Bonobo has collaborated with Olafur Arnalds on ‘Loom’, the fourth single to be released from Arnalds’ upcoming album some kind of peace, due for release on November 6 via Mercury KX. The English musician, producer and DJ has been a friend of Arndalds’ for a few years. ‘Loom’ came together after a camping trip in the Icelandic Highlands, which you can almost hear as the setting.
‘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.
