When Ibeyi announced their new album Spell 31, they revealed that it'll include a re-imagining of Black Flag's "Rise Above" featuring BERWYN. The album's due out next week (5/6) via XL, and they've now shared that track. Similar to Dirty Projectors' Rise Above album, "re-imagining" feels like a much more appropriate word than "cover." Other than the lyrics, nothing about this song resembles Black Flag's original, and BERWYN's rapped verse is an entirely new, original addition. Here's what Ibeyi's Lisa-Kaindé says:
We read the lyrics and we immediately felt their relevance to how we felt about the world in its current state. We got to work on the melody and had the full song done in 5 minutes. Jorja Smith heard the track and told us we had to get BERWYN on the song. We had him by the studio to listen to the full album. I left to make tea, upon returning to the studio BERWYN had already written his verse for “Rise Above,” before he had even finished listening to the album. We knew we had something special, what a gift!
Ibeyi also added free "fan events" happening in New York, London and Paris. The one in New York is on May 1 at The Sultan Room from 4-8 PM, and it will feature "a mini-market of vendors hand-picked by Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi, featuring independent brands from beauty and self-care to specialist booksellers, tarot and astrology readings, curated DJ line ups, workshops, bespoke Ibeyi merch offerings as well as a gallery of the twins’ own photography and paintings and much more."
Ibeyi's fall tour hits NYC on October 1 at Brooklyn Steel.
Ibeyi -- 2022/2023 Tour Dates September 15 LOS ANGELES, The Ford 16 SAN DIEGO, Music Box 17 SAN FRANCISCO, The Regency Ballroom 19 PORTLAND, McMenamins Crystal Ballroom 20 VANCOUVER, Vogue Theatre 21 SEATTLE, Neptune Theatre 24 MINNEAPOLIS, Varsity Theater 25 CHICAGO, Thalia Hall 27 TORONTO, Danforth Music Hall 28 MONTREAL, Corona Theatre 30 BOSTON, Paradise Rock Club
October 1 NEW YORK, Brooklyn Steel 2 WASHINGTON DC, 9:30 Club 4 PHILADELPHIA, Union Transfer 5 CHAPEL HILL, Cat’s Cradle 6 ATLANTA, Terminal West 12 MIAMI, North Beach Bandshell
November 4 LORIENT, Festival Les Indisciplinées 5 LE MANS, BEBOP Festival 6 STRASBOURG, La Laiterie 9 BERLIN, Metropol 10 HAMBURG, Uebel & Gefahrlich 14 LONDON, Koko 15 LILLE, L’Aéronef 22 AMSTERDAM, Melkweg 24 BARCELONA, Sala Apolo 25 RAMONVILLE SAINT-AGNE, Le Bikini 26 NIMES, Paloma 30 CENON, Le Rocher de Palmer
December 1 RENNES, L'Antipode 2 NANTES, Stereolux 6 BRUXELLES, Ancienne Belgique 8 CLERMONT-FERRAND, La Coopérative de Mai
January 2023 26 GRENOBLE, La Belle Electrique 27 NANCY, L’Autre Canal
February 2 ROUEN, Le 106 3 PARIS, Olympia