Ibeyi's new video is a pure delight. Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz sing into a pink toy mic, freely laugh and dance in the studio, and light up their faces with the glow of matches, as if on a campfire sleepover. It’s for the rhythmic “Away Away,” a new track which the Cuban-French twins dropped overnight and trails their second album, due on XL later this year. While they’re having fun in the visual, the song's message is resolute, with lyrics like "I don’t give up/ I feel the pain/ But I’m alive." Towards the end of “Away Away," the twins segue into a Yoruba chant, with their voices uplifting the listener like a warm ocean current.
In an email to The FADER, Naomi explained that the song "reflects on a time when Lisa was gazing out her window and thinking about the permanent flow of creation and destruction.”
Read Next: Ibeyi announce 2023 U.S.A. tour
Lisa-Kaindé said: "We are witnesses of the world's craziness (which is sonically symbolized by the sirens in the track) and we wonder if the promises of better days will be kept. The chorus of 'Away Away' represents a burst of positive energy, us taking a conscious step towards movement and action because only the people can make good on that promise. The song culminates with a Yoruba chant for the Orisha Aggayu, a ferryman known for providing strength. Aggayu in nature ignites a violent eruption of volcanos, however, with the intention that the lava ultimately refertilizes the soil to create new life."
Naomi added: "So the video that we made for the track is us in the studio, singing, dancing, laughing, and immersing ourselves in the positive energy of ‘Away Away.’”
Revisit The FADER’s cover story on Ibeyi here.
Thumbnail image of Ibeyi by Amber Mahoney for The FADER.
