The deluxe edition of Arctic Lake’s acclaimed 2023 EP, How Do You Make It Look So Easy?, was released today via Astralwerks.Four new recordings lead off the collection – the enchanting title track and live versions of three songs from the original EP. Download / stream the deluxe edition HERE.See below for track listing.
Today, the London-based duo – composed of vocalist Emma Foster and multi-instrumentalist/producer Paul Holliman – unveiled the song that inspired the essence of the entire EP. Glistening with a bright, electronic-infused pop, “How Do You Make It Look So Easy?” is melodically layered with a mystical sonic energy. Listen HERE. View the visualizer HERE.
Sharing the story behind the song, Emma Foster recalls, “Our friend was going through a really traumatic time with a relationship and it was all I could think and write about. Just before we entered the session that day, she sent the voice note that’s embedded into the song. ‘How Do You Make It Look So Easy?’ is written from her perspective. Watching someone who dismantled you move on easily while you’re still reattaching the pieces they stole. The song has also come to encompass the feeling that we think a lot of us share in this digital age – how the hell are they all making it look so easy…”
Arctic Lake recorded the live versions of “Hold Me,” “Fireflies” and “Fool” that are found on the deluxe edition during anintimate session in London.The performances were captured in a series of one-shot videos. Watch “Hold Me” HERE, “Fireflies” HERE, and for “Fool” HERE.
Upon its release last fall, How Do You Make It Look So Easy? won support across all DSPs, including TIDAL, where it took the cover of the Pop Somber playlist. The EP has amassed over 1.3 million streams to date and “Fireflies” earned the support of BBC Radio 1 Introducing.
“Arctic Lake’s alt-pop is an exploration of revealing vulnerability,” said 1883 Magazine in this recent feature, which examines the duo’s artistic approach. Rollacoaster noted,“Lamenting a universally held habit of feeling unable to let go of love even when it’s hurting us, ‘Fool’ is not only a simmering soundscape but also a cautionary tale that binds together those who feel lost, allowing space to feel those hard-to-face feelings.” Wonderland Magazine praised “Are You Okay?” as “soul-drenched, evoking and immersive” and Popdustobserved, “When it comes to making a heartfelt, soulful track, Arctic Lake are somewhat geniuses.”
While they come from largely different backgrounds – Emma a rebellious kid from Lincolnshire, who grew up being fed everything from Depeche Mode to Ella Fitzgerald to Queen by her music obsessive father; Paul a “middle class and sheltered” metal fan from the suburbs of London who was “terrified of everything, including Emma” – their seemingly opposing characters fit together in a special way, as demonstrated on How Do You Make It Look So Easy? and the EP’s predecessors (Closer, What You May Find, See Inside and side by side we lie awake).
Arctic Lake has also scored hit collaborations with producers like ZHU (“Yours”), German DJ Boris Brejcha (“House Music”) and Lane 8 (“Road,” What Have You Done To Me?”). Arctic Lake joined Sarah Kinsley on her January 2024 European tour.
Track Listing – How Do You Make It Look So Easy? Deluxe
Disc A
1. How Do You Make It Look So Easy?
2. Fireflies – Live from London
3. Fool – Live from London
4. Hold Me – Live from London
Disc B
1. Fireflies
2. Silver Pendant
3. Interlude
4. Fool
5. Are You Okay?
6. My Weakness 7. Hold Me