Maribou State

Maribou State are Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, the UK duo giving electronic music a much-needed shot of soul. Since 2011, they’ve established themselves as major players on the global dance music circuit, melding a genre-fluid range of influences into a distinctly organic sound, redefining downtempo electronica for a new generation. They’ve become a hugely acclaimed live act who’ve performed roadblock shows from Glastonbury to the Sydney Opera House, as well as back-to-back sold-out UK, EU, and North American tours.

Over three albums, Maribou State have honed a delicate balance of intricacy, intimacy, and electronic expansiveness. Their vast sonic universe pulls on UK club music, vintage soul, and evocative samples to create something completely unique. Their 2015 debut, Portraits, was written and recorded in the shed at the bottom of Liam’s parents’ garden in leafy Hertfordshire, just outside of London, where the duo both grew up. Building on Portrait’s success, Maribou State relocated to the UK capital but looked further afield for inspiration: 2018’s Kingdom of Colour wove together a sonic collage of ideas and field recordings from their travels across India, Australia, Morocco, America, and beyond. Lead single ‘Feel Good’, a collaboration with Texan trio Khruangbin, was a runaway success, while the album itself was released to widespread acclaim. It led dance music bible Mixmag to crown Maribou State one of their artists of the year.

The duo have always stayed true to their club roots: they started DJing together in the mid-2000s and pay homage to the lineage of UK dance music throughout their productions, such as the much-loved single ‘Turnmills’, named for the legendary former London club. They followed it with 2019’s Kingdoms In Colour Remixed, featuring reworkings from the likes of HAAi, Maceo Plex, and DJ Tennis, and, in 2020, an installment of Fabric’s esteemed Fabric Presents series. The compilation evidenced their wide-reaching music tastes and linked soul, disco, and bumpier house grooves with UK jazz and even neo-classical.

Maribou State’s live show has simultaneously evolved to the next level, where they have become must-see headliners. Their band has come to its fullest realisation on their new and third album, Hallucinating Love. It’s a beacon of hopefulness after a turbulent past few years both personally and professionally, where Chris has been coming to terms with a major brain condition, bringing the duo closer together than ever before. The hotly-anticipated release brings together a host of impressive talents, including vocalists Holly Walker and Andreya Triana, and incredibly talented producer Jack Sibley, for a celebration of community, togetherness, and triumphing against the odds.

Hallucinating Love is preceded by two exceptional singles, and soothing balms for tempestuous times. ‘Blackoak’ typifies Maribou State’s earthy blend of folk, epic strings, elastic funk bass and earworm vocal hooks, plus ‘Otherside’ which features long-term collaborator and vocalist Holly Walker. It’s a complex tapestry of sound, but one that always brings heart and soul to the forefront.