Hot on the heels of recent singles “Tell Me (Doko Mien)” and “Wanna Come Down,” Ibibio Sound Machine are back today with a third taste of their forthcoming new album Doko Mien, which arrives March 22. This time around, it’s the sultry “Guess We Found a Way” getting an airing—a refreshing change of pace from the more up-tempo cuts previously released from Doko Mien, and a further indication of the many moods and influences at play across its 11 tracks.

Speaking of the track, the band’s frontwoman Eno Williams offers: “It’s a song about trying to speak to people in words that no one understands, conveying your feeling with just the music, which is what we try to do in many of our songs.” It’s a modus operandi that fits perfectly with Doko Mien as a whole, a set of songs that preaches openness, communication, and inclusivity—qualities to treasure in ever-divisive times.

“Music is a universal language, but spoken language can help you think about what makes you emotional, what makes you feel certain feelings, what you want to see in the world,” says Williams. When she uses both English and Ibibio—the Nigerian language from which her band’s name is derived—on Doko Mien, the group somehow produces a world of both entrancing specificity and comforting universality, a language entirely of their own. In a glowing piece in the New York Times, the songs on 2017’s Uyai, the band’s second album, were praised for following “in the tradition of much African music, [making] themselves the conscience of a community.” By pulsing the mystic shapes of Williams’ lines through further inventive, glittering collages of genre on Doko Mien, Ibibio Sound Machine crack apart the horizon separating cultures, between nature and technology, between joy and pain, between tradition and future.
 
Long lauded for their jubilant, explosive live shows (Entertainment Weekly best described them, saying, “If the United Nations’ General Assembly convened at Studio 54, Ibibio Sound Machine would easily be that night’s headlining act”), the group fully captures that energy and communication on the new album. 

With Ibibio Sound Machine’s spring UK dates fast approaching, be sure to snap up tickets when you can. Adding to an already packed itinerary, the band have also recently been announced for several festivals this year including Boardmasters, Bluedot, Handmade, and Mostly Jazz. Keep your eyes peeled for further news in the coming months, and in the meantime, see below for a full touring schedule.

Ibibio Sound Machine on tour:
Mar 05 Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
Mar 09 Bristol, UK – Colston Hall [SOLD OUT]
Mar 13 London, UK – 100 Club [SOLD OUT]
Mar 14 London, UK – 100 Club
Mar 15 Manchester, UK – YES [SOLD OUT]
Mar 16 Manchester, UK – YES
Mar 18 Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall
Mar 20 New York, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
Mar 22 Montreal, QC – L’Astral
Mar 23 Toronto, ON – Mod Club
Mar 25 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Mar 27 Oakland, CA – New Parish
Mar 28 Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
May 04 Leeds, UK – Live at Leeds
May 05 Leicester, UK – Handmade Festival
May 24 London, UK – All Points East
Jul 12 Birmingham, UK – Mostly Jazz Festival
Jul 13 Reading, UK – Readipop Festival
Jul 18 Cheshire, UK – Bluedot Festival
Aug 07 Newquay, UK – Boardmasters Festival