Aquilo

Tom Higham and Ben Fletcher comprise the British duo Aquilo, whose output centers on atmospheric, melancholy, downtempo electronic pop songs. Heartbreak, loss, and regret form the core of nearly every track they write, although 2014's "Human," produced by the like-minded SOHN, admits a modest ray of optimism. Live shows and multiple singles that racked up heavy streaming and playlist numbers helped the pair build an audience, leading to their first full-length release, Silhouettes, at the start of 2017. Additional projects followed, among them the paired 2024 albums A Quiet Invitation to a Hard Conversation/You Should Get Some Sleep.

The two grew up in the northern English village of Silverdale, where they performed in more aggressive rock groups that frequently shared bills before each began exploring gentler material on their own. Discovering each other's work online and realizing their proximity made collaboration inevitable, they launched Aquilo in 2013 and issued a self-titled EP in early 2014. Blogs quickly took notice, and "You There" secured BBC Radio 1 rotation. The duo performed on the BBC Introducing stage at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival to a positive response. Island Records then signed them and put out their second EP, Human, before year's end. Early 2015 saw Aquilo contribute to Madeon's debut album Adventure, while a joint track with Vanic called "Losing You" surfaced online and accumulated millions of streams. Their third EP, Calling Me, arrived in June 2015, followed at year's close by Painting Pictures of a War, an EP compiling earlier singles.

The pair relocated to London in early 2016 and released the live EP Midnight. They also appeared on Enigma's 2016 album The Fall of a Rebel Angel, specifically on the single "Amen." Production assistance from Lexxx, Johnny McDaid, and Ólafur Arnalds shaped Aquilo's long-awaited first album, Silhouettes, which emerged in early 2017. September of that year brought the expansive single "I Could Fight on a Wall," later included on 2018's ii, a two-part album split into distinct A- and B-sides. After that release the duo chose a hiatus, returning in 2020 with the EP Sober; the single "Missing the Mark" closed out the year.

A Safe Place to Be, Aquilo's third album, surfaced in 2021 and occasionally steered their sound toward more dance-oriented territory, while the wintry single "Just a Day" appeared near year's end. Nearly three years later they resurfaced with the simultaneous digital albums A Quiet Invitation to a Hard Conversation and You Should Get Some Sleep, later packaged together as a double LP.