Consisting of Tom Higham and Ben Fletcher, Aquilo are a British duo who make atmospheric, melancholy downtempo electronic pop songs. Nearly all of their songs are about heartbreak, loss, and regret, but songs such as “Human” (produced by kindred spirit Sohn) contain a small flicker of hope. Hailing from the village of Silverdale in northern England, the duo played in harder-edged rock bands, often sharing gigs, before beginning to write softer material as solo artists. They came across one another’s music online, and seeing that they lived close to each other, a collaboration was natural. They began writing songs as Aquilo in 2013, and they released a self-titled EP in early 2014. The songs immediately received attention from blogs, and “You There” received BBC Radio 1 airplay. The duo appeared on the BBC Introducing stage of the 2014 Glastonbury Festival, and their performance was received warmly. Island Records signed the duo and released their second EP, Human, by the end of the year. The duo contributed to Madeon’s debut album, Adventure, in early 2015, and a collaboration with Vanic titled “Losing You” appeared online, receiving millions of hits. Aquilo’s third EP, Calling Me, appeared in June of 2015. Painting Pictures of a War, an EP of previously released singles, was released at the end of the year. In early 2016, the duo moved to London and released a live EP titled Midnight. Their hotly anticipated debut album, Silhouettes, featuring production from the likes of Lexxx, Johnny McDaid, and Ólafur Arnalds, dropped in early 2017.
WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL
THEKLA BRISTOL The Grove, Bristol BS1 4RB Doors 7:00pm Ages 14+
Consisting of Tom Higham and Ben Fletcher, Aquilo are a British duo who make atmospheric, melancholy downtempo electronic pop songs. Nearly all of their songs are about heartbreak, loss, and regret, but songs such as “Human” (produced by kindred spirit Sohn) contain a small flicker of hope. Hailing from the village of Silverdale in northern England, the duo played in harder-edged rock bands, often sharing gigs, before beginning to write softer material as solo artists. They came across one another’s music online, and seeing that they lived close to each other, a collaboration was natural. They began writing songs as Aquilo in 2013, and they released a self-titled EP in early 2014. The songs immediately received attention from blogs, and “You There” received BBC Radio 1 airplay. The duo appeared on the BBC Introducing stage of the 2014 Glastonbury Festival, and their performance was received warmly. Island Records signed the duo and released their second EP, Human, by the end of the year. The duo contributed to Madeon’s debut album, Adventure, in early 2015, and a collaboration with Vanic titled “Losing You” appeared online, receiving millions of hits. Aquilo’s third EP, Calling Me, appeared in June of 2015. Painting Pictures of a War, an EP of previously released singles, was released at the end of the year. In early 2016, the duo moved to London and released a live EP titled Midnight. Their hotly anticipated debut album, Silhouettes, featuring production from the likes of Lexxx, Johnny McDaid, and Ólafur Arnalds, dropped in early 2017.
SUNDAY 24 SEPTEMBER
THEKLA BRISTOL The Grove, Bristol BS1 4RB Doors 7pm Ages 14+
Aquilo is an English duet conformed by Tom Higham and Ben Fletcher and based in Silverdale, Lancashire. Tom and Ben were originally the frontmen in rival bands in their hometown. Higham was jumping around on stage making heavy metal while Fletcher was thrashing out melodic grunge rock. Higham then started producing tracks solo – just him and his guitar. Fletcher, too, started putting his solo songs on SoundCloud. Tom and Ben are neighbours. So, after stumbling across Fletcher’s music online Higham suddenly thought he could start making music with “that lad across the road”.
TUESDAY 25 OCTOBER
THEKLA BRISTOL The Grove, Bristol BS1 4RB Doors 6:30pm Ages 14+
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