Late last year, Afro-Cuban French duo Ibeyi, aka Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz, dropped off their stellar Pa Salieu collab “Made Of Gold”, and with it came the announcement that they’d been working on material for a new album. That’s now set in stone and Spell 31 is now slated to arrive May 6 via XL Recordings. Ahead of that, they’ve now revealed the album’s latest single, “Lavender & Red Roses”, a collaboration with Jorja Smith.
The story goes that Jorja had originally just dropped in at their studio to hear the album, but she was immediately enamored with “Lavender & Red Roses”, so space was quickly made for her on the track. Not only that, but they also brought her in to appear in Lucrecia Taormina’s desert-set video to play the role of the third sister as they head out on their long and ultimately fruitless journey through the sand dunes in search of a loved one.
“We knew we wanted to create something with Jorja that would be different from what we’ve done previously, that would allow us to connect with the true meaning of the song,” says Lisa-Kaindé. “When we came across the three sisters of fate from the Greek mythology, who personify fate, we knew immediately that it would be the right idea. Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos are sisters, one of them creates the thread of fate, the other analyses it, and the third one cuts it.
“‘Lavender & Red Roses’ is a song about the feeling we all experience when we love someone troubled. It could be a partner, a sibling, a parent, a friend. We wanted to talk about the pain of witnessing a loved one hurting, repeating patterns and getting lost. And how it triggers in us the desire to reach them, hold them tight and wash their troubles away with lavender and red roses. But the truth is you can’t save them. If they pull you into their darkness, you will have to protect yourself and allow them to find their own strength and light in their own way.”
Ahead of the album’s release in May, tune into the new video up top and be sure to add “Lavender & Red Roses” to your playlists.
