You're Dead!
You're Dead! | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 6, 2014 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:03 | |||
Label | Warp | |||
Producer | Flying Lotus | |||
Flying Lotus chronology | ||||
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Singles from You're Dead! | ||||
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You're Dead! is the fifth studio album by American music producer Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison), released on October 6, 2014 by Warp Records. Flying Lotus recorded the album at his home in Los Angeles, using Ableton Live and other instruments and software. Like his previous two albums Cosmogramma and Until the Quiet Comes, You're Dead! features extensive contributions from Thundercat, who plays bass guitar on nearly every track and provides vocals on several. It also features guest performances from Angel Deradoorian, Niki Randa, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Kamasi Washington, Jeff Lynne, Kimbra, Herbie Hancock, and Thundercat, along with Captain Murphy, Flying Lotus' rapper alter ego.
You're Dead was promoted with the single "
Background and recording
Ellison and
Music
You're Dead! is an electronic,[7] jazz,[7][8][9] jazz fusion[8] and hip hop[9] album. It is also a concept album[8] about death[10] and afterlife.[11] In an interview with Electronic Musician, Ellison said, "It's like, 'Hey, you're dead, who knows what's next, but our spirits live forever, and you lived through the good and bad sh*t,' not, 'Hey, you're dead, it's over.'"[6] The album has complex melodies, syncopated rhythms, and textured productions.[12]
"Theme", initially called "Jodorowsky", was the song that led into the concept of the album. "Cold Dead" started with an iPhone voice memo.[2] "Stirring" is a homage to Ellison's friend Nick Terry, who had then-recently died.[2] "Coronus, the Terminator" was the first song Ellison made in his new home; "Siren Song" was written for Pharrell.[2] "Eyes Above" has a beat that he created with FKA Twigs and Niki Randa.[13] "The Beyond", dedicated to "an unborn child", is inspired by Fantastic Planet.[2] According to Ellison, "Fkn Dead" was the most difficult song on the album to make, but the arrangement for "Turkey Dog Coma" was the most complex.[2][14] In "The Boys Who Died in Their Sleep", Ellison raps, under his alias Captain Murphy, about "being comfortable in a cloud where nothing ever happens", while naming OxyContin, Vicodin and Xanax.[4]
Artwork
The cover art for You're Dead! was designed by Japanese manga artist Shintaro Kago on the cover and inner sleeve, with further art being utilised in the accompanying live show. Much of the drawings featured men and women being disfigured and mutilated in unrealistic, hi-tech ways with a significant amount of gore and nudity.[6]
Release
The album's title and release date were announced on July 22, 2014.[15] On October 7, 2015, Flying Lotus released a deluxe version of the album containing the instrumentals and the previously Japanese exclusive bonus track "Protector".[16][17]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 8.4/10[18] |
Metacritic | 88/100[19] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [20] |
The A.V. Club | A−[21] |
The Guardian | [22] |
The Irish Times | [23] |
Mojo | [24] |
NME | 8/10[9] |
The Observer | [11] |
Pitchfork | 8.3/10[25] |
Q | [26] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
You're Dead! was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 36 reviews.[19] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[18]
Andy Kellman of
Nate Patrin of
Accolades
Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
The A.V. Club | Top 20 Albums of 2014 | 9
|
|
Clash | Top 40 Albums of 2014 | 2
|
|
Entertainment Weekly | Top 10 Albums of 2014 | 6
|
|
Gorilla vs. Bear | Top 35 Albums of 2014 | 12
|
|
The Guardian | Top 40 Albums of 2014 | 9
|
|
Pitchfork | Top 50 Albums of 2014 | 17
|
|
