| Sunmachine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 8 June 1998 | |||
| Studio | Lansdowne Studios (London) [1] "Rented studio in Crewe" [2] | |||
| Genre | Dance | |||
| Length | 69:07 | |||
| Label | Warner | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Dario G chronology | ||||
| ||||
Sunmachine is the debut album by British electronic music trio Dario G, released on 8 June 1998 through the Warner label. According to the notes on Dario G's single "Sunchyme", the album was originally set to be titled Super Dario Land. [3]
After signing with Warner Bros Records, the trio were under pressure from the record label in order to record and release a debut album. Initially, the working title for their debut album was Super Dario Land. Band member Scott Rosser said that "they got together a plan for one, to be called Super Dario Land, and for three or four weeks, we thought we'd go for it as well – we actually started work on it on the day after the commercial release of 'Sunchyme' went into the charts, in mid‑September." [4] The trio were keen to record an album which was different from "Sunchyme". Their record label at that time, Warner Bros, were said to have also expected their debut album to be based around the sound which lead to their breakthrough with the single. However, Paul Spencer recalled that "record companies like to cash in on a big hit. They think 'OK, these guys can probably get another sample together quickly and churn out another record that sounds like the first one'". He also recalled that "Warners did that with us too, at first, but we didn't want to do lots of little soundalike follow‑ups, we have got more depth than that". [4]
Up until the beginning of the recording sessions for the album, band members Scott and Paul had only really had experience as MIDI programmers and samplists. They claimed to have had "little experience of commercial studio environments, multitrack recording, and hard disk recording systems". After unsuccessful recording sessions at Lansdowne Studios in London, the trio decided to record the album in a rented studio in Crewe, and unlike other conventional recording studios, they were "free to come and go as they pleased" during the recording sessions. Scott explained that "it's funny because you spend years thinking you'll be really motoring when you get in a real studio, and it didn't live up to our expectations, really". He further commented "everything seemed totally new to us. For example, when we got there, the engineer started laying the tracks we'd completed on to multitrack tape. We were just sitting around not doing anything while he did that and it all seemed very strange". [5] Paul claimed that "the studio and London accommodation was costing us a total of £4500 a week" when asked about the decision to stop recording at Lansdowne Studios, further adding "we didn't feel in control, really. We were getting tired, our ears were tired, and we were getting quite stressed out. The really scary thing is, we could have carried on — I mean a lot of bands just keep going, and they actually write in places like Lansdowne". [6]
Following the release of Sunmachine, Scott Rosser and Stephen Spencer left in order to pursue other projects, leaving Paul Spencer to continue as a solo artist under the Dario G name. [7]
Sunmachine was released on 8 June 1998 internationally, distributed via Warner Bros Records following the completion of its recording at Lansdowne Studios in London. [8] The album was intended to be completed and released by October 1997, featuring seven tracks and being one hour long in length. The trio claimed that the success of "Sunchyme" lead to them taking more time and consideration to the recording and release of the album. By November 1997, Dario G learned that the single had sold more than 1.3 million copies internationally, and claimed that the success of the song meant they needed a "good quality album" in order for it to be considered for release in the American and Japanese markets. [2]
Four singles were ultimately released from the album. "Sunchyme" reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1997. [9] This was followed in 1998 by "Carnaval de Paris", which reached number five shortly before the release of the album. [9] The third single, "Sunmachine", reached number 17 in the same year, [9] while the fourth single, "Voices", was released in 2000 and reached number 37 in the UK. [9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [10] |
Upon release of Sunmachine, Michael Gallucci of AllMusic said that "it's quite appropriate that English dance trio Dario G should name its debut Sunmachine; bright beats and shining grooves grace the album like rays of light breaking a long darkness". He further added that "heavy on samples and even heavier on peace-and-love idealism, Sunmachine is electronic dance music swathed in a neon pop-colored smiley face. But it's all about studio tricks with Dario G; after an hour of this thematic journey (all the songs are tied together, and the climatic, ten-minute album closer wraps it all up in a winding, spinning kaleidoscope)". He concluded that after a period of listening to the album, it "all begins to sound the same...and quite pointless". [11]
