Ibibio Sound Machine - Doko Mien

The Guardian 80

(Merge Records)

At a time when Korean boybands go global, Latin pop tops charts worldwide and Afrobeats pervades the UK rap scene, a London band which combines New York new wave and disco with Ghanaian highlife and Nigerian folk culture seems like a proposition with more mainstream potential by the day. Certainly Ibibio Sound Machine’s trademark sound – a groove-driven melange of styles which also takes in gospel, funk, post- and electro-punk and contemporary R&B, alongside African polyrhythms, horns and guitar – is lively and luxurious enough for the eight-piece outfit to pursue next-level popularity with their third album.