Cuban French duo Ibeyi release fourth album "Offering" as independent artists

Cuban French twin duo Ibeyi, whose sound draws on Afro-Cuban jazz and Latin tradition, released their fourth album, "Offering," on June 26, their first since parting ways with longtime label XL Recordings after 10 years and three albums, the Los Angeles Times reported. Sisters Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz, 31, are daughters of the late Grammy-winning Cuban percussionist Anga Díaz, of Irakere and the Buena Vista Social Club, and French Venezuelan singer Maya Dagnino; they were discovered at 18 by British producer Richard Russell, who signed them to his label, XL.

The split from XL followed 2022's "Spell 31," which Lisa-Kaindé admitted underperformed her expectations. She said the disappointment led her to a meditation that reframed the whole project: "I used to make spells. Now I make offerings," she said, describing a shift from demanding the world's love to giving without expecting anything back. As independent artists for the first time, the sisters brought in new collaborators, including producer Michael Brun and Cuban conguero Pedrito Martinez, on songs like the trap-and-acoustic "Mosh Pit."

The duo shot music videos for "Offering," "Aset" and "Hurry Hurry" in Havana last fall, filling the frames with family, friends and neighbors dancing and playing dominoes. For the "Offerings" video, Lisa-Kaindé asked her sister to shave her head on camera, an idea Naomi initially refused. "I was like, 'Hell no. I'm not doing that!'" Naomi recalled, before relenting; the video ends with Lisa-Kaindé releasing her cut hair into the sea.

The sisters said returning to Cuba to film was also about representing the island beyond how it's often discussed in the U.S., where it remains, in their words, something of a political football. "Home is Paris, London and Havana for us," Naomi said, and the sisters wanted the videos to reflect how people actually live there rather than a tourist's view of the country.

Ibeyi will embark on a North American tour beginning Jan. 27, 2027, at the Fillmore in San Francisco, with a stop at Pacific Electric in Los Angeles on Jan. 29. "I want everybody to cry, dance and twerk that ass at our shows!" Naomi said of what audiences should expect.