Electronic Earth
| Electronic Earth | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 April 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2010–12 | |||
| Studio | Milmark Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:23 | |||
| Label | Syco | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Labrinth chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Electronic Earth | ||||
| ||||
Electronic Earth is the debut
Syco Music. The album peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart
.
Background
The album was released on 2 April 2012, by
UK Singles Chart;[1] "Earthquake", which was released on 23 October 2011, reaching a peak position of number two;[2] and "Last Time", which was released on 18 March 2012.[3]
The title and release date of Electronic Earth were confirmed via Labrinth's official Twitter account on 19 December 2011.[4] The official artwork was unveiled in February 2012.[5] The album was originally due for release on 12 March, but was later pushed back, being released on 2 April 2012.[6] The album was set for release in the United States on 11 December 2012, in a joint deal between Syco Music and Capitol Records. Three extra tracks were added to the release for the American market - Labrinth's collaboration with Devlin, "Let it Go"; a special version of Tinie Tempah's smash hit single "Written in the Stars" featuring both Labrinth and original collaborator Eric Turner; and "Teardrop", a collaboration with a number of fellow urban artists, produced as the official single for the Children in Need telethon of 2011.[7]
Title
Speaking to Blues & Soul in January 2012, Labrinth stated: "Basically 'Electronic Earth' as a title represents musically where I'm heading to as an artist. In that I wanna be able to make both acoustic and electronic music side-by-side. You know, on one side you have artists like Adele who's very much on an acoustic vibe, and then on the other you have like maybe Justice who are a kind of electro-house band. And to me, what I'm about as a musician is joining those two worlds TOGETHER... So yeah, in that way 'Electronic Earth' does truly represent me as both an artist AND a producer."[8]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| 4Music |   [9] |
| BBC Music | (favourable)[10] |
| Digital Spy | [11] |
| The Guardian | [12] |
| The Independent | [13] |
| NME | (4/10)[14] |
Electronic Earth has received mixed responses. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 for reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 55, based on 8 reviews, which indicates "Mixed or Average reviews".[15] Lewis Corner of music blog Digital Spy gave the album four out of five stars, pointing out that while "Labrinth's lyrics are far from groundbreaking", [he's] "the one artist Cowell has on his label who has the X Factor in abundance".[11] Reviewing the album for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis gave Electronic Earth 3 out of 5 stars, claiming that "there are moments when Electronic Earth is nearly as audacious as Labrinth thinks it is".[12] Killian Fox for the publication's sister newspaper The Observer claims that on Electronic Earth Labrinth "has high ambitions but falls disappointingly short".[16] The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 32,281 copies in its first week.[17]
Singles
- "UK Singles Chart, becoming the third most successful single from the album.
- "UK Singles Chart, becoming the second most successful single from the album. The track features vocals from rapper Tinie Tempah.
- "UK Singles Chart, becoming the fourth most successful single from the album.
- "UK Singles Chart, the first track from the album to miss the Top 10.[18]
- "UK Singles Chart, becoming the worst performing single from the album, and the first to miss the Top 40.
- "UK Singles Chart, earning Labrinth his first ever number-one single, and becoming the highest performing single from the album. The track features vocals from singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé.
