Chopping Mountain

Recorded primarily at the band's own Vanguard Studios in South London, Chopping Mountain marks the first Ibibio Sound Machine album produced by Grunhard since 2019's Doko Mien. Following the Hot Chip-produced Electricity and the darker, club-focused direction of Pull the Rope, their new record feels both expansive and deeply rooted, drawing on the earthy textures of classic West African highlife alongside post-punk, Afrobeat, soul and electronic music.   Across the album, the eight-piece band sound sharper and more connected than ever, building songs through live jams, rhythmic experiments and instinctive interplay. Whether channeling the euphoric disco energy of 'When You Want To Dance', the spiritual intensity of 'Return To Sender' or the soulful highlife of 'Love', Chopping Mountain presents Ibibio Sound Machine as a group still evolving, still searching, and still firmly committed to joy as an act of resistance.
Ibibio Sound Machine are a London-based collective led by Nigerian-British vocalist Eno Williams and producer Max Grunhard, known for their singular fusion of West African highlife, funk and disco with electronic and post-punk influences. Since their self-titled debut in 2014, the band have steadily evolved their sound across Uyai (2017) and Doko Mien (2019), before breaking new ground with 2022's Electricity, produced by Hot Chip and widely acclaimed for sharpening their blend of live instrumentation and electronic production. Their most recent album, Pull the Rope, pushed further into darker, more club-focused territory, refining their sound into something leaner and more immediate. Renowned for their electrifying live shows, Ibibio Sound Machine have built a reputation as one of the most dynamic and forward-thinking acts in contemporary global music.