return To Sender’ was inspired by a car accident in which she felt the steering wheel literally jump out of her hands: “Reflecting on this afterwards, it felt, from the perspective of traditional Nigerian thinking, to be a spiritual attack by unseen forces. The phrase “return to sender” is a common response to such an event, invoking the rejection of any evil spirits that may have been looking to cause harm.”
On ‘Return To Sender’ this personal story has a wider resonance, reading as both personal defiance and a reflection of the current moment. It also marks the first glimpse of new music to come, building on the band’s recent shift towards a more direct, club-focused sound that is increasingly immediate, physical and rooted in the dancefloor.
The band will take the new material on the road this autumn, with a run of UK and Ireland dates including stops in Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Dublin, Brighton, Edinburgh and London.
General sale Friday 1 May, 10am
Ibibio Sound Machine UK & IE Tour Dates
Oct 02 Bristol, UK – Lantern Hall
Oct 03 Cardiff, UK – Clwb Ifor Bach
Oct 07 Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds
Oct 09 Dublin, IE – Button Factory
Oct 10 Birkenhead, UK – Future Yard
Oct 15 Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
Oct 16 Oxford, UK – Cowley Workers Social Club
Oct 22 Edinburgh, UK – Liquid Rooms
Oct 24 Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
Nov 20 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
Nov 21 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
Nov 25 London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
About Ibibio Sound Machine
Ibibio Sound Machine are a London-based collective led by Nigerian-British vocalist Eno Williams and producer Max Grunhard, known for their singular fusion of West African highlife, funk and disco with electronic and post-punk influences. Since their self-titled debut in 2014, the band have steadily evolved their sound across Uyai (2017) and Doko Mien (2019), before breaking new ground with 2022’s Electricity, produced by Hot Chip and widely acclaimed for sharpening their blend of live instrumentation and electronic production. Their most recent album, Pull the Rope, pushed further into darker, more club-focused territory, refining their sound into something leaner and more immediate. Renowned for their electrifying live shows, Ibibio Sound Machine have built a reputation as one of the most dynamic and forward-thinking acts in contemporary global music.