Twenty-year-old French/Cuban twins, Naomi and Lisa-Kainde Diaz, are Ibeyi (say it: ee-bey-ee). The name means “twins” in yoruba, the language and culture of their famous father, Cuban musician Anga Diaz.

Anga was a percussionist in the Buena Vista Social Club; he passed away when the twins were 11 in 2006. Ibeyi’s eponymous debut is a tribute to their family and culture (their older sister Yanira also passed away a few years ago). It mixes Latin jazz, hip-hop, electronica, African music and jazz into a beautiful, ethereal-yet-earthy sound — made for dancing, singing and blasting full-on from your speakers. The twins talk to MySpace about their loves and inspirations.

Hometown: We have two homes, Paris and Havana. We also have tw cultures, European and Caribbean.

Current residence: We live in Paris but actually we are  going to live in hotels, trains, planes and vans for the next year … big tour coming up!

How many languages do you speak?

We speak French, Spanish and English. English is not our mother tongue, but we had to learn fast to communicate with Richard [Russell, head of London-based XL Recordings which signed Ibeyi] while recording in the studio and with our label team.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Lisa Kainde: I listen a lot to  the oldies. Nina Simone is my goddess. But I also love Meshell Ndegeocello, James Blake and many other young artists as King Krule.
Naomi: I listen to everything but I love hip-hop.

Which female artist do you admire most?

Lisa Kainde: Nina Simone and Frida Kahlo
Naomi: Erykah Badu and Marina Abramovic

How do you write your songs? What comes first, the words or the music?

Lisa Kainde: I usually have a melody first, then some lyrics come up. But I have also composed some songs with other peoples' lyrics. Both ways work but I find it easier to start with the music.

Maya Dagnino

What inspires your songwriting?

Lisa Kainde: This album is about our lives, about loss, about love, about our family. It's a very personal album but I can also be inspired by a movie, a poem, my friends, a sentence… . Anything can inspire a song.

What do you do for fun?

Naomi: What I prefer doing is playing music and dancing on my own at home. I’ve done that everyday since I was little.
Lisa Kainde: I like cooking and I like watching movies. I could watch movies endlessly. I would love to compose for movies or series. I love taking pictures, too.

What is your favorite place in the world and why?

Naomi: My father's village in Cuba. It's named San Juan y Martinez, a very tiny place where people live on rolling cigars. I feel free and joyous there. I dance reggeaton, I laugh with my best friend and my Cuban family and I feel my father's presence.
Lisa Kainde: My room in Paris. I love having my beloved photos on the wall, my cat on the bed, my notebooks, my books, my own cherished disorder.

What's the strangest thing that's happened to you since the release of your debut album?

Some Cuban graphic design students have downloaded our videos from YouTube, which is very difficult to do in Cuba as Internet access is not allowed, and have made an Ibeyi app.