Sleep On The Wing (LP)

Bibio's new collection of music - Sleep on the Wing - sees Stephen Wilkinson continuing the sonic evolution that we heard on 2019's wonderful, meditative cycle Ribbons, with ten tracks drawing on similar inspiration and using a similar palette of instruments and sounds.

Indeed, this album goes even further than Ribbons did in terms of leaning into the sounds of classic folk music - whereas Ribbons often balanced folkish timbres with the electronic tones Bibio had explored on prior releases - Sleep on the Wing is a largely acoustic affair. When synthesisers and effects take centre stage the treatment remains light and naturalistic.

Bibio uses plucked strings to provide Sleep on the Wing with a gentle rhythmic thrust. However, there are points where these sounds are draped with electronic textures to create something more complex -guitars are flecked with delay and echo to create something that sounds like an English folk version of Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint.
There is a sprightliness to Sleep on the Wing that is inherited from the likes of the Incredible String Band.
Sleep on the Wing is a set of wistful and wonderful modern-day folk instrumentals from the evergreen Bibio.