In the space of the 18 months since they released their debut track,
AR/CO have beckoned a growing fanbase into their world. It’s an escapist, otherworldly experience that encourages everyone to come together as a community and forget about their worries to a soundtrack of utterly uplifting future pop and disco dynamics, all with a touch of alternative psychedelia for good measure. The journey has seen the duo make a continuing impact, twice landing
Hottest Record for their collabs amidst broader support for their own tracks at
Radio 1, completing a
UK / European arena tour with
5 Seconds to Summer, playing a major outdoor
London show with
Kygo, and joining subfocus on-stage at
Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
But that’s just the first phase of AR/CO’s rise. The duo are set to build upon those impressive foundations and soar even higher in 2024, starting today with the release of their new single ‘Cherry Lips’. LISTEN HERE.
From its engaging early lyric “We’ll lose our money out in Vegas,” ‘Cherry Lips’ is an anthem for free-spirited fun with the duo’s sun-kissed shared vocals exulting all-night partying, falling in love and life-affirming adventures. That liberated vibe is sent into the stratosphere by the maximalist sound: its celebratory chorus supported by instantly seductive melody, blissfully bouncy beats and classic piano house keys.
AR/CO commented, “These songs of celebration are really connecting in our personal as well as musical lives, and the fact they bring us both so much joy to live with is the indicator for a good thing going. Cherry Lips is youthful and a hell of a good time, like the whole AR/CO theme. It’s just another chapter in our bonkers but fun world. We think everyone can connect with its free spiritedness like we do.”
While AR/CO have only released a handful of solo tracks – including ‘Night Feels’ and ‘Call Me By Name’ – they’ve already generated a strong following with 2.5 million monthly listeners at Spotify alone. Their combination of inspiring positivity, sheer energy and instant earworm hooks has made them one of the UK’s go-to collaborators, with features and collaborations with an A-Z of major names – including Don Diablo, The Stickmen Project, Sub Focus, 220 KID, Tiesto, Kx5, Hayden James,Franky Wah, Will Clarke and Jaded – constantly putting them in the spotlight.
AR/CO duo Mali-Koa and Leo Stannard started the project as their own personal escape from the claustrophobia of the pandemic era. The songs they wrote felt so life-affirming that they felt compelled to take them to a world that needed a similar release from the realities of day-to-day life. While they were casual friends, they had never really performed or travelled together so it took a leap of faith to put their full focus on AR/CO. But those songs meant everything to them, so they felt compelled to push forwards and their dedication was rewarded with a big reaction from fans, fellow artists and tastemakers alike.
AR/CO’s accomplishment, personality and confidence gives them a natural star aura and now they’re set to take that big stage experience to their intimate debut UK headline tour. Remaining tickets for the following shows are available HERE.
FEBRUARY
15th – Manchester, YES – basement
16th – Bristol, Louisiana
21st – London, Colours Hoxton
