This gentle piano interlude comes before a major lyrical and tonal shift in the album. As Yannis explained in an interview with DIY Magazine:

“‘Ikaria’ is named after Icarus, and it segues into the next track. ‘Dreaming Of’ is the end of Side One and then you go into Side Two which is starting to move away from Britain and the context of [modern society] and into this departure. All these tracks have more links to Greece.”

“Ikaria”, he explained to NME in a track-by-track interview, is a Greek island named for the mythological figure Icarus (also spelled “Ikaros”) who fell into the Aegean sea near this island after he flew too close to the sun on wings held together by wax. The following song, “10,000 Feet” alludes heavily to the story of Icarus.

It ties in with Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1’s theme of disillusionment with technology. Yannis was quoted in Apple Music’s track-by-track notes as saying:

“Icarus is a great metaphor and myth for what’s happening with the world right now, I think. Where through all our technological processes and supposed advancement, we’re actually at the point where we might undo ourselves, facing extinction.”

“Ikaria” was written at least as far back as Foals' What Went Down era. It plays about 17 minutes into the short Making Of video that foals released for that album, Crème Anglaise.