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Feb 15, 2022 By Mark Redfern

English electronic Afro-funk band Ibibio Sound Machine are releasing a new Hot Chip-produced album, Electricity, on March 25 via Merge. Now they have shared its third single, the fierce and funky “Protection From Evil,” via a video for the song. The song features “a massive synth line” from Hot Chip’s Al Doyle. Tiago Di Mauro directed the video. Watch it below.

Di Mauro had this to say about the video in a press release: “I’ve long been a huge fan of Ibibio Sound Machine, and their Afrofuturistic techno sound has resonated deeply in my native Brazil. When Max Grunhard from the band sent me the track and explained its commentary on the duality of conflict and discourse, it was important for me to communicate this within the video, especially considering the abstract lyrics. The look was inspired by Carmen Miranda’s ‘The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat,’ but we wanted to put a contemporary spin on these mid–20th century soundstage performances and create an experience that conveys a similar sense of awe and scale but was as methodically chaotic as the track.”

Last October, the band shared the album’s title track, which was one of our Songs of the Week. Then in January when they announced the album they shared its second single, “All That You Want.” The band’s most recent album, Doko Mien, came out in 2019 via Merge.

In a previous press release, Hot Chip had this to say about working with Ibibio Sound Machine and frontwoman Eno Williams: “Prior to the sessions, we had run into Ibibio Sound Machine at festivals and loved watching them perform. There are very talented musicians throughout the band, and Eno is a massively charismatic, skilled singer. The sessions were hugely rewarding as Ibibio brought in friends and collaborators to add a wide array of different instruments—some of which were unfamiliar to us. The songs on this record are uniformly great, and we were really happy to be a part of making it.”

Ibibio Sound Machine 2022 Tour Dates:

Mar 30 Bath, UK – Forum
Mar 31 Worthing, UK – The Venue
Apr 01 Manchester, UK – Band on the Wall
Apr 03 Birmingham, UK – The Castle & Falcon
Apr 07 Newcastle, UK – Wylam Brewery
Apr 08 Glasgow, UK – St. Luke’s
Apr 09 Leeds, UK – Belgrave Music Hall
Apr 14 London, UK – Electric Ballroom

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