Commercially, Sunmachine was a moderate success, however, arguably it failed to live up to the success of "Sunchyme" and "Carnival de Paris". In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number ninety-three in June 1998, spending only one week on the albums charts before falling out of the UK Albums Charts entirely. [12] It re–entered the UK Albums Charts in July, following the success of its second single release, "Carnival de Paris", at number twenty-seven, before reaching a peak of number twenty-six the following week. In total, it spent six weeks on the UK Albums Charts. [12] In Scotland, it peaked at number twenty-five on the Scottish Albums Charts, and went onto spend a total of six weeks on the albums charts in Scotland. [13]
In Germany, it debuted at number ninety-nine on the official German Albums Charts. In its second week of release, it fell to number one hundred before starting to steadily climb in subsequent weeks until it reached its peak of number fifty-nine in Germany. It spent a total of seven weeks on the German Albums Charts. [14] Its only other appearance on an international albums charts was in Switzerland, where it debuted and peaked at number number forty-three. It spent five weeks on the Swiss Albums Charts, before reaching number fifty in its fifth and final week, before falling out of the Swiss charts entirely. [15]
All tracks written by Paul Spencer, Scott Rosser and Stephen Spencer (Dario G), except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sunchyme" |
| 6:19 |
| 2. | "Carnaval de Paris" | 5:09 | |
| 3. | "Sunmachine" |
| 7:19 |
| 4. | "Voices" (featuring Espiritu) | 5:20 | |
| 5. | "Be My Friend" (featuring Deepika) |
| 8:08 |
| 6. | "Peaches" | 6:17 | |
| 7. | "Malaway" |
| 7:18 |
| 8. | "Revolution" | 9:16 | |
| 9. | "Voices" (acoustic version; featuring Espiritu) | 3:27 | |
| 10. | "End of the Beginning" |
| 10:30 |
Notes
Adapted from the album's liner notes. [16]
Musicians
Technical
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [17] | 59 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [18] | 43 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [19] | 26 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [20] | 25 |
America are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1970 by English-born American Dewey Bunnell and Americans Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live. Achieving significant popularity in the 1970s, the trio was famous for its close vocal harmonies and light acoustic folk rock sound. The band released a string of hit albums and singles, many of which found airplay on pop and soft rock stations.
Meteora is the second studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on March 25, 2003, through Warner Bros. Records, following Reanimation, a collaboration album which featured remixes of songs included on their 2000 debut studio album Hybrid Theory. The album was produced by the band alongside Don Gilmore. The title Meteora is taken from the Greek Orthodox monasteries originally bearing the name. Meteora has a similar sound to Hybrid Theory, as described by critics, and the album took almost a year to be recorded. It is the first Linkin Park studio album to feature bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell after he rejoined the band in 2000 following his temporary touring with other bands.
The Pointer Sisters are an American girl group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as R&B, pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country, and rock. The Pointer Sisters have won three Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. The group had 13 US top 20 hits between 1973 and 1985.
Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and singer Ben Watt. The group's early works have been categorized as sophisti-pop with jazz influences before undergoing an electronic music turn following the worldwide success of the 1994 hit single "Missing", remixed by Todd Terry.
Enya is the debut studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released in March 1987 by BBC Records in the UK and by Atlantic Records in the US. It was renamed as The Celts for the 1992 international re-release of the album by WEA Records in Europe and by Reprise Records in the US. The album features a selection of music that she recorded for the soundtrack to The Celts, a BBC documentary series about the origins, growth, and influence of Celtic culture.
Louisa Gabriella Bobb, known professionally as Gabrielle, is a British singer and songwriter. Bobb was born in Hackney, London. She released her debut single, "Dreams", in 1993, and it topped the UK Singles Chart the same year. Her other singles include "Going Nowhere", "Give Me a Little More Time", "Walk On By", and "If You Ever" – a duet with East 17.
"¿Quién será?" is a bolero-mambo song written by Mexican composers Luis Demetrio and Pablo Beltrán Ruiz. Beltrán recorded the song for the first time with his orchestra in 1953. Pedro Infante, for whom the song was written, recorded it in 1954.
