Maribou State includes the duo made up of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, today the duo have share a remix of “Otherside” from fellow London based producer, DJ, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jasper Tygner. “Otherside” featuring long-time collaborator and vocalist Holly Walker, was recently shared alongside the news of Maribou States forthcoming album Hallucinating Love, available January 31st, 2025 on Ninja Tune. The duo also just announced a massive North American tour for Spring 2025, their first full band live dates on the continent in six years with stops in New York, Chicago, Toronto and many more.

Alongside the new remix — and due to overwhelming demand which saw the first two dates sold-out in just a matter of hours — the band recently announced a third consecutive show at London’s 10k+ capacity Alexandra Palace on Sunday 16th February 2025. The shows will mark a triumphant and poignant moment for the duo, following the news shared earlier this year by Chris Davids that he had undergone a major operation for a rare brain condition, from which he has only just begun to return to the studio and rehearsals full time.

The year 2020 was supposed to be a reset, with time set aside to work on new material. But they soon started spiralling. Chris was facing chronic insomnia and getting to grips with a recent ADHD diagnosis; Liam developed crippling anxiety – and that’s not to mention everything that was going on globally at the time. “There was a massive fallout from us touring the world and then as soon as we finished, being locked down,” says Liam. “Our mental health plummeted.”

They were feeling the pressure in more ways than one, and ended up scrapping their first draft. Writing trips were booked in to help jumpstart a new creative flow. Then, in late 2021, Chris started experiencing chronic headaches. After one such trip the following spring – where the duo wrote some of their best music yet – he finally received the diagnosis: a rare condition called chiari malformation that causes pressure on the brain. “It was brutal,” says Chris, while Liam adds: “It was heartbreaking to see him try and push on in the studio, sometimes he would keel over from the pain and then try to push on with work again.”

Eventually, something had to give. Chris underwent surgery in November 2023, just as their album was coming close to being finished. The experience has brought Maribou State – friends since their teens back in Hertfordshire, just outside of London – close like never before. That album, poignantly titled ‘Hallucinating Love’, is imbued with a special warmth, the kind of rush of being with your friends in a festival field, hugging them tightly, and of triumphing over a challenging few years. The pair also made the difficult decision to delay its release, so that Chris could have the recovery time he needed. There were serious complications with surgery and, at one point, concerns that he might not make it. Thankfully he pulled through – and the duo are grateful to their fans for their support. “They’ve been so compassionate and understanding during this time, it’s been really amazing,” says Chris.

Hallucinating Love features guest vocals from long-standing collaborator Holly Walker and new friends like MOBO-nominated artist Andreya Triana. It evidences Maribou State’s evolving balance of intimacy and intricacy, as well as their knack for making epic sundown music. Says Liam: “When we were writing, we were imagining how great it’d feel to finally be back onstage, bringing people together again.” The overall feeling is one of hope. Hallucinating Love is “about being in a dark place, a place of struggle, and then looking forward to bright futures,” Chris explains.

Working more closely with others also helped to mine musical gold, at various recording sessions in bucolic settings around the country. Liam and Chris invited along collaborators like incredibly talented producer Jack Sibley and bassist Jonjo Williams, creating little makeshift communities wherever they went. It infused their music with a new energy. On the album’s lead single ‘Blackoak’, you can even hear an amateur choir of friends, recorded in the stairwell of an old country house during one of their stays.

order “Otherside” by Maribou State (Jasper Tygner Remix)” HERE