Changa (album)

Last updated

Changa
PnauChanga.png
Studio album by
Released10 November 2017
Length44:25
Label etcetc
Producer Pnau
Pnau chronology
Good Morning to the Night
(2012)
Changa
(2017)
Singles from Changa
  1. "Chameleon"
    Released: 4 November 2016
  2. "Go Bang"
    Released: 27 October 2017
  3. "Changa"
    Released: 11 May 2018 [1]

Changa is the fifth studio album by Australian electronic trio Pnau. It was released on 10 November 2017 by the independent label etcetc. [2] It follows their 2012 remix album in collaboration with Elton John, Good Morning to the Night , [3] and is their first studio album since Soft Universe (2011). [4] It is also their first album as a trio, with vocalist and co-founder Nick Littlemore's brother Sam Littlemore joining in 2016. [5]

Contents

The album was preceded by the lead single "Chameleon" in November 2016, [5] which reached number four on the ARIA Singles Chart, [6] and number 11 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2016. [7] It features vocals by Kira Divine. [4] It has received over 25 million streams on Spotify and been certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. [8] On 25 August, Pnau released three more tracks in promotion of the album: "Into the Sky", "Young Melody" featuring Vera Blue, and "Control Your Body", [2] with "Into the Sky" debuting on Triple J. [9] Divine also lent vocals to "Control Your Body". [4] "Into the Sky" was accompanied by a video of Nick Littlemore as a floating head set against psychedelic visuals. [4] "Go Bang" was released as a single on 27 October. [10]

In the lead-up to the album's release, the trio embarked on an Australian tour, [8] performing at the Listen Out festival in Sydney on 30 September, and at the Adelaide dance event Oh Yes. [9]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, Changa was nominated for ARIA Award for Album of the Year. [11]

Music and themes

Upon its release, Mixmag compared "Young Melody" to the "smooth lounge vibes of PNAU's sublime debut LP Sambanova ". [3] Pnau said of "Into the Sky": "It is a song that wrote itself. We like to think that it captures the ambition, angst and ambivalence we held as teenagers." [2] Nick Littlemore commented that the trio had been influenced by Happy Mondays for the song. [4] Al Newstead of ABC called "Into the Sky" a "fuzzy, distorted drum heavy track that [...] tak[es] inspiration from the 'Madchester' '90s dance scene". [4] He also labeled "Young Melody" a "blissful dance" track, and noted the "4am rave vibes" of "Control Your Body". [4] Amnplify described "Control Your Body" as having "enigmatic instrumentation and vocals before settling into a deep rhythmic groove – a true acid workout and a nostalgic homage to the bands [ sic ] formative rave days". [12]

"Chameleon" was additionally called a "festival favourite and dance floor anthem". [12]

Album title

The album is named after Changa, the DMT-infused smokeable form of ayahuasca. [3]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Save Disco" (with The Two Leaves) Pnau 3:54
2."Chameleon"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:18
3."Go Bang"
Pnau3:09
4."Changa"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:25
5."In My Head"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:07
6."Into the Sky"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau2:57
7."Please Forgive Me"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:02
8."Young Melody" (featuring Vera Blue)
Pnau3:41
9."Nothing in the World"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau3:12
10."Control Your Body"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau4:06
11."La Grenouille"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Pnau4:52
12."Changes" (vs. Faul & Wad Ad)
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
Faul & Wad Ad 5:42
Total length:44:25
2018 tour edition bonus tracks [13]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Embrace"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
  • P. Brown
5:29
13."Wild Strawberries"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
3:55
14."Baby"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
2:45
15."No More Violence"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
  • K. Moyes
4:54
16."With You Forever"
3:34
17."Come Together"
  • N. Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • S. Littlemore
  • M. Di Francesco
5:01
Total length:64:20

Notes

Charts

Chart performance for Changa
Chart (2017)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [14] 11
Australian Dance Albums (ARIA) [15] 1
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) [16] 5

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References

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  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Newstead, Ad (25 August 2017). "First listen: PNAU announce new album with Madchester raver 'Into The Sky'". Triple J . Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 Cashmere, Paul (4 November 2016). "PNAU Premiere First Song In Four Years 'Chameleon'". Noise11. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
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  7. "1–100 | Hottest 100 2016 | triple j". ABC. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
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  9. 1 2 Lefevre, Jules (25 August 2017). "Pnau just dropped the new music you've been waiting for". Junkee . Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  10. "Go Bang – Single by PNAU". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  11. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (28 November 2018). "And the ARIA Award Goes To..." Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  12. 1 2 "PNAU Share Three New Tracks + Announce Fifth Studio Album 'CHANGA'". Amnplify. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
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  15. "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 20th November 2017" (PDF). ARIA Charts (1447): 17. 20 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  16. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.