Simplicity Two Thousand

Last updated
Simplicity Two Thousand
Afterlife - Simplicity.png
The original Simplicity cover
Studio album by
Afterlife
ReleasedSeptember 11, 2000
Recorded1996–1999, 2000 (Remixes)
StudioSteven Miller's home studio, Cheshire, England [1]
Genre Downtempo, Balearic beat
Length68:48 (Disc 1)
61:55 (Disc 2)
Label Hed Kandi
(HEDK013 [1] )
Producer Steven Miller [1]
Afterlife chronology
Simplicity
(1999)
Simplicity Two Thousand
(2000)
Speck of Gold
(2004)

Simplicity is an album by electronic music producer Steven Miller aka Afterlife, released in 1999. It is more commonly known under the title of its 2000 two-disc reissue Simplicity Two Thousand, which added remixes and bonus tracks. [2] [3] According to the label Hed Kandi: "Simplicity was originally released in Sept 1999 but ... it was quickly withdrawn to be repacked and re-marketed to a wider audience." [3]

Contents

Style

The album is said to capture the "hidden alter ego" of the island Ibiza. Miller, UK downtempo producer, who was in this period best known for his appearances on the previous years' Café del Mar compilations, [2] [4] said he was "deeply affected" by the island's people and scenery when he visited and made the album as a reflection of his time there. The album includes influences of trip hop, flamenco, and lullaby. [1] Travel writer Iain Stewart called the album "Balearic music of real substance" and highlighted Rachel Lloyd's "mellifluous" vocal contributions. [5]

Production

According to Miller, Lloyd created and recorded the vocals for the track "Breather" as improvised single-take singing. She recorded additional vocals over several recording sessions, as a "stream of vocal consciousness": without listening to the instrumental track before doing her takes. He further states that, for the 2000 rerelease, this track was reworked into a Bossa nova-style remix, with the addition of guitar and other live instruments—at the suggestion of an NRK employee, who then handled the additional studio work, and engineered the mix. [6] "Breather 2000" was subsequently included on Café del Mar Volume 7.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

A reviewer for The Press praised vocalist Rachel Lloyd's performance, and gave the album four and a half stars. He wrote: "Not many acts who appear on [Café del Mar compilations] are capable of keeping it up over a whole album, let alone two, as in this case, but Lloyd and her cohorts manage it and with original material, too. [7] In the book The Mojo Collection , the album was called a "gorgeous feat of melancholy" with all twelve songs flowing "seamlessly into a beautifully executed narrative". [1]

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleVersion / RemixLength
1."Dub In Ya Mind"Blue Water Mix5:49
2."Never Before" 5:37
3."Show You Something" 6:28
4."Cry"Brown Bear Mix7:34
5."5th & Avenida" 5:21
6."Deeper (Into Places)" 4:17
7."Borneo Is Burning" 5:51
8."Glide" 5:33
9."Breather"Original Version5:18
10."La Nina" 4:48
11."Blue Bar" 7:06
12."Cry"Original Version5:06
Disc two
No.TitleVersion / RemixLength
1."Dub In Ya Mind" The Insatiable Mix 4:37
2."Makes Me Feel" 6:03
3."Falling" 5:39
4."Show You Something"Chris Coco Balearic Beats Mix6:31
5."Lo Delta" 5:39
6."Breather 2000"Arithunda Mix6:04
7."Cry"Sunset Dream Remix9:19
8."Deeper (Into Places)"Silk Spinner Remix6:34
9."Cry"Spoon Wizard Mix6:26
10."Show You Something"Ambient Mix5:03

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Norman</span> Musical artist

Steven Antony Norman is an English musician who plays tenor saxophone, guitar, percussion and other instruments, for the English new wave band Spandau Ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicane (musician)</span> English musician, composer, songwriter and record producer

Nicholas Bracegirdle, known professionally as Chicane, is an English musician, composer, songwriter, and record producer. Among his works are singles "Offshore", an Ibiza trance anthem included in many compilations in both chill-out and dance versions; "Saltwater", which featured vocals by Clannad member Máire Brennan, and the UK number-one hit "Don't Give Up", featuring vocals by Bryan Adams, which also became a top ten hit on singles charts across Europe and Australia.

Therese Grankvist is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She started recording in 1997 under the Drömhus alias, and goes by Therese since the release of her single "Monkey" in 2002. She may be best known for her internationally successful collaborations with Swedish DJ and producer StoneBridge, "Put 'Em High" and "Take Me Away", released on Hed Kandi in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Café del Mar</span> Bar in Ibiza, Spain

Café del Mar is a bar located in Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza, established in 1980. In 1999, it founded the record label Café del Mar Music, known for its series of chillout CDs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Put 'Em High</span> 2004 single by StoneBridge

"Put 'Em High" is a song by Swedish producer StoneBridge from his album Can't Get Enough (2004). The song was released through Hed Kandi in the United Kingdom and features vocals from Therese. The radio edit by JJ reached number six on the UK Singles Chart, number 26 in Ireland, and number 33 in Australia.

