Arctic Lake have released their tender, uplifting new single, “Are You Okay?” today via Astralwerks. Featuring Emma Foster’s expressive vocals and Paul Holliman’s bright, buoyant production, the track delivers a reassuring message about restoring personal connections that have gotten frayed by outside demands. The track can be heard alongside an accompanying visualizer now below.
“We wrote ‘Are You Okay?’ after our first trip to the U.S., where we had a whirlwind of sessions. I realized I had been so caught up in everything that I had completely checked out from the one person who meant the most to me,” says Arctic Lake’s Emma Foster. “Today, we have all this technology connecting us and separating, all at once. Communicating should be easier than ever but when you’re busy, connection is sometimes the first thing to close down.”
Arctic Lake recently played their first headline show in three years, performing to a sold-out audience at St. Pancras Old Church in London on March 2. The duo’s intimate alt-pop is a study in the art of baring it all. Vulnerability has become their most potent weapon—the foundation for the poignant, provocative synth-laced landscapes heard in their debut single “Limits” and a moody, majestic string of EPs that include Closer, What You May Find, See Inside and 2022’s side by side we lie awake. They’ve also scored hit dance collaborations with producers like ZHU (“Yours,” which rose to No. 16 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart), German DJ Boris Brejcha (“House Music”) and Lane 8 (“Road,” What Have You Done To Me?”).