Maribou State

Maribou State is a British electronic duo made up of Christopher Davids and Liam Ivory. The group forms in London and has been active since 2011. Davids and Ivory are from Hertfordshire, and they begin making music together after Ivory asks Davids to play bass in his band. When they move north to university, that band falls away and the pair develop electronic music in a home studio, forming the partnership that becomes Maribou State.

Early releases and development

In 2011 the duo is scouted by Fat! Records and issues its debut release, the Olivia EP. This release establishes the bass-heavy, melodic style associated with the group. Early support grows through underground audiences and radio play. A bootleg of Lauryn Hill’s Doo Wop, made with Pedestrian, gains large attention on YouTube and receives plays on Radio 1, 1Xtra and XFM from Diplo, B. Traits and Eddy Temple Morris.

Maribou State’s first project for Southern Fried is a remix of Crookers’ Hummus, which reaches the top of the Hype Machine chart in spring 2012. The Native EP follows in June, and the track The Look receives a 10/10 rating and Tune Of The Month from Mixmag.

Recognition and notable tracks

After a summer of live shows, the duo releases Scarlett Groove featuring Saint Saviour. The single receives radio support from Annie Mac and Lauren Laverne and is named an Essential Tune by Pete Tong. Later in 2012, the remix of Ultraista’s Gold Dayzz spreads widely online, again placing the duo at the top of the Hype Machine chart and earning more than 200,000 plays on SoundCloud.

Another major release from this period is Mask, a collaboration with Pedestrian issued through the Pets imprint run by Polish house duo Catz ’N Dogz. The track helps place Maribou State among a wave of British acts making accessible but inventive dance music, alongside Disclosure, Bondax and AlunaGeorge. It also gains further support from Zane Lowe, Hugh Stephens, Rob Da Bank, Annie Mac, B. Traits and Pete Tong.

Style

The duo’s music combines field recordings, live instrumentation, broken house rhythms and sub-bass. Their work is described through the contrast of organic elements and dancefloor structures, with references to the approaches of Bonobo and Four Tet. Their listed genres include downtempo, electronic, house and leftfield.