Ibeyi Announce Third Album With Triumphant Single ‘Sister 2 Sister’
Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz, the twins who make up the duo Ibeyi, will be back with a new album called Spell 31 on May 6 via XL Recordings. The project, they share, is all about their destiny finding harmony, healing, and magic as Ibeyi — something captured in their joyous single “Sister 2 Sister,” which celebrates their deep connection to one another and the idea of sisterhood.
The artists take their name from a Yoruba Orisha who is often embodied as a set of twins. They layer their vocals and chant over a sparse, percussive beat, building into the peak of the song, where they repeat the name “Ibeyi” triumphantly. It’s a refrain that honors their relationship and serves as a reminder of who they are as musicians. The video, directed by Colin Solal Cardo, features the sisters performing intricate choreography.
“’Sister 2 Sister’ is the first song we’ve written about our relationship as twins,” Lisa-Kaindé tells Rolling Stone exclusively. One part of the song references dancing in front of the mirror to Shakira — Lisa-Kaindé says the lyrics come directly from a memory the two of them have as kids. “When we were 10 years old, our father [the late percussionist Miguel ‘Angá’ Díaz] took us to a record shop and gave us each 10 euros to buy our first record ever! He probably would have loved if we had picked up Coltrane but instead I bought the Anastasia record and Naomi bought Shakira’s new record, which we loved and danced to endlessly,” she says.
She adds, “Despite sharing a womb for nine months and being born with her, I truly met Naomi when we started creating music together. Ibeyi has become our language, our clear connection, our fate, the place where the yin and yang of our personalities meet. It’s a place for us to honor our heritage and our sisterhood and to connect with others. This song is dedicated to everyone who also has a special connection with another human in their life.”
Spell 31 comes five years after their acclaimed sophomore album Ash. The 10-song LP will feature Jorja Smith, Pa Salieu, Berwyn, and the duo’s parents (Díaz was a celebrated conguero who played with the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Buena Vista Social Club, among many other famed bands.) It will also include a version of Black Flag’s “Rise Above.”
