As we had already mentioned, Bibio has a new album on the way, Ribbons, and as usual, it comes full of wonderful surprises. The gorgeous lead single ‘Curls’ is proof of that, and Bibio has paired it with a self-directed video. And to get us even more excited, he has also unveiled brand new single ‘Old Graffiti ‘. Check out both below.
Ribbons is out on April 12th through Warp.
Since his 2005 debut album, fi, Stephen Wilkinson aka Bibio has constantly evolved and thrived with each and every album he has thrown at us.
Following 2017’s Phantom Brickworks, Bibio has a new album on the way and as always, he continues to surprise and entice us. And also exploring new grounds, judging by the folksy flavours of fiddle showing through ‘Curls’, the gorgeous new track that is now streaming. Take a listen below and read a statement about it from Bibio himself straight after.
“Like with many of my songs and instrumental pieces, this song started out with a guitar riff. It then took on a melodic theme played on mandolin and violin, both being instruments I started playing in 2018.
Lyrically, the song is inspired by a collection of separate memories, observations and fantasies, seemingly unrelated but tied together by a theme of admiration of those small things in life. When I look back on recent years, some of the things that seem to be significant to me are these small observations and experiences, like the smell of rain on wool or fresh air captured in a person’s hair after coming inside from a walk outside.
These moments can be joyous and profound at times, a reminder of what life can be about, both meaningful and beyond meaning, which is a reminder for me that wordless songs often seem to say more than ones with lyrics.
These types of everyday moments can feel more significant or memorable than qualifications and ambitious achievements, they extend into the ancient and beyond one’s own inner world; the same consciousness was probably experiencing the same many millennia before us.
There are many good things in life that you can have too much of, except for fresh air, so perhaps that’s why it feels so welcome when it clings to us, and therefore, like these other little daily observations that resonate with me so much, it’s worthy of a mention in a song.”
– BIBIO
With April comes a superb mixtape lovingly put together by wonderful and prolific Greek composer, electronic musician and producer Serafim Tsotsonis. With an immense portfolio spanning four albums and compositions and collaborations in the worlds of film, television, and theatre, his influences are vast, flirting with genres from neo-classical and ambient to post-rock and dream pop. You'll find a bit of all of this and more in his mix so press play and enjoy!
Bibio has a new record on the way called Phantom Brickworks, following last year’s A Mineral Love. Featuring nine new tracks, the record arrives on November 3rd through Warp. As is usual with Bibio’s releases, he offered some words about the it:
“I don’t believe in ghosts but I do believe places can be haunted by meaning. Places change, not always for the better and not always by natural, benevolent or politically sound means. A place can be charged with atmosphere because of what it has been through or what it has been.
Phantom Brickworks is a collection of mostly improvised musical pieces, that for some years now, have provided me with a mental portal into places and times – some real, some imaginary, some a combination of both. Human beings are highly sensitive to the atmospheres of places, which can be enhanced or dramatically altered when you learn about the context of their history. Echoes and voices can sometimes be heard, in some way or another. Places sometimes have things to say.”
The delicate, magical and eerie ‘Phantom Brickworks III’ is the first single lifted from the album and it comes with a perfectly paired video, also made by Bibio.
Spring is blooming with wonderful album releases, and one that we have been listening to over and over again is Bibio‘s seventh album, A Mineral Love. Bibio has recently shared a new single from the album, the marvellous ‘Light Up The Sky’, with a fitting kaleidoscopic video directed by Joe Giacomet. Watch it below.
A Mineral Love is out now via Warp.
We’re getting excitingly close to the release of Bibio‘s new album A Mineral Love, due out on April 1st through Warp. He had already conquered our ears with ‘Petals’, ‘Feeling’ and ‘Town & Country’, all taken from the upcoming album. Bibio is enticing us again with the wonderful ballad ‘The Way You Talk’, also off A Mineral Love. The track marks his first collaboration, with Gotye guesting on vocals. Here’s what Bibio said about it:
“I first heard Gotye’s music when he approached me to remix what quickly became his hit single ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’. I was unfamiliar with him and his music before hearing that track, but I loved the track on first listen and by the second or third listen I was convinced that ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ was going to be a big hit, I was absolutely sure of it. There was just something about that track, the hook, the emotion, the lyrics but also his great voice, it all came together in a way that was something new but also something kind of familiar, a winning combination. Gotye himself has a unique voice but it also feels somehow familiar and I think this was one of the reasons why his track touched so many people.
A few years ago I had been playing around with this chord sequence that I came up with when playing my Wurlitzer electric piano. I became quite addicted to the sequence and slowly developed it over time. As it got more fleshed out and more nuanced, I started to hear potential in it as the foundation of a song. The line “But there’s something about the way you talk” just came out one day while I was playing the piano. I played around with the context of that line and added more lyrics bit by bit, omitting some along the way. The emotional nature of the track and the way I played the piano part seemed to lend itself to an 80s ballad type sound, something I have a bit of a soft spot for.
I did several versions of this track and when it became more developed, I started to imagine a different voice on it. Gotye specifically came to mind because that familiarity I talked about earlier felt like a good match for the track, I just imagined his voice working with the vibe of the track. I contacted him and he was keen to get involved, so I sent him the lyrics, instrumental and my vocal demo and he sent back his vocal parts, not just copying my vocals exactly, he added his own thing, his own nuances, which I loved instantly.”
Listen to ‘The Way You Talk’ below.