Promotional songs
- "Climb on Board" was planned to be released on 30 March 2012 as the fourth single of the album. The release was postponed, ultimately cancelled, and eventually replaced with "Express Yourself". However, the song was given a release as a free Amazon.com download prior to album release.[19]
- "Up in Flames" (featuring Devlin and Tinchy Stryder), one of the two original bonus tracks in the deluxe version of the album (along with "T.O.P."), was released as a free download through his website and his SoundCloud page.[20] Labrinth has also published a behind-the-scenes video to YouTube through his channel of the song being recording. The video itself simulates a VHS tape recording with many glitches.[21]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Climb on Board" | Timothy McKenzie, Marc Williams |
| 3:58 |
| 2. | "Earthquake" (featuring Tinie Tempah) |
| Labrinth | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Last Time" |
|
| 4:23 |
| 4. | "Treatment" (featuring Etta Bond) |
|
| 4:30 |
| 5. | "Express Yourself" |
| Labrinth | 4:03 |
| 6. | "Let the Sun Shine" | McKenzie |
| 2:59 |
| 7. | "Beneath Your Beautiful" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
|
| 4:31 |
| 8. | "Sundown" |
|
| 5:06 |
| 9. | "Sweet Riot" | McKenzie | Labrinth | 5:02 |
| 10. | "Vultures" |
|
| 4:17 |
| Total length: | 43:23 | |||
| Labrinth | 5:14 | ||
| 12. | "T.O.P." | McKenzie |
| 3:18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Up in Flames" (featuring Devlin and Tinchy Stryder) |
| Labrinth | 4:05 |
| 14. | "Last Time" (Knife Party Remix) | McKenzie, Williams |
| 5:16 |
| 15. | "Earthquake" (Noisia Remix) (featuring Tinie Tempah) |
|
| 6:29 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Earthquake" (All Stars Remix) (featuring Tinie Tempah, Kano, Wretch 32 and Busta Rhymes) |
| Labrinth | 5:14 |
| 2. | "T.O.P." | McKenzie |
| 3:18 |
| 3. | "Up in Flames" (featuring Devlin and Tinchy Stryder) |
| Labrinth | 4:05 |
| 4. | "Earthquake" (Noisia Remix) (featuring Tinie Tempah) |
|
| 6:29 |
| 5. | "Earthquake" (Benny Benassi Remix) (featuring Tinie Tempah) |
|
| 5:00 |
| 6. | "Let the Sun Shine" (Joey Negro Radio Mix) | McKenzie |
| 3:13 |
| 7. | "Let the Sun Shine" (Wideboys Remix) | McKenzie |
| |
| 8. | "Last Time" (Knife Party Remix) |
|
| 5:16 |
| 9. | "Last Time" (R3hab Remix) |
|
|
- Sample credits
- "Express Yourself" contains a sample of "Express Yourself" as written by Charles Wright and performed by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band and "Funky Drummer" as written and performed by James Brown.
- "Sundown" contains lyrics from the 1970 song "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell.
Personnel
|
|
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Certifications
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 2 April 2012 | Syco Music
|
CD
|
[30][31] |
| 2CD | [32][33] | |||
| 10CD | [34] |
References
- ^ "9th October 2010". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ^ "5th November 2011". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ^ "Labrinth Announces Details of New Single 'Last Time'". Capital FM. 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ^ Labrinth (19 December 2011). "Album: Electronic earth date: march 19th.... Who's ready!!!!". Twitter. Archived from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ "Labrinth New Album 'Electronic Earth' Album Cover Revealed". Capital FM. 8 February 2012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- Play.com. Archivedfrom the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- ^ "Archived copy". iTunes. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Stephen Clark - Design. "Labrinth: Ready for the launch". bluesandsoul.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ "Album review: Labrinth's Electronic Earth". 4music.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ "BBC - Music - Review of Labrinth - Electronic Earth". bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ a b Lewis Corner (28 March 2012). "Labrinth: 'Electronic Earth' - Album review". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ a b Alexis Petridis (29 March 2012). "Labrinth: Electronic Earth – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 December 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "Album: Labrinth, Electronic Earth (Syco)". The Independent. 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ "NME Reviews - Labrinth - 'Electronic Earth' - NME.COM". NME.COM. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Reviews for Electronic Earth by Labrinth - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Killian Fox (1 April 2012). "Labrinth: Electronic Earth – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ Jones, Alan (9 April 2012). "Official Charts Analysis: Katy Perry album hits 1m sales, Nicki Minaj LP shifts 47k in debut week". Music Week. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Labrinth. Express Yourself « ITNO". Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
- Amazon.com. 9 March 2012. Archivedfrom the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ "SoundCloud - Hear the world's sounds". SoundCloud.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Up in Flames behind the scenes". LabrinthTV. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2010 – via YouTube.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Electronic Earth (Deluxe Edition) by Labrinth". iTunes. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Labrinth "Electronic Earth Deluxe Edition"". Labrinth Global Store GB. Archived from the original on 26 April 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Labrinth – Electronic Earth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Labrinth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2012". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "British album certifications – Labrinth – Electronic Earth". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- Play.com. Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- HMV Group. Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- Play.com. Archivedfrom the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- HMV Group. Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "Labrinth "Electronic Earth - Signed Limited Edition Boxset"". Labrinth Global Store. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
