Clarity (album)
| Clarity | ||||
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| Studio album by Zedd | ||||
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Publication |
October 2, 2012 |
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| Label (s) | Interscope Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, digital |
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Title (number) |
10 (+ bonus tracks) |
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running time |
45:47 (+ bonus tracks) |
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| occupation | Zedd | |||
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Lucky Date (Co), |
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Clarity ( dt. : Purity ') is the debut of the German - Russian EDM - musician Zedd .
Creation and artwork
With the exception of two remixes, all songs on the album were written by Zedd , alone or in cooperation with changing authors. The American singer-songwriter Matthew Koma contributed most often with two pieces . All songs were produced by Zedd alone, with the exception of two tracks that Lucky Date and Skrillex are co-producers. The album was mastered by Huntley Miller (HM Mastering in Minneapolis ), Skrillex , Rob Swire and Zedd. The album was arranged by Ryan Shanahan and Jesse Taub. With the exception of one remix, all songs were mixed by Zedd, one remix was mixed by Skrillex. The album was released under the Interscope Records music label . On the cover of the album - next to the artist name and song title - you can see a visual cross with the Zedd logo as the center. The cover picture is identical to that of the single of the same name, only the color scheme is different. The artwork of the cover picture is by David D. Navarro, the layout by Liam Ward.
Publication and promotion
The first release of Clarity took place on October 2, 2012 as the digital release in North America and as a physical release in the UK. The release in Germany took place three days later on October 5, 2012. The album consists of ten new studio recordings. In addition to the regular album release, a "Deluxe Edition" was released on September 24, 2013. This includes four additional bonus tracks, two of which are only remixes of previously published titles by other artists. In addition to the worldwide released deluxe edition, there are also many regional releases of the album, all of which differ in the number and selection of bonus tracks.
content
All lyrics are written entirely in English. In Shave It Up is a remix of the already appeared in the previous year as EP piece Shave It . The song Alive (Zedd Remix) is a remix of the single release of the same name of the Australian pop duo Empire of the Sun . The song Breakn 'a Sweat (Zedd Remix) contains an audio sample of The Doors song Light My Fire and a sample of a Jim Morrison interview from 1969. Musically, the songs move in the realm of EDM and House . For many of his songs, Zedd was supported by well-known guest singers such as Ellie Goulding and Ryan Tedder . (see contributors)
| # | title | Author (s) | Producer (s) | length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hourglass (feat. LIZ) | Elizabeth Nicole Abrams, Zedd | Zedd | 5:13 |
| 2 | Shave it up | Zedd | Zedd | 3:10 |
| 3 | Spectrum (feat. Matthew Koma ) | Matthew Koma , Zedd | Zedd | 4:03 |
| 4th | Lost at Sea (feat. Ryan Tedder ) | Ryan Tedder , Zedd | Zedd | 3:45 |
| 5 | Clarity (feat. Foxes ) | Holly Hafferman , Matthew Koma, Porter Robinson , Zedd | Zedd | 4:31 |
| 6th | Codec | Zedd | Zedd | 6:01 |
| 7th | Stache | Zedd | Zedd | 4:04 |
| 8th | Fall Into the Sky (with Lucky Date feat. Ellie Goulding ) | Lucky Date, Ellie Goulding , Zedd | Lucky Date, Zedd | 3:37 |
| 9 | Follow You Down ( feat.Bright Lights ) | Heather Bright, Phil Schwan, Zedd | Zedd | 5:47 |
| 10 | epos | Zedd | Zedd | 5:36 |
| Japanese bonus tracks | ||||
| 11 | Spectrum (Livetune Remix) (feat.Matthew Koma & Hatsune Miku ) | Matthew Koma, Zedd | Zedd | 5:57 |
| 12 | Spectrum (acoustic version) (feat.Matthew Koma ) | Matthew Koma, Zedd | Zedd | 1:50 |
| 13 | Clarity (Zedd Union Mix) ( feat.Foxes ) | Holly Hafferman, Matthew Koma, Porter Robinson, Zedd | Zedd | 3:27 |
| Deluxe edition | ||||
| 11 | Stay the Night (feat. Hayley Williams ) | Carah Faye, Benjamin Eli Hanna, Hayley Williams , Zedd | Zedd | 3:37 |