PopMatters | Top 80 Albums of 2014 | 3
|
|
Rolling Stone | Top 50 Albums of 2014 | 11
|
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Sputnikmusic | Top 50 Albums of 2014 | 1
|
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 19 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 17,000 copies in the United States.[41] In its second week, the album dropped to number 67 on the chart, selling 5,000 copies, bringing its total album sales to 22,000 copies.[42]
Track listing
All tracks produced by Flying Lotus.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Theme" | Steven Ellison | 1:24 |
2. | "Tesla" |
| 1:54 |
3. | "Cold Dead" |
| 1:34 |
4. | "Fkn Dead" |
| 0:40 |
5. | "Never Catch Me" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) |
| 3:54 |
6. | "Dead Man's Tetris" (featuring Captain Murphy and Snoop Dogg) |
| 2:25 |
7. | "Turkey Dog Coma" |
| 3:09 |
8. | "Stirring" |
| 0:30 |
9. | "Coronus, the Terminator" |
| 2:40 |
10. | "Siren Song" (featuring Angel Deradoorian) |
| 2:37 |
11. | "Turtles" |
| 2:06 |
12. | "Ready err Not" | Ellison | 1:45 |
13. | "Eyes Above" | Ellison | 1:12 |
14. | "Moment of Hesitation" |
| 2:18 |
15. | "Descent into Madness" (featuring Thundercat) |
| 1:27 |
16. | "The Boys Who Died in Their Sleep" (featuring Captain Murphy) | Ellison | 1:50 |
17. | "Obligatory Cadence" | Ellison | 2:56 |
18. | "Your Potential // The Beyond" (featuring Niki Randa) |
| 1:45 |
19. | "The Protest" | Ellison | 1:57 |
Total length: | 38:03 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
20. | "Protector" | Ellison | 2:12 |
Total length: | 40:15 |
Notes
- "Dead Man's Tetris" features uncredited vocals by Earl Sweatshirt[13]
Sample credits
- "Turtles" contains a sample of "L'Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo" composed and performed by Ennio Morricone.
- "Obligatory Cadence" contains a sample of "Green Dew" composed by C. Staker, performed by The French Ensemble.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[43]
Musicians
- Flying Lotus[a] – keyboards (tracks 1–9, 16, 19), sampling (tracks 1–3), backing vocals (tracks 1, 3–5, 17, 18), percussion (tracks 4, 15), synthesizers (track 6), vocals (tracks 6, 9, 15, 19)
- Justin Brown – drums (track 7)
- Ronald Bruner – drums (track 3)
- Taylor Cannizzaro – strings (track 18)
- Brandon Coleman – keyboards (tracks 3, 4, 7, 10, 11)
- Gene Coye – drums (tracks 2, 4, 14)
- Laura Darlington – flute (track 15), vocals (track 19)
- Angel Deradoorian – vocals (track 10), backing vocals (track 17)
- Arlene Deradoorian – backing vocals (tracks 10, 17)
- Miguel Atwood Ferguson – strings (tracks 7, 15, 19)
- Taylor Graves – keyboards (track 19)
- Herbie Hancock – keyboards (tracks 2, 14)
- Kimbra Johnson – vocals (track 19)
- Kendrick Lamar – vocals (track 5)
- Jeff Lynne – guitar (track 8)
- Deantoni Parks – drums (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10, 13, 19)
- Niki Randa – backing vocals (tracks 1, 10, 17), percussion (track 7), vocals
- Andres Renteria – percussion (tracks 1, 4, 7, 10, 14)
- Brendon Small – guitar (tracks 7, 10)
- Snoop Dogg – vocals (track 6)
- Thundercat – bass guitar (tracks 1–13, 15–19), guitar (track 4), backing vocals (tracks 5, 7, 17), vocals (track 15)
- Kamasi Washington – saxophone (tracks 1, 3, 7, 14), keyboards (track 1)
Production
- Flying Lotus – producer
- Daddy Kev – mastering
- Derek "MixedByAli" Ali – vocal mixing for Kendrick Lamar (track 5)
- Rich Costey – mixing (track 14)
- Martin Cooke – assistant engineer (track 14)
- Nicolas Fournier – assistant engineer (track 14)
- Mario Borgatta – mixing assistant (track 14)
Design
- Stephen Serrato – design
- Shintaro Kago – illustrations
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Notes
- ^ Flying Lotus is credited not only as Flying Lotus, but also as Steven Ellison, his birth name, and Captain Murphy, an alias he uses for rapping. These credits put all of Ellison's credits in one, despite the various credited names.
