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Ritual Cloak Release New Single ‘Opaque Crater’ Out Now via Bubblewrap Collective | Single Feature

February 7, 2021

Ritual Cloak Release New Single ‘Opaque Crater’

Out Now via Bubblewrap Collective

Following on from ‘I Lawr Ymhlith y Tywyllwch’ last year, electronic post-rock duo Ritual Cloak and Bubblewrap Collective have joined forces to release new music together.

Opaque Crater is the first single from the duo’s upcoming second album Divine Invasions.

Opaque Crater was one of the first songs we started writing for Divine Invasions and the title came to Dan while he was travelling through the Scottish Highlands. We were in a hugely positive state of mind at the time as we’d just finished work on our debut album and wanted to keep the creative momentum going. We really feel this positivity comes across in the song.”

Opaque Crater is one of the songs on the album that was pretty much fully written and recorded pre-lockdown, so the writing process for this one was quite different from the majority of the album. When writing started and we’d work in the studio together we’d come in with small ideas, never anything fully formed and just see where they took us on the day. That’s always been what makes Ritual Cloak so exciting for us, there are no expectations and that attitude of “there are no rules” really allows for our creativity to flourish.”

Opaque Crater was released across digital platforms on February 5th, 2021 and is streaming below, the outfit’s forthcoming album will follow later this spring.

Ritual Cloak have created this insatiable and expansive far-reaching electronic creation. Their new single will leave an impressive and long-lasting impression, so much so, you’ll need to hit repeat and embrace the electronic composition time and time again. Ritual Cloak have perfected the ability to create a meaningful electronic orchestral piece with a mighty hook.

Opaque Crater starts with this hypnotic scale of notes chiming along and becoming the addictive core to this track. The shining chimes emitting from the tone of the mesmerizing musical movement that is on display within those frequent notes, reflect the ambiguous addictive tendencies to the music playing from a fun-fair. This resemblance is mirrored from the promising pull the band has created coming from their sound. There’s a real resemblance to the neon-lit, communal accessibility of amusement bouncing off the consuming tone of this immediate scale.

As the notes continue to push the momentum of the exploration, a gradual addition of sustained keys soaked in some delay adds this darker intensity and detail and counterbalances the seemingly shimmering passage that instigated the ensemble. The darker notes add a more serious turn to the release. Then just 1 minute into the track, the beat kicks in. The abrupt tempo is enough to provide a challenging drive to the arrangement. This joined by the distinct low-end attributes which add yet another complex layer to the enveloping, rich creation.

The air of post-rock influence laces the charging climatic exploration. When the progressive elements and intensity that has been molded suddenly slows, the audience lets their guard down before Ritual Cloak brings their forcible power to the forefront of the release, as they add this surging crescendo and impressive technical finale to this instrumental piece.

Throughout Ritual Cloak showcases their attention to detail as they delicately stack layer upon layer to their experimental entity. The musicians pull the strings behind the force of every sing note, each delayed harmonic which pierces the aura, each resilient beat that pushes the atmospheric direction of this track. This is intelligent electronica that uses experimentation to challenge emotive complexities.

For those unfamiliar with Ritual Cloak, the outfit is comprised of Daniel Barnett, formerly of the band Samoans, and drummer / producer Andrew Sanders. The duo met in 2013 after Daniel answered an ad for a guitarist to join the backing band for singer Jemma Roper. An instant kinship was struck, with both Daniel and Andrew embracing experimentation and a shared love of electronic music. After the split of Samoans in 2018, the pair began playing around with instrumental textures and piano-led ambient soundscapes, all resulting in their well-received debut in 2019. Early tracks such as ‘Everyone Is Hungover So I Walked The Mountain Alone’ were quickly picked up by BBC Radio Wales and SWN Festival, culminating in their debut live show at the festival shortly afterwards.

Following this single release, the pair have excited us for their forthcoming release.

https://www.ritualcloak.com

https://www.facebook.com/ritualcloak/

https://bubblewrapcollective.bandcamp.com/

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