| 12 | Push Play (feat. Miriam Bryant ) | Miriam Bryant , Victor Radstrom, Zedd | Zedd | 3:37 |
| 13 | Alive (Zedd Remix) (Performed by Empire of the Sun ) | Steven Bach, Nicholas Littlemore , Peter Mayes, Jonathan Sloan, Luke Steele , Zedd | Zedd (Remix) | 3:45 |
| 14th | Breakn 'a Sweat (Zedd Remix) (Performed by Skrillex & The Doors ) | John Densmore , Robert Krieger , Ray Manzarek , Sonny Moore , Jim Morrison | Skrillex, Zedd (Remix) | 4:33 |
Single releases
A year before the album was released, the single Shave It Up was released on October 2, 2011 . The single Spectrum was also released four months earlier, on June 4, 2012 . The third single, Stache, followed on October 9, 2012 . On November 12th 2012 the fourth single Clarity . It followed on September 10, 2013 Stay the Night and the last single to date was released in October 2013 Push Play . The following singles were able to place themselves in the charts:
Singles in the charts
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
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 AT
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 CH
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 UK
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 US
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| 2012 |
Spectrum Clarity |
DE80 (1 week) DE |
AT30 (10 weeks) AT |
- | - |
US-  |
First published: June 4th, 2012
Sales: + 500,000; feat. Matthew coma |
|
Clarity Clarity |
DE94 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK27 (14 weeks)UK |
US8th  × 3
(33 weeks)US |
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| 2013 |
Stay the Night Clarity (Deluxe Edition) |
DE15th (19 weeks)DE |
AT12 (17 weeks) AT |
CH56 (5 weeks) CH |
UK2 (12 weeks)UK |
US18th × 2
(22 weeks)US |
First published: September 10, 2013
Sales: + 2,675,000; feat. Hayley Williams |
Contributors
- Elizabeth Nicole Abrams (LIZ): author , vocals (song 1)
- Steven Bach: Author (Song 13)
- Heather Bright (Bright Lights): writer, vocals (song 9)
- Miriam Bryant : writer, vocals (song 12)
- RJ Colston: Backing vocals (songs 5 and 8)
- John Densmore : Author (Song 14)
- Carah Faye: Author (Song 11)
- Kevin Feller: Backing vocals (Song 5)
- Foxes : vocals (song 5)
- Ghostwriter : Tonmeister (song 5)
- Ellie Goulding : writer, vocals (song 8)
- Holly Hafferman : Author (Song 5)
- Benjamin Eli Hanna: Author (Song 11)
- Mitch Kenny: arrangement (song 9)
- Matthew Koma : vocals (song 3) , composer (song 3 and 5)
- Ashley Krajewski: Tonmeister (song 8)
- Robert Krieger : Author (song 14)
- Nicholas Littlemore : Author (Song 13)
- Lucky Date: Writer, Vocalist, Record Producer (Song 8)
- Ray Manzarek : Author (Song 14)
- Peter Mayes: Author (Song 13)
- Huntley Miller: Mastering
- Sonny Moore : Author (Song 14)
- Jim Morrison : Author (Song 14)
- Malachi Mott: background vocals (song 5)
- David D. Navarro: Artwork (Cover)
- Priya Prins: Backing vocals (Song 5)
- Victor Radstrom: author, sound engineer (song 12)
- Drew Ressler: Backing vocals (Song 5)
- Porter Robinson : writer, backing vocals (Song 5)
- Phil Schwan: Author (Song 9)
- Ryan Shanahan: arrangement (song 1–3, 6–7 and 9–12) , vocal editing (song 4–5 and 8)
- Skrillex : Mixing, mastering, music producer, sound engineer (song 14)
- Jonathan Sloan: Author (Song 13)
- Luke Steele : Author (Song 13)
- Rob Swire : Mastering (Song 11-12)
- Jesse Taub: arrangement (songs 1–7 and 9–12) , background vocals (songs 5–6 and 11)
- Ryan Tedder : writer, vocals (song 4)
- Liam Ward: Layout (Cover)
- Hayley Williams : writer, vocals (song 11)
- Zedd: Mixing (song 1–13) , author (song 1–12) , DJ (song 1–14) , background vocals (song 1 and 5) , mastering, music producer (song 1–14) , vocal editing (song 4– 5 and 8)
- Interscope Records : music label
- Metropolis Mastering: Mastering
reception
Reviews
Philip Sherburne of Spin magazine gave it 5/10 points, saying: “45 minutes of twists, turns, come-ups and kodas will be exhausting. The production perspective gives little innovation. ”He also complains about the“ millions of occurrences of sirens, hissing and bubbling synthesizers. ”
Will Robinson from Sputnikmusic awarded 2/5 stars. He said: "The quality of Clarity is there, but it is low and not sufficient to keep the album afloat."
