Ki (album)
Ki | ||||
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3-D illustration by Konrad Palkiewicz. | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 25, 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2008 – 2009 at Devestate, Studio D, and the Factory | |||
Genre |
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Length | 66:50 | |||
Label | HevyDevy | |||
Producer | Devin Townsend | |||
Devin Townsend chronology | ||||
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Devin Townsend overall chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
InsideOut release of Ki is sold in a green slipcase bearing the Devin Townsend Project logo, designed by Travis Smith . |
Ki (/ˈkiː/ KEE)[1] is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on May 25, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records.
Townsend, the founder, songwriter, and frontman of
The album was written, produced, mixed, and co-engineered by Townsend, who also performed guitar and vocals. Townsend assembled a supporting group of Vancouver musicians including blues drummer Duris Maxwell, rock bassist Jean Savoie, keyboardist Dave Young, and guest vocalist Ché Aimee Dorval to play on the album. While some critics found the album uneven, Ki received generally positive reviews for its unexpected musical direction, along with its production, vocal dynamics, and mix of influences.
Background
After disbanding his extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and his progressive metal project The Devin Townsend Band in 2006, Townsend shaved off his trademark "skullet" hairstyle[2][3] and gave up alcohol and marijuana.[3] Townsend found it "disconcerting" that he had difficulty writing music without drugs, and that he had trouble identifying his purpose as a musician. He spent a year producing albums in absence of writing, but found it unrewarding and decided to "pick up the guitar and just write."[1] This began a period of self-discovery where he learned "how to create without drugs".[4]
Over two years, Townsend wrote over 60 songs, and found that they fit into "four distinct styles".[1] In March 2009, Townsend announced his plans for a four-album series called the Devin Townsend Project,[4] with the goal of clarifying his musical identity and being "accountable" for the persona he projects to the public.[1] Ki, the first album of the Devin Townsend Project, is written to "set the stage" for the subsequent albums.[4] The word "ki" represents the Japanese concept of "life force" (氣, "ki").[4] Townsend chose the name as an homage to the 1981 Kitarō album of the same name, which he "loved as a kid".[5]
The project's concept includes a different group of musicians for each album. For Ki, Townsend chose a group of musicians with whom he had not previously worked. He discovered Duris Maxwell, a blues drummer who has played with such acts as Heart, Jefferson Airplane, and Tommy Chong,[6] in a blues club in northern Canada.[4] Townsend was impressed by his energy and recruited him for Ki.[4] Townsend also chose Jean Savoie, a music store employee who plays in a Beatles cover band, to play bass on the album. Maxwell and Savoie were ideal for the album, Townsend explained, because they had little experience playing heavy music, and had a fresh perspective that fit with Ki's subtler sound.[4] Townsend also brought back Dave Young, an ambient keyboardist who had played in The Devin Townsend Band,[4] and recruited Vancouver artist Ché Aimee Dorval as a vocalist on several tracks. The album was primarily recorded, produced, and mixed from late 2008 to early 2009 at Devestate and Studio D; the drums were recorded at Factory Studios in Vancouver.[7]
Music and lyrical themes
Townsend channelled his new-found self-control and sobriety into Ki,
Ki was
Townsend described Ki as both the introduction and the moral to the "larger concept" of the Devin Townsend Project. The album's lyrical themes explore Townsend's inner demons, past addictions, self-acceptance, and his "newfound ability to say no."[4] The album opens with a brief instrumental that leads into "Coast", a quiet, bass-driven track that sets the stage for the album as a "metaphor for Devin's newfound restraint."[13] Townsend described it as "the intro to the story, quiet, dark, haunted and unsure".[4] The track builds in intensity toward the end with layers of vocals, but rather than exploding into Strapping Young Lad–style metal, fades into "loose, bluesy guitar work".[13] "Disruptr" has been described as "a coffee-house metal track", contrasting light instrumentation with heavy metal–style songwriting and vocals[13] in a way that one critic compared to Talking Heads.[14] "Gato" proceeds in a similar vein,[14] but is set apart with backing vocals by Dorval.[13] "Disruptr" and "Gato" continue the musical theme; each song builds in intensity toward the end but "stops and takes a deep breath" before proceeding.[4] The album then fades into "Terminal", an atmospheric track[14] with quiet vocals[13] that was co-written by keyboardist Dave Young.[4]
Townsend's restraint reaches a breaking point on "Heaven's End",[4] which Jon Wiederhorn of Revolver described as "a groovy pop song that morphs into a violent, acid-drenched nightmare."[8] It is followed by "Ain't Never Gonna Win", a live studio jam by the album's four musicians[4] which was described by David E. Gehlke of the online magazine Blistering as "trippy".[14] "Trainfire", a classic country–style song[14] inspired by Elvis Presley's cover of "Mystery Train",[3] addresses Townsend's former addiction to pornography, which he described as "this crazy, crack cocaine on the internet that nobody wants to talk about."[15] The song continues the album's theme of honesty and self-acceptance, both about pornography and musical tastes. Townsend explained the song's musical style, saying "yes, I like heavy music and am good at making it, but that is not all that I listen to, and that is not all that I want to play."[15]