Dario G were an English dance music trio formed in Cheshire, England, and consisted of three DJs and producers – Scott Rosser, Paul Spencer, and Stephen Spencer. The trio rose to prominence in the late 1990s following the release of their debut single "Sunchyme", which reached number two in the United Kingdom, Scotland, Denmark and Switzerland. It reached number one on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Charts, as well as reaching number one in Hungary and the US Dance Club Songs Charts.
It's Me Again is the second studio album by American singer Tweet. It was released on March 21, 2005, by The Goldmind Inc. and Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 55,000 copies.
"A Horse with No Name" is a song by American folk rock trio America. Written by Dewey Bunnell, it was released on the Warner Bros. label, in late 1971 in Europe and early 1972 in the United States. The song was met with commercial success and topped charts in Canada, Finland, and the United States. It reached number 3 in the UK singles chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 24, 1972. The song was quickly added to a rerelease of the bands' debut studio album, America. The song is a staple of the group's discography and one of their most popular.
Sparks, originally titled Halfnelson, is the debut album by the Los Angeles rock band Sparks. The album was first released as Halfnelson, the band's original name, and reissued a year later under the group’s new name.
"Sunmachine" is a song by English electronic music trio Dario G. It was released on 31 August 1998 as the third and final single from the album of the same name. It is a reinterpretation of a section from the David Bowie song, "Memory of a Free Festival", from his 1969 album release of Space Oddity.
"Carnaval de Paris" is a song by English electronic music trio Dario G. The song was recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and was released as a single on 18 May 1998 in Europe. The following month, the track was issued in the United Kingdom and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart.
Hayley Warner is an Australian singer-songwriter. In 2009, she finished as runner-up in the seventh and final Australian Idol, and was noted for her high-energy performances and vast vocal range. In 2013, The Daily Telegraph named Warner one of Australia's most accomplished songwriters. Warner's songwriting credits total over 11 times platinum in worldwide sales. Hayley co-wrote Grammy nominated artist Tori Kelly's single "Hollow", which was released 3 November 2015. After moving to Los Angeles, Warner signed a worldwide publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2015.
"Sunchyme" is the debut single of British electronic music trio Dario G. It was released on 15 September 1997 as the lead single from their debut studio album, Sunmachine (1998), although early editions were stated to be from an album named Super Dario Land. The song heavily samples the track "Life in a Northern Town" by dream pop band the Dream Academy.
R.I.O. is a German dance music band. The members are Yann Peifer and DJ Manian, who originally founded the band in 2007. Until 2012, Tony T. was part of the band. Their biggest hit was the song "Turn This Club Around", which charted in the top 5 in Germany and Austria and at number one in Switzerland.
The Wack Album is the third studio album by American comedy hip hop group The Lonely Island. Recorded in Los Angeles and New York City with producers including TODAY, DJ Nu-Mark and Asa Taccone, it was released on June 7, 2013 by Republic Records. The album reached number ten on the US Billboard 200 and topped the Comedy Albums and Rap Albums charts. "3-Way ", "YOLO", "Spring Break Anthem", "I Fucked My Aunt", "Diaper Money", "Semicolon", "Go Kindergarten" and "Spell It Out" were released as singles.
All Saints were a British girl group formed in London in 1993. They were founded as All Saints 1.9.7.5 by music manager Ron Tom. with members Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis, and Simone Rainford. The group struggled to find commercial success upon being signed to ZTT Records and were dropped by the label shortly after Rainford left the group. In 1996, the group were joined by sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton and signed to London Records under their shortened name.
"The Light Is Coming" is a song by American singer Ariana Grande, featuring American rapper Nicki Minaj, released on June 20, 2018 as a promotional single of Grande's fourth studio album Sweetener. Nicki Minaj wrote her intro while Ariana Grande co-wrote the song with its producer Pharrell Williams. The track debuted at number 95 and peaked at number 89 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
In Full Colour is the second studio album by British electronic music act Dario G, released in June 2001 through Mercury Records. Two singles were released from the album, "Dream to Me" and "Say What's on Your Mind". The vocals on all the tracks on the album were performed by Ingfrid Straumstøyl, who also appears on the album cover and in the videos for both singles alongside Paul Spencer.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)