Mandalay were a trip hop duo from the United Kingdom, composed of multi-instrumentalist Saul Freeman and multi-instrumentalist-composer-singer Nicola Hitchcock. They released two albums and were briefly tagged as "Madonna's favourite band".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Padilla (DJ)</span> Spanish DJ (1955–2020)

José María Padilla Requena was a Spanish disc jockey and producer of ambient music, best known for his work as DJ in the Café del Mar bar on the island of Ibiza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Late Night Alumni</span> American house music group

Late Night Alumni is an American house group composed of Becky Jean Williams, John Hancock, Finn Bjarnson (Finnstagram), and Ryan Raddon (Kaskade). They are primarily known for mixing dance music with strings and soft trance-like vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey Negrita (band)</span> English country blues band

Hey Negrita were an English country blues band formed in London in 2002. They were named after the song "Hey Negrita", from the 1976 album Black and Blue by the Rolling Stones. The band, which consisted of Felix Bechtolsheimer, Matthew Ord, Neil Findlay (drums), William Greener, Paul Sandy (bass) and Paul Tkachenko, released four studio albums and various singles.

Miromusic is an electronic music partnership of Mads Arp and Steen Thottrup of Denmark.

Hedkandi is an English record label, events and music brand owned by Ministry of Sound. Its back catalogue includes both artist albums and dance music compilations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Da Records</span> British record label

Love Da Records is an international record label founded in 1998. The label is one of the largest indie music distributors in South East Asia, distributing over 150 individual labels covering music of different genres. With its headquarters in Hong Kong, Love Da Records also extended its branches to Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro de Pinedo</span> Musical artist

Alejandro Gil Pinedo, better known as Alejandro de Pinedo is a Spanish musician, composer, author, music producer, chill-out music artist and CEO of the record company AGP Music. His music is heard in more than 170 countries and there are more than 200 record productions in which he has participated in one or another way. He has 31 gold and platinum records so far, and his works are played millions of times on all digital platforms globally. He has worked with big names in Latin pop music, like Enrique Iglesias, Rosa López, Raphael, Daniel Diges, Georgie Dann, Pitingo, Café del Mar, Vicky Larraz, Olé-Olé, Cristina Ramos, Maria Villalón, Soraya Arnelas, Paloma San Basilio, Falete, Sada Vidoo, Roko, Enrique Ramil, La Década Prodigiosa, Modestia Aparte, Raúl and El Fary, In 1995, he started recording tracks in his own studio and founded the music label AGP Music. In 2004, he began his career as a Chill Out artist, where he has a place as a respected musician throughout the world. He is Musical Director in BulldogTV, producers of Bailando con las Estrellas Spanish version of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars in Tele 5, Spain.

Pet Dog Storm is a band from Warwickshire in the UK, signed in 2010 to Integrity Records. The band's debut single "Time to Fly" was played by Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 6 Music, and John Kennedy on XFM. It features on the band's debut album Beautiful is Down, which was released on 4 December 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Elsworth</span> Musical artist

Kate Elsworth is an Australian-born electronic dance music DJ, vocalist and songwriter based in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triangle Sun</span>

Triangle Sun is an international pop/electronic, downtempo, chillout band. It was created in 2004 by international musician and composer Alexander Knyazev. Based in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigala</span> English DJ and music producer

Bruce Fielder, known professionally as Sigala, is an English DJ and record producer. He has had eight songs peak within the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, including his 2015 debut single "Easy Love", which interpolates "ABC" by the Jackson 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vadim Kapustin</span> Musical artist

Vadim Kapustin is a Russian singer, songwriter who sings in English.

Cathy Battistessa is a British dance and balearic singer and songwriter, best known for her work with Blank & Jones, Cafe Del Mar and DJ Luck & MC Neat, with whom she had a top 10 hit in the UK.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Irvin, Jim; McLear, Colin (2003). The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion. Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 675. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Simplicity Two Thousand at AllMusic
  3. 1 2 "Simplicity Y2K". Hed Kandi . Archived from the original on 2001-03-02. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  4. "Afterlife • Biography". Resident Advisor . Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  5. Stewart, Iain (2001). The Mini Rough Guide to Ibiza & Formentera. London: Rough Guides. p. 309. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  6. "Music2Deal interviews: 'Afterlife' aka Steve Miller; Music Producer/Label Owner United Kingdom". The Music2Deal Blog. 2017-10-04. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  7. Middlemiss, Ross (2001-09-07). "CD Reviews: Afterlife Simplicity Two Thousand". The Press . ProQuest   314422087.