The album's climax is found in the title track, described by the artist as "a personal breakthrough"
Release and artwork
Ki was released on Townsend's
The
Sales and critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [9] |
Blabbermouth.net | 7.5/10[22] |
Blistering | 7.5/10[14] |
BraveWords | 8/10[10] |
Chronicles of Chaos | 9.5/10[2] |
Decibel | [6] |
Metal Hammer | 8/10[23] |
Rock Sound | 7/10[24] |
Revolver | 3/5[8] |
Sputnikmusic | 3.5/5[13] |
Ki reached number 26 on the
Track listing
All tracks are written by Devin Townsend except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "A Monday" | 1:43 |
2. | "Coast" | 4:36 |
3. | "Disruptr" | 5:49 |
4. | "Gato" | 5:23 |
5. | "Terminal" (Townsend, Young) | 6:58 |
6. | "Heaven's End[30]" | 8:54 |
7. | "Ain't Never Gonna Win[31]" (Townsend, Maxwell, Savoie, Young) | 3:17 |
8. | "Winter" | 4:48 |
9. | "Trainfire" | 5:59 |
10. | "Lady Helen" | 6:05 |
11. | "Ki" | 7:21 |
12. | "Quiet Riot" | 3:02 |
13. | "Demon League" | 2:55 |
Total length: | 66:50 |
Personnel
Musicians
- engineering
- drums
- Jean Savoie – bass guitar
- Dave Young – keys, piano, ambience
Additional musicians
- Ché Aimee Dorval – additional vocals
- Ryan Dahle – additional vocals ("Gato")
- Bjorn Strid, Peter, Christopher, Grant, Corey, Jeremy, Ryan – additional vocals
Production
- Adrian Mottrim – recording assistance
- Mike St. Jean – preproduction assistance
- Brennan Chambers – mixing assistance
- Sheldon Zaharko – recording
- Ryan Dahle – production, mixing ("Quiet Riot")
- T-Roy – mastering
Release
- Konrad J. Palkiewicz – visual consulting, layout, artwork
- Erich Saide – photography
- Omer Cordell – photography
- Jeff Cohen – legal, management
- Mike Mowery – legal, management
Charts
Chart | Provider | Peak position |
---|---|---|
Finnish Albums Chart[25] | YLE
|
26 |
French Albums Chart[26] | SNEP
|
179 |
UK Indie Chart[27]
|
OCC
|
22 |
UK Rock Chart[28]
|
OCC
|
31 |
U.S. Top Heatseekers Chart[29]
|
Billboard | 69 |
References
- ^ a b c d Genghis & Ragman (May 10, 2009). "Podcast #80 – Idol". The Right to Rock. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Cairns, Daniel (May 29, 2009). "The Devin Townsend Project – Ki". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Munro, Tyler (May 21, 2009). "Interview with Devin Townsend]". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Devin Townsend to return this summer with 'Ki'". Blabbermouth.net. March 20, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ Townsend, Devin (June 15, 2011). "Question About Deconstruction!". HevyDevy Forums. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c Treppel, Jeff (August 2009). "Review: Devin Townsend – Ki". Decibel (58): 88.
- ^ Townsend, Devin (2009). Ki (booklet). Devin Townsend Project. Vancouver: HevyDevy Records. p. 12.
- ^ a b c d e Wiederhorn, Jon (August 2009). "Review: Devin Townsend Project – Ki". Revolver.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Popoff, Martin (April 29, 2009). "DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - Ki". BraveWords. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ Townsend, Devin (April 18, 2009). "Ki – Official Thread". HevyDevy Forums. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ Rausch, Jan (April 7, 2009). "Video interview with Devin Townsend". Toazted. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Munro, Tyler (May 28, 2009). "Devin Townsend Project – Ki Review". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gehlke, David E. (May 2009). "Review: Devin Townsend Project – Ki". Blistering. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ a b Cowan, Darren (June 2009). "Devin Townsend Project Feature Interview". Blistering. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- InsideOut Music (Germany). Retrieved April 28, 2009.[dead link]
- InsideOut Music. Archived from the originalon July 24, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2009.
- ^ KI~氣~/デヴィン・タウンゼント・プロジェクト (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
- ^ "Devin Townsend Project: 'Coast' video released". Blabbermouth.net. July 28, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- InsideOut Music (Shop). Archived from the originalon July 24, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ Townsend, Devin (January 30, 2009). "Ki". HevyDevy Forums. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ Ogle, Ryan (2009-07-13). "Ki Devin Townsend Project". Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ Lawson, Dom (July 2009). "Review: Devin Townsend – Ki". Metal Hammer (193): 93.
- ^ Alderslade, Merlin (June 2009). "Devin Townsend Project – Ki". Rock Sound (123): 83.
- ^ a b "Devin Townsend – Suomen virallinen lista". Finnish Charts. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ a b "Les charts français". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ a b "Top 30 Independent Label Albums". BBC Radio 1. May 31, 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
- ^ a b "Top 40 Rock Albums". BBC Radio 1. May 31, 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
- ^ a b "Devin Townsend Project: Ki First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. June 24, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ "Is it Heaven's end or Heaven send? I've heard this is a dispute about this and the booklet was miss-printed". Townsend has spelled this title "Heavens End" on message board posts. The album booklet, official MySpace page, official eBay page, and InsideOut Music press release spell it "Heaven Send". Townsend confirmed the official title is "Heaven's End".
- ^ The InsideOut Music press release spells this title "Ain't Never Gonna Win..." (with an ellipsis). The album booklet, official MySpace page, and official eBay page spell it without an ellipsis.
External links
- Devin Townsend (MySpace)
- Ki (InsideOut)