Intimacy (album)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Intimacy
Studio album from Bloc Party

Publication
(s)

August 21, 2008

admission

February - June 2008

Label (s) Wichita

Format (s)

Download • CD • Vinyl

Genre (s)

Indie rock • alternative dance

Title (number)

11

running time

48:08

production

Jacknife Lee • Paul Epworth

Studio (s)

Olympic Studios , London • The Garage, Kent • The Pool, Miloco Studios, London

chronology
A Weekend In The City
(2012) 		Intimacy Four
(2012)
Single releases
August 11, 2008 Mercury
October 20, 2008 Talons
October 26, 2009 One month off

Intimacy ( German: " Intimität " ) is the third studio album by the British indie rock band Bloc Party . It was first published as a download on the band's website on August 21, and it was released on CD almost two months later, on October 24, 2008.

Background information

Even in the previous album, the band's music was underlaid with electronic influences, but the band didn't dare to bring the instrumentation further into the electronic field. That changed with the release of the single Flux , which was included on the re-release of the predecessor. The song gave the band the opportunity to go stylistically in any direction.

Secret recording sessions were held in the south east of England in mid-2008. The band aimed at a similar working process as the single Flux , which was completed within a week. It took two weeks for Intimacy to be completed . The producers of the previous albums Paul Epworth and Jacknife Lee joined the production team because the band felt they had "unfinished business" with the two. Kele Okereke explained that two different producers also left scope for a wide variety of musical influences. Epworth focused on the sound of the songs, which should keep the dynamics of a live band, while Lee steered the development of the sound in the electronic direction by creating songs with the band. The producers each worked on five of the original ten songs in the work.

According to Okereke, the band wanted to bring their music towards R&B and electronica by combining the harshness of Silent Alarm with the experiences of recording A Weekend in the City . The front man took inspiration from the Siouxsie-and-the-Banshees song Peek-A-Boo and wanted to create a “rock interpretation of dance music ”.

Brass and a chamber choir were hired as additional musicians for the instrumentation. Drum computers and distorted guitars were used more heavily than in their predecessors. Okereke's voice was also used as an instrument in some songs, through the use of loops or vocoders .

promotion

Bloc Party will play songs from the Intimacy album shortly after its release at Reading Festival .

After the recordings, Bloc Party went on tour in North America and some European summer festivals. One of the recorded tracks, Mercury , was released as the first single in the UK on August 11, 2008. It reached number 16 in the single charts. On August 18th, Bloc Party announced the completion of the album and a release within the next 60 hours via their webcast . The band decided to take this step to revive the importance of an album release - in times of the great reach of the Internet. The album was finally released on August 21st.

The album title Intimacy should surprise people interested in the album:

“You immediately think of weeping ballads. You don't expect anything harsh or ugly. But that's relationships. It's not just about the good times. "

- Kele Okereke, Bloc Party

Texts

Kele Okereke, front man of Bloc Party.

Intimacy's lyrics were inspired by the breakup of a relationship between singer Kele Okereke. He explained to Rolling Stone that he did not want to content the audience with typical heartbreak clichés, but wanted to bring his own, real emotions into the pieces. Three songs refer to Greek mythology: Ares was named after the god of war, Trojan Horse after the Trojan horse of the Greeks, and Zephyrus after the wind deity Zephyr. The narrative of the songs always revolves around two people and focuses on the relationships between friends, lovers and enemies.

Biko means “loved one” in Igbo - a language spoken in Nigeria, Okereke's homeland. The term is used when imploring someone to do something. Okereke denied that the song was named after the murdered civil rights activist Steve Biko . One Month Off's text deals with a relationship with a younger and unfaithful person, while Zephyrus deals with an ignored and disregarded apology. The lyrics of the last song Ion Square are based on the poem "I Carry Your Heart With Me" by EE Cummings .

illustration

The album cover for Intimacy shows a close-up of the mouth area of ​​two faces, their lips almost touching. This expression of intimacy ( intimacy ) is also found in the booklet of the album again, where images of hands, found stress on skin and go through hair. Overall, the booklet is kept very short, because it contains neither lyrics nor acknowledgments, only the credits are listed.

criticism

The reviews of Intimacy were mostly positive.

“In addition to the narrative new territory, the fresh sound design is also fascinating. With great enthusiasm for experimentation, synth pads, reverb effects, sampled voices and phobic sci-fi sounds à la John Carpenter have been accommodated here, which are often reminiscent of Portishead's Third. In any case, the present work relates to A Weekend in the City like a cinema to a short story collection ... Either way, Bloc Party remain masters of dialectics: hectic beats vs. Melancholy, areas vs. Glockenspiel, technoid cold vs. warm vocals, electronics vs. Skirt. That this works is still a small, post-modern miracle in 2008. "

