Ibibio Sound Machine – Chopping Mountain

Ibibio Sound Machine – Chopping Mountain is the London collective’s sixth full-length album and one of their clearest statements of purpose: music as a force for love, unity, resistance and collective joy. Led by vocalist Eno Williams and producer, saxophonist and keyboard player Max Grunhard, the band draw together highlife, Afrobeat, disco, funk, post-punk and electronic pop without smoothing away the character of any one element.

Following the Hot Chip-produced Electricity and the darker club energy of Pull the Rope, this album brings production back into the group, with Grunhard overseeing their first self-produced full-length since Doko Mien. Many songs began in open-ended jam sessions, allowing rhythm, melody and lyric to develop together. That method is audible in the record’s physical momentum: sharp horn lines, tightly controlled percussion, guitar flashes, synthesiser colour and Williams’ commanding multilingual vocals all move as one.

The title reflects the belief that even small actions can contribute to larger change. “Burning in Lagos” and “When You Want to Dance” channel urgency into movement, while “Concept of Love” turns an apparently simple question into a layered Afro-disco meditation. “Return to Sender,” inspired by Williams’ experience of a frightening car accident, transforms fear into a forceful rejection of negativity. Elsewhere, “Love,” “Kukuru” and “River Don’t Rush” reveal the group’s ability to balance intensity with warmth, patience and melodic detail.

This vinyl edition is available in two versions: standard black vinyl and an indie-exclusive Green Smoke “Peak” colour pressing. Both contain the nine-track vinyl sequence spread across two sides. The CD-only bonus track is not included on the LP editions.

Chopping Mountain is a vivid record from a band whose sound remains immediately recognisable while continuing to expand. It is political without losing pleasure, technically accomplished without feeling rigid, and full of the communal energy that has defined Ibibio Sound Machine from the beginning. For listeners drawn to modern Afro-disco, highlife, electronic funk and adventurous global pop, this is a powerful and uplifting new chapter.