Colonia (A Camp album)
Colonia | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 28 January 2009 | |||
Recorded | April 2007 – August 2008 | |||
Genre | Alternative | |||
Label |
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Producer | ||||
A Camp chronology | ||||
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Singles from Colonia | ||||
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Colonia is the second studio album by
"Stronger Than Jesus" was released as the first single from Colonia on 19 January 2009. In Sweden, the song spent eleven weeks on the Sverigetopplistan chart, eventually peaking at number 8, making it their most successful single to date in the region.[2] "Love Has Left the Room" was released as the second single in the UK and Ireland, while "My America" became the second Swedish single.[3]
An
Background and production
Following the release of A Camp's self-titled debut album in 2001 and subsequent tours, Persson returned to her position as front-woman with The Cardigans for the release of Long Gone Before Daylight (2003) and Super Extra Gravity (2005). When the band ceased all promotional activities following a South American festival tour in September 2006, Persson decided to revisit the A Camp project with the view of releasing a new studio album by 2008.
"We were talking about the strange phenomenon of
see colors when they hear music. All of our fantasies would somehow be summed up in a word."[4]
—Nina Persson on the meaning behind the title Colonia.
The initial demo sessions were met with frustration, however, when Persson struggled to find the right framework to produce a new A Camp record, with Persson admitting "[the first A Camp album] was like my perfect country record. I didn't want this one to sound anything like the first, because that would have cheapened it. And I didn't want it to sound like a Cardigans album. It took a long time to work out what to do next and figure out what songs would be suitable. I ended up going back in time for the answer."[5]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | C[7] |
BBC Music | (favourable)[8] |
Entertainment Weekly | C+[9] |
Paste | 8.7/10[10] |
Pitchfork | 6.7/10[11] |
PopMatters | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Slant Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Yahoo! Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Inspiration came following a safari trip to South Africa in early 2007. "I went there specifically to get away from writing songs, but being among the lions made me think of an old-fashioned empire - and that led to the idea of the decadence of old kings and queens."[5]
The recording of a second A Camp album was officially confirmed by Persson in an interview with Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter in May 2007. The interview stated that, mere weeks after recording had started, half a dozen backing tracks were completed and that these were "going to get lyrics about everything from Chinatown in New York to animals in Africa,"
The process of recording was undertaken by more that of "a proper band" [in comparison to the first A Camp record],
Of the duet with Swedish singer Nicolai Dunger, Persson has said "I love the idea of duets, but too many are simple love songs. I don't understand that - you know the singers aren't going to fuck, so it feels fake and cheesy. But I'd thought for a long time my voice would work well with Nicolai."[5]
Among the many notable guest musicians who contributed to the album are
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Niclas Frisk, Nina Persson and Nathan Larson.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "The Crowning" | 3:45 |
2. | "Stronger Than Jesus" | 3:05 |
3. | "Bear on the Beach" | 4:11 |
4. | "Love Has Left the Room" | 3:39 |
5. | "Golden Teeth and Silver Medals" (featuring Nicolai Dunger) | 4:41 |
6. | "Here are Many Wild Animals" | 3:53 |
7. | "Chinatown" | 4:43 |
8. | "My America" | 3:12 |
9. | "Eau de Colonia" | 0:29 |
10. | "I Signed the Line" | 2:57 |
11. | "It's Not Easy to Be Human" | 2:35 |
12. | "The Weed Had Got There First" | 6:39 |
13. | "Sympathy for Ned Merrill" (Bonus track, digital release) | 4:44 |
Total length: | 48:23 |
Covers EP
Personnel
- Nina Persson – vocals, piano, toy piano and drum loops
- Nathan Larson – electric, acoustic and bass guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, drum loops, backing vocals and additional mixing
- Niclas Frisk – electric and acoustic guitars, piano, organ, drum loops and backing vocals
- Kevin March – drums and percussion
Additional personnel
- Nicolai Dunger – vocals on "Golden Teeth and Silver Medals"
- Mark Linkous – slide guitar on "The Weed Had Got There First"
- James Iha – electric guitars
- Joan Wasser– violin and viola
- Jane Scarpantoni – cello
- Cat Martino – backing vocals and casiotone
- Anna Ternheim – backing vocals
- Jon Natchez – horns and woodwinds
- Kelly Pratt – horns and woodwinds
Technical personnel
- Geoff Sanoff – recording
- Al Weatherhead – mixing
- Fred Kevorkian – mastering
Design personnel
- Åbäke – artwork and design
Charts and certifications
Album
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Singles
Certifications
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Release history
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
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Scandinavia | 28 January 2009 | Universal | CD | 0-6025-17918-7-7 |
Ireland | 30 January 2009 | Reveal
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CD/LP | Reveal50CD/LP |
United Kingdom | 2 February 2009 | |||
Mainland Europe | 20 March 2009 | |||
United States | 28 April 2009 | Nettwerk | CD | 0-6700-30838-2-9 |
References
- ^ a b "Artist Website". Archived from the original on 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2008-08-18. Acamp.net. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
- ^ a b "Official Swedish Singles Chart" aCharts.us. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
- ^ "My America" Swedish 1-track digital single iTunes.com. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
- BlackBook. Archived from the originalon 23 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Cardigans - Forum". Cardigans.com.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Leibold, Don (2009-04-28). "The A.V. Club review". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ "BBC Music review". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ Melissa Maerz (2009-04-15). "Entertainment Weekly review". Ew.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-01. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ "Paste review". Pastemagazine.com. 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ Berman, Stuart (2009-04-29). "Pitchfork Media review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ Britt, Thomas. "PopMatters review". PopMatters. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ "Slant Magazine review". Slantmagazine.com. 2009-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ Zimmerman, Shannon. "Spin review". Spin.com. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ "Yahoo! Music review". Uk.launch.yahoo.com. 2011-04-20. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ a b "The Cardigans - Nina Persson breathes new life into A Camp". Cardigans.com.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – A Camp – Colonia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ Chart Log UK - 2009 Zobbel.de
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ "A Camp Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- IFPI. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
External links
- Colonia at Metacritic
- ACamp.net – official A Camp website
- A Camp's channel on YouTube
- Official "Stronger Than Jesus" music video on YouTube