Arctic Lake (band)

Arctic Lake
Origin	London, England
Genres	Indie pop alt pop dream pop
Years active	2014—2025
Labels	Astralwerks
Members	Emma Foster Paul Holliman
Past members	Andy Richmond

Arctic Lake was an alt pop duo ^[1] from London, England composed of vocalist Emma Foster and multi-instrumentalist producer Paul Holliman. ^[2] The band was originally a trio with founding member Andrew Richmond. ^[3]

History

Emma Foster and Paul Holliman met in 2012 while studying in London and formed Arctic Lake in 2014, together with Andrew Richmond. ^{[3] [4]} They released their first original song online in 2014, titled "How Long Can You Stare". ^[5] Their debut single, "Limits", came out in 2015. ^[6] After releasing the single "Heal Me" in 2016, they were invited to perform at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in England that same year. ^[3]

Arctic Lake released their debut EP, titled Closer, in 2017 and their follow-up, What You May Find, in 2018. ^[7] See Inside, their third EP, came out in February 2020. ^[8] During this period, they had their first UK headline tour (in May 2018), ^[9] toured with Freya Ridings and Vancouver Sleep Clinic, and collaborated with house producer Lane 8 and neo-classical pianist Peter Sandberg. ^[10] In 2021, they teamed up with ZHU on "Yours", a noirish techno track that hit #16 on Billboard's Dance chart. ^[11] Their next single, "Lonely", followed on 10 September 2021.

In February 2025, the band announced that they were splitting up. ^[12]

Musical style

Arctic Lake's sound has been described as "delectably dreamy alt-pop", ^[13] and Mundane Mag noted their "ability to channel tightly-wound emotions and turn them into breathtaking, electromagnetic anthems". ^[14]

Discography

EPs

• Closer (2017)
• What You May Find (2018)
• See Inside (2020)
• side by side we lie awake (2022)
• How Do You Make It Look So Easy? (2023)

Singles

• "Limits" (2015)
• "Only Me" (2015)
• "For Us" (2015)
• "Heal Me" (2016)
• "Friend" (2016)
• "What You May Find" (2018)
• "Sight of You" (2018)
• "Night Cries" (2018)
• "You Know All of Me" (2018)
• "Night Cries/Further (Mahogany Sessions)" (2018)
• "Blue Monday" (2019)
• "My Favourite Game" (2019)
• "Shed a Tear" (2019) ^[15]
• "Unhold Me" – with Peter Sandberg (2020)
• "Read" (2020)
• "Cold Hands" (2020)
• "Yours" – with ZHU (2021) ^[16]
• "Lonely" (2021)
• "Breathe" (2022)
• "Love You Like That" (2022)
• "Srs2" (2022)
• "Amazing" (2023)
• "Are You Okay?" (2023)
• "My Weakness" (2023)
• "Silver Pendant" (2023)
• "Fool" (2023)
• "Hold Me" (2023)

Featured on

• "Fall" – Over the Water (Poté), 2016)
• "Don't Let Me Go" – Brightest Lights (Lane 8, 2019) ^[17]
• "Cherry-Coloured Funk" – Back to Life (2019)
• "Road" – Brightest Lights (Lane 8, 2020)
• "Plus Minus" – Organ (Dimension, 2021)
• "What Have You Done to Me?" – Reviver (Lane 8, 2021) ^[18]

References

1. "Interview: Arctic Lake". tonguetiedmag.com. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
2. "Gary Crowley Presents…Arctic Lake". amazingradio.com. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
3. "Fresh: "Holding On" – Arctic Lake". talkaboutpopmusic.com. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
4. Ben Standring (17 April 2019). "Interview: Arctic Lake". slantedpress.com. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
5. "Arctic Lake". musicglue.com. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
6. "Introducing - Arctic Lake". sodwee.com. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
7. "Arctic Lake: Musical Footprints [Interview]". waevlength.com. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
8. "See Inside - EP". music.apple.com. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
9. Rose Parish (29 July 2018). "REVIEW: ARCTIC LAKE AT THE LOUISIANA, BRISTOL". milk-magazine.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
10. Robin Murray (18 March 2020). "Peter Sandberg Teams With Arctic Lake On Finely Poised Single 'Unhold Me'". clashmusic.com. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
11. "Zhu". billboard.com. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
12. "Arctic Lake farewell show". threads.net. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
13. "Interview: Arctic Lake". tonguetiedmag.com. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
14. "English alt-pop daydream, Arctic Lake! drops video for 'Lonely'". mundanemag.com. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
15. "In Conversation: Arctic Lake". yutaru.co.uk. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
16. "ZHU Shares New Song & Video "Yours" With Arctic Lake". Edm.com - the Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
17. Dexter, Robyn (14 November 2019). "Lane 8 links with Arctic Lake for 'Don't Let Me Go'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
18. Goldenberg, Ross (20 November 2021). "Lane 8 recalls Arctic Lake to complete collaborative triple crown on second Reviver preview". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.