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Sep 27, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Nick Walker

Toronto-based electronic rock band Holy Fuck has been working remotely over the pandemic, crafting fresh additions to their unconventional genre-blending catalog. Fans last heard from the band with their early 2020 album Deleter, including the singles “Luxe” and “Free Gloss” which were two of our Songs of the Week. Now the band has returned with their first single of this year, “Airport Dreams (feat. Sarah Bonito),” premiering with Under the Radar.

The band’s latest effort marries their relentless dance rhythms with new glittery pop melodies courtesy of Sarah Bonito, frontwoman of Kero Kero Bonito, making for an instantly catchy addition to the band’s catalog. Skittering chopped percussion, eclectic analog synth textures, and pulsating basslines blend effortlessly with Bonito’s technicolor vocal style and freewheeling lyrics. Together, “Airport Dreams” makes for the best kind of collaboration; an unforeseen delight that brings together branching talents for something new and unexpected.

The track finds Bonito daydreaming of travel and joy, all while trapped in the stifling confines of pandemic living一”I’m on top of the world/Higher than the tower/Trapped in a square/But the worlds is my oyster.” As Sarah Bonito explains of the song, “During lockdown, I was having recurring dreams about being at the airport catching a flight every night. I feel like my mind was trying to break free from the physical constraints by travelling the universe whilst I slept. We are all free in our dreams!”

Holy Fuck says describes the track’s creation in a personal statement:

Contrary to our usual method of recording ‘live off the studio floor’ where we prefer to hash out and capture the core of our songs together in the same room, we found ourselves, like a lot of people in 2020/21, working remotely. This meant building up tracks and song ideas separately at our own various recording and rehearsal spaces and then sharing them with each other online. In spite of the physical distance, we still dug into our classic ‘holy fuck spirit’: embracing whatever tools we have at hand to make the music we want. Voice memos of drum ideas Matt Schulz recorded of himself playing at home were shared, then edited together, forming the rhythmic foundation for “Airport Dreams”. This later gave life to Matt McQuaid’s bass parts which were recorded over WiFi from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to Toronto, Ontario. Situations are not always ideal, but can be used to an advantage - idea over execution. Branching even further into the spirit of collaboration, we sent these ideas to an incredibly talented artist, Sarah Bonito (of Kero Kero Bonito). Sarah’s super catchy and inspiring vocal parts were initially intended for a different song altogether. Their frenetic energy, however, became the catalyst for what is now called “Airport Dreams”.

Check out the song and accompanying video below and stream the track here.

You can also read our review of Kero Kero Bonito’s latest EP here.