Today, Bibio shares new single “Oakmoss” from his upcoming EP Sleep On The Wing released this Friday on Warp Records. Featuring part of the violin melody from his “Lovers Carvings” (WXAXRXP Session), Bibio showcases a heady expanse of strings and lyrics that offer a promise of hope.
Speaking about the track, Bibio explains: “Oakmoss has been my favourite track on the EP for quite some time, to me it feels like a folkier cousin of ‘Raincoat’. It was one of those tracks that came together quite quickly and fluently. It’s a lot of fun to play (on the various instruments used in the song), and it was a lot of fun to record.”
Sleep On The Wing follows a pattern Bibio has established in his work; releasing a follow up EP after an album exploring similar sonic ground. This release draws on a familiar range of influences from traditional folk, peaceful atmospheric soundscapes and field recordings from the natural world. Stephen Wilkinson (Bibio) once again demonstrates the breadth of his musicality, embracing a wide range of self-played instruments including the strings which gave Ribbons much of its flavour and features some new accouplements for good measure.
Pieced together over the course of last year, with a few exceptions stretching back into Bibio’s older repertoire, the Sleep On The Wing EP is a largely instrumental collection that exhibits deep atmospheric melodies as observations on rural escapism, reflection and melancholia. Recorded in Bibio’s home studio in the UK midlands countryside, the writing process for this latest EP starts in a similar place to most of his previous works, growing from a guitar riff into a richly textured soundscape one instrument at a time. “When I write a new track, I sing melodies (often nonsensical) trying to find words that fit the melody and rhythm, then a phrase might come out that sets the theme of the track. “When “Sleep on the wing” came out, it felt like more than a passing lyric, it felt like a title, a theme.” He explains.
As on Ribbons, the surrounding nature seeps into the studio and underlies the essence of his music as it unfurls. This new work offers an in-depth study into the instrumentation and feelings surrounding this past year, imbued with revisited works which seem as poignant as they did when they were first composed over a decade ago.
Bibio
Sleep On The Wing
WARP310
01. Sleep On The Wing
02. A Couple Swim
03. Lightspout Hollow
04. Oakmoss
05. Miss Blennerhassett
06. The Milky Way Over Ratlinghope
07. Awpockes
08. Crocus
09. Otter Shadows
10. Watching Thus, The Heron Is All Pool