Allmusic's Andy Kellman said the album would be enjoyed by those who like good “handmade” dance pop . These people should follow up on Zedd. He awarded four stars out of five.
Peter Kandunias from Gigwise awarded 4/10 stars, he said "Everything sounds incredibly the same, the songs all blur into one and thus Clarity lacks any clarity."
Daniel Shaw from EDM Insider awarded the grade A +, on the grounds that "Zedd is not only looking for great sounds in his creative work, he manages to create a complete album."
Michael Wakabayashi of Magnetic magazine said that you should buy the single "Clarity" on iTunes first , and then if you love it, buy the entire album. This one won't disappoint.
According to a writer from Dancing Astronaut , the album is more of a big narrative than an arbitrary compilation, making the album Justices † similar. All in all, a legitimate artist must be willing to take risks, and Zedd shows that the risks taken are worth it. The author awarded 4.75 stars out of five.
A writer from ElectroJams considered the album to be one of the strongest releases of the year in the dance genre, if not the best. You can tell, however, that Zedd is going a little more towards the mainstream.
Charts and sales
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Clarity reached position 38 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and stayed on the charts for a total of 23 weeks. For Zedd it is the first chart success in the US album charts. The album sold around 208,000 copies in the United States.
Individual evidence
- ^ Zedd - Clarity. discogs.com, accessed September 10, 2014 .
- ^ Clarity - Zedd. itunes.apple.com, accessed September 10, 2014 .
- ^ Clarity - Zedd. itunes.apple.com, archived from the original on December 1, 2012 ; Retrieved December 1, 2012 .
- ↑ Chart sources (singles): DE AT CH UK US
- ^ Zedd, 'Clarity' (Interscope). spin.com, accessed September 10, 2014 .
- ^ Zedd - Clarity. sputnikmusic.com, accessed September 10, 2014 .
- ^ Zedd - Clarity. allmusic.com, accessed September 10, 2014 .
- ^ Zedd - Clarity (Interscope). gigwise.com, accessed September 10, 2014 .
- ^ Daniel Shaw: Zedd - Clarity (Album Review) . ( Memento of October 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) edminsider.com, October 4, 2012, accessed on August 30, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Michael Wakabayashi: Music Review: Zedd “Clarity” via Interscope Records. Magnetic, October 3, 2012, accessed October 30, 2012 .
- ↑ Zedd's 'Clarity': a risky but successful release that moves dance music forward (album review). Dancing Astronaut, accessed October 30, 2012 .
- ^ Zedd - Clarity (Album Review). ElectroJams, October 3, 2012, accessed October 30, 2012 .
- ^ Zedd - Chart History. billboard.com, accessed September 10, 2014 .
- ↑ Zedd Zooms In at No. 1 on Top Dance / Electronic Albums. billboard.com, accessed April 1, 2017 .