References
- ^ Breihan, Tom (September 3, 2014). "Flying Lotus – "Never Catch Me" (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Flying Lotus Provides A Track-By-Track Breakdown Of 'You're Dead!'". Okayplayer. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ Roberts, Randall (October 3, 2014). "Flying Lotus goes deep on 'You're Dead!'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Beta, Andy (October 1, 2014). "Cover Story: Flying Lotus Confronts Death". The Fader (94). Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ "Flying Lotus Says New LP 'You're Dead!' Will 'Mess Up the Game'". Rolling Stone. August 14, 2014. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Ware, Tony (November 24, 2014). "Flying Lotus Records 'You're Dead'". Electronic Musician. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ Consequence of Sound. Archivedfrom the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Smithson, Logan (October 6, 2014). "Flying Lotus: You're Dead!". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 8, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Cottingham, Chris (October 6, 2014). "Flying Lotus – 'You're Dead!'". NME. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ a b c Hermes, Will (October 21, 2014). "You're Dead!". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- ^ a b Leanse, Theo (October 5, 2014). "Flying Lotus: You're Dead! review – concept album jazzes up the afterlife". The Observer. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ a b "Flying Lotus' 'You're Dead!' features FKA Twigs and Earl Sweatshirt collaborations". DIY. October 8, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ "13 Fun Facts Flying Lotus Live-Tweeted About You're Dead!". The Fader. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (July 22, 2014). "Flying Lotus Announces New Album, You're Dead!, and Tour". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
- ^ Gordon, Jeremy (October 9, 2015). "Flying Lotus Releases You're Dead! Deluxe Edition". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ "You're Dead! (Deluxe) – Flying Lotus". Warp Records. October 7, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ a b "You're Dead! by Flying Lotus reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- ^ a b "Reviews for You're Dead! by Flying Lotus". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "You're Dead! – Flying Lotus". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ a b Purdom, Clayton (October 7, 2014). "Flying Lotus aims for the heavens on You're Dead!". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ a b MacInnes, Paul (October 3, 2014). "Flying Lotus: You're Dead review – a brilliant, wide-eyed dream of an album". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ Carroll, Jim (October 3, 2014). "Flying Lotus: You're Dead". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ Cowan, Andy (October 8, 2014). "Flying Lotus: You're Dead!". Mojo. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- ^ a b Patrin, Nate (October 6, 2014). "Flying Lotus: You're Dead!". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ "Flying Lotus: You're Dead!". Q (341): 110. December 2014.
- ^ Bennett, Matthew (October 2, 2014). "Flying Lotus – You're Dead!". Clash. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ Jones, Franklin (October 4, 2014). "Flying Lotus: You're Dead!". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- ^ Blair, Michael (October 13, 2014). "Flying Lotus Showcases His Sonic Palette on 'You're Dead!'". XXL. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ Carlick, Stephen (October 14, 2014). "Flying Lotus - You're Dead!". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- Cuepoint. Archivedfrom the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ "The 20 Best Albums of 2014". The A.V. Club. December 8, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Diver, Mike (December 11, 2014). "Clash's Top 40 Albums of 2014". Clash. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "10 Best Albums of 2014". Entertainment Weekly. December 4, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "Gorilla vs. Bear Best Albums of 2014". Gorilla vs. Bear. December 2, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "The Best Albums of 2014". The Guardian. November 26, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2014". Pitchfork. December 22, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ "The Best Albums of 2014". PopMatters. December 22, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "50 Best Albums of 2014". Rolling Stone. December 1, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Spencer, Trey (December 15, 2014). "Sputnik's Top 50 Albums of 2014". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Tardio, Andres (October 15, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Keyshia Cole, Childish Gambino, Tinashe, Flying Lotus". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ Tardio, Andres (October 11, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Game, Hoodie Allen, Chris Brown". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ^ You're Dead! (Media notes). Flying Lotus. Warp. 2014.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Australiancharts.com – Flying Lotus – You're Dead!". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Flying Lotus – You're Dead!" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Flying Lotus – You're Dead!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Flying Lotus – You're Dead!" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Flying Lotus – You're Dead!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Flying Lotus – You're Dead!". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Flying Lotus – You're Dead!". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Flying Lotus – You're Dead!". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- ^ "Flying Lotus Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ "Flying Lotus Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.