Introducing Video of the Week from Wales Arts Review. We’ll be showcasing some of the best new art in Wales with a new video shared every week. From music to drama and everything in between, videos will not be limited by medium. Today we take a look at ‘Opaque Crater’ from Ritual Cloak.
Cardiff duo Ritual Cloak are back with a new release, ‘Opaque Crater’. The track follows the success of ‘I Lawr Ymhlith Y Tywyllwch’ in 2020, and is the first single from their upcoming second album Divine Invasions.
The duo – consisting of Daniel Barnett and Andrew Sanders – formed following the split of Daniel’s previous band, Samoans, in 2018. Connected by a love of experimental and electronic music, Ritual Cloak soon began creating the feather-textured, piano-led soundscapes for which they’ve become known, releasing their debut record in 2019.
Speaking of the latest single, the duo said:
“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.”
The track comes courtesy of Cardiff’s indie record label, Bubblewrap Collective, and has already garnered support from Amy Lamé on BBC 6 Music’s Sunday show. You can watch the new video below.
Ritual Cloak’s new album, Divine Invasions, is due for release this spring. ‘Opaque Crater’ is available now to stream across all major digital platforms, listen on Spotify here.