- Matthias Von Viereck, Laut.de

Track list

Intimacy - Standard Edition 
No. title Songwriter production length
1. Ares Kele Okereke • Russell Lissack • Gordon Moakes • Matt Tong Jacknife Lee 3:30
2. Mercury Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong lee 3:53
3. Halo Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong Paul Epworth 3:36
4th Biko Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong lee 5:01
5. Trojan Horse Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong Epworth 3:32
6th Signs Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong lee 4:40
7th One month off Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong Epworth 3:39
8th. Zephyrus Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong lee 4:35
9. Talons Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong Epworth 4:43
10. Better Than Heaven Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong lee 4:22
11. Ion Square Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong lee 6:33
Overall length: 48:04
Intimacy - Deluxe Edition 
No. title Songwriter production length
12. Letter To My Son Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong Epworth 4:26
13. Your Visits Are Getting Shorter Okereke • Lissack • Moackes • Tong lee 4:39

Chart placements

Charts Top ranking Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK) Germany (GfK) 18th (2 weeks) 2
United Kingdom (OCC) United Kingdom (OCC) 8th (9 weeks) 9
United States (Billboard) United States (Billboard) 15th (1 week) 1

occupation

Tape:

  • Kele Okereke - vocals, guitar, loops
  • Russell Lissack - guitar
  • Gordon Moakes - bass, backing vocals, synthesizer, glockenspiel, drum computer, sampler
  • Matt Tong - drums, drum machine, backing vocals

Brass:

  • Avshalom Caspi - arrangements
  • Guy Barker - Trumpet
  • Paul Archibald - trumpet
  • Sid Gault - Trumpet
  • Derek Watkins - trumpet
  • Christopher Dean - trombone
  • Roger Harvey - trombone
  • Dan Jenkins - trombone
  • Colin Sheen - trombone

Chamber choir :

  • James Jarvis - conductor
  • The Exmoor Singers Of London

Production:

  • Paul Epworth - producer
  • Jacknife Lee - producer, programming
  • Sam Bell - recording, programming
  • Mark Rankin - recordings
  • Phil Rose - recordings (choir and wind instruments)
  • Matt Wiggins - recordings
  • Tom Hough - recordings
  • Alan Moulder - Mixing
  • Darren Lawson - Mixing
  • Guy Davie - Mastering

Artwork:

  • Perry Curties - Photographs
  • Rob Crane - design

Intimacy Remixed

"Intimacy Remixed"
Remix album from Bloc Party

Publication
(s)

May 11, 2009

Label (s) Wichita Recordings

Format (s)

CD, download, LP

Genre (s)

Alternative dance, dance, house

Title (number)

13

running time

65:15

production

Various

chronology
"Silent Alarm Remixed"
(2005) 		"Intimacy Remixed" -

The album was released on May 11, 2009 as a remix compilation. The original tracks of the deluxe edition have been revised by various dance acts and DJs, including Armand Van Helden , Mogwai and the Filthy Dukes . Signs' Armand Van Helden remix was released as a promo single.

The cover of Bloc Party's second remix album is the exact negative of the original cover .

Track list

  1. "Ares" (Villains Remix) - 5:31
  2. "Mercury" (Hervé Is In Disarray Remix) - 4:49
  3. "Halo" (We Have Band Dub) - 4:34
  4. "Biko" (Mogwai Remix) - 4:24
  5. "Trojan Horse" (John B. Remix) - 6:53
  6. "Signs" (Armand Van Helden Remix) - 5:47
  7. "One Month Off" (Filthy Dukes Remix) - 5:47
  8. "Zephyrus" (Phase One Remix) - 4:10
  9. "Talons" (Phones RIP Remix) - 5:16
  10. "Better Than Heaven" (No Age Remix) - 3:01
  11. "Ion Square" (Banjo Or Freakout Remix) - 4:24
  12. "Letter to My Son" (Gold Panda Remix) - 5:33
  13. "Your Visits Are Getting Shorter" (Optothetic Remix) - 5:06

Chart placements

Charts Top ranking Weeks
Chart placements
United Kingdom (OCC) United Kingdom (OCC) 79 (1 week) 1

single

The Single Signs (Armand Van Helden Remix) did not reach the top 100. It reached number 115 in the UK.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shadow play: How Bloc Party reinvented their sound. In: The Independent. October 20, 2008, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  2. ^ Greg Cochrane: Bloc Party singer not 'content'. In: BBC Radio 1 - Newsbeat. December 8, 2008, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b c Fender.com: Bloc Party. First things first, fast things first ( Memento from March 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Sam Inglis: Paul Epworth. Producing Almost Everyone. In: Sound On Sound. January 2009, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  5. ↑ teletext: Bloc Party get intimate ( Memento from September 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Chris Cottingham: Bloc Party “I feel like we could do anything” Kele Okereke on synths, heartbreak and crap rock bands. In: Dummy Magazine. February 16, 2009, archived from the original on April 14, 2013 ; accessed on May 1, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke talks life, love, music and Ultimate Fighting. ( Memento from July 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ a b Surprise party - Bloc Party interview. In: The Scotsman . September 12, 2008, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  9. ^ Matthias von Viereck: From Greek legends and postmodern miracles. In: Laut.de. October 2008, accessed September 5, 2016 (review).
  10. ↑ Intimacy in the German charts (GfK)
  11. ↑ a b Intimacy in the UK charts (OCC)
  12. ↑ Intimacy (album) in the US album charts (Billboard)
  13. ↑ ChartsPlus (Ed.): Official Singles Chart: For the week ending May 2, 2009 . No. 401 . Milton Keynes, S. 3 .

Web links