‘Loom’ is both gentle and urgent, built around one repetitive refrain. It builds intensely, and then everything falls away, leaving the piano and a whisper of unintelligible lyrics. It carries the listener along at every turn.

Speaking of the whole experience of putting together ‘Loom’, Arnalds says, “I am a long time fan of Bonobo and have been fortunate enough to get to know Simon as a friend in the last few years. Last year we spent a couple of days in the studio, after traveling and camping in the Icelandic highlands, with no intention other than to spend some quality time with music. Later, as I started working on the album, I kept coming back to that one piece, ‘Loom’, as it felt like the perfect album opener. We kept working on it remotely early this spring and the end result is something I’m incredibly proud of.”

Bonobo (real name: Simon Green) said this, “’Loom’ was one of the pieces we worked on together during that time. It was a real honour to create something with Ólafur. A friend and someone I admire greatly.”

Loom ft. @si_bonobo
15.10.20 pic.twitter.com/QSifn23HYv

— Ólafur Arnalds (@OlafurArnalds) October 13, 2020

‘Loom’ is almost completely the other end of the spectrum to Bonobo’s previous collaboration: ‘Heartbreak’, with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. First shared at the end of September, this is a disco-driven, 70s inspired, NYC track through and through, and you can hardly imagine it in the Icelandic highlands. In fact, ‘Heartbreak’ will become the first 12” to be shared on Bonobo’s new label OUTLIER, on November 13. His consistent versatility is inspiring.

Bonobo has certainly been stirring these last few months – until recently, his latest project was his own studio album, Migration, released in 2017. Now, as of October, he has shared two new collaborations, a record label, and even a recent remix of Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka’s ‘Final Days’ – Bonobo’s first remix since 2016.

Arnalds is also busy in the run up to some kind of peace; he has shared ‘Woven Song’, ‘We Contain Multitudes’ and ‘Back To The Sky’ (a collaboration with JFDR) already. some kind of peace will come out on November 6. Fans won’t have to wait long to see it live (virtually, anyway); he has been announced as the closing act of the first night of Iceland Airwaves’ online festival, Live From Reykjavík, on November 13 at 11pm.

Since going on hiatus in 2010, the threesome have been kept very busy, with differing paths in the music scene. Singer Katie Larkin went on tour with Wild Beasts whilst drummer Nestor Matthews recorded drums for Menace Beach and Giant Fang. And now they are back, with new album Motto to be released this September, followed by a mammoth tour throughout the UK.

Larkin wrote most of the album during her travels with Wild Beasts, which took her to 28 different countries within 20 months. It explores many different themes, including love, life back home in Yorkshire and the different seasons and lobotomies amongst others. The group have released the song Loom as an appetiser before the album drops this autumn. Having earned their stripes following the successes of earlier albums The Golden Spike and Kaleide the will be hoping for more of the same from Motto, with superstardom surely going to follow for Sky Larkin and their indie pop emotive melodies. With a dark meaning behind the stories, you could find yourself moving along with a grin on your face, before realising what the lyrics are saying and the depth and talent of Larkin’s writing skills.

Tour dates are as follows, with support coming from alternative indie rockers Radstewart, except the starred dates.

August
3 – Y Not Festival, Derbyshire
18 – Beacons Festival, Yorkshire
September
17 – London, Lexington (Tickets)
18 – Leicester, Firebug (Tickets)
19 – Sheffield, The Harley (Tickets)
21 – Glasgow, Cut Loose show @ Nice ‘n’ Sleazy**
22 – Sunderland, Pop Recs Ltd** (Tickets)
23 – Leeds, Brudenell
24 – Southampton, Joiners (Tickets)
25 – Nottingham, Bodega (Tickets)
26 – Cardiff, Ten Feet Tall (Tickets)
28 – Aldershot, West End Centre (Tickets)
30 – Manchester, Deaf Institute (Tickets)

Listen to new track Loom below for a taster of what’s going to come from Motto which is released on September 16th.

https://soundcloud.com/weareskylarkin/loom-1