Synkronized | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 June 1999 | |||
Recorded | 1998–1999 | |||
Studio | Chillington (Buckinghamshire, England) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 53:06 | |||
Label | Sony Soho Square (UK), Work (US) | |||
Producer | Al Stone, Jason Kay | |||
Jamiroquai chronology | ||||
| ||||
Jamiroquai studio album chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Synkronized | ||||
|
Synkronized is the fourth studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai. It was released on 8 June 1999 by Work Group in the United States,and on 14 June 1999 by S2 Records in the United Kingdom. Bassist Stuart Zender left the band during recording,and Nick Fyffe was hired as a replacement. The album contains funk,acid jazz and disco elements.
The album reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and number 28 in the US Billboard 200 . The UK version of the album includes the bonus track "Deeper Underground",which was released as a single the previous year and became Jamiroquai's only number-one single in the UK.
The album's recording sessions began at Jay Kay's Buckinghamshire home studio,Chillington,in 1998. About 9 tracks [1] were recorded,but the band's bassist,Stuart Zender,left partway through the recording in late 1998. Jay Kay hired a replacement,Nick Fyffe who previously played in a Jamiroquai cover band, [2] and the album was re-recorded. The revised album was finished and released within 6 months. [1] Synkronized is the band's last album to feature didgeridoo player Wallis Buchanan. [3] Kay said that he was dissatisfied with Synkronized in a 2001 interview,"I never really locked into that album,lyrically. I wasn't there. I listen to it now,and I shake my head." [4]
The opening track,"Canned Heat",has "svelte Chic Organisation strings,a percolating bassline and a stomping four-on-the-floor rhythm". [5] The second track,"Planet Home",is a "straight,bass-driven funk" track that has techno influences from "ghostly ambient harmonies to bone-shaking synth bass," and an "out-of-nowhere Latin hustle breakdown". [6] [7] The next track,"Black Capricorn Day",has a "driving funk groove with sassy horn interjections" which tend to "stutte[r] like a record on a turntable",with its lyrics about being depressed. [6] [8] The lyrics of the fourth track "Soul Education" is about having an "instinctive understanding of universal truths",as Kay confirmed in an interview with Muzik ,"A soul education is what we're all born with,and the [song's] lyrics say,'Life information —it's on the breeze.'" [9]
"Falling" is a "bass driven" acid-jazz ballad track with its lyrics dedicated to Kay's then-girlfriend Denise Van Outen, [10] [11] which is followed by "Destitute Illusion",an instrumental track "swamped in layer upon layer of antique analogue synthesizers",and has the "scratching of DJ D-Zire". [5] [11] The seventh track,"Supersonic",has a "didgeridoo and dobro drone against electronic percussion and a squiggling synth bass,all of which builds to an hallucinogenic mid-song samba break." [6] The "breezy" track "Butterfly" has "a wobbly bassline that rises up and swamps the chorus." [10] [5] The "multirhythmic" track "Where Do We Go From Here",has an "energetic progression broken by catchy and uplifting choruses with staccato interplay between the horn section and guitarist Simon Katz". [2] [12] The album closes with "King for a Day",which has "dramatic piano and sympathetic strings",and lyrics referencing Zender's departure. [13] [14]
Synkronized was first released on 8 June 1999 on the Work Group label in the United States, [15] then on 14 June in the United Kingdom on Sony Soho Square. [16] The album reached number 28 in the US Billboard 200 ,where it sold 310,000 shipments. [17] The album peaked at number 2 in the UK chart. [18] In Japan,it reached number 2, [19] and in the year end charts there it ranked number 32 in 1999. [20] It peaked at number 2 in the French SNEP Album charts and number 30 in the year end chart in 1999. [21] [22] In Switzerland,it reached number 2 in the Swiss Albums Charts, [23] and number 25 in the year end chart in 1999. [24] It ranked number 1 in the German Media Control Albums Chart, [25] and it ranked at number 23 in the German year end charts. [26] In Belgium,it ranked 4 in the Ultratop Flanders chart and number 6 in the Wallonia chart. [27] [28] In their year end charts,the album ranked at 42 and 36 respectively. [29] [30] In the Netherlands,in peaked at 6 in the album chart, [31] and number 50 in the year end chart in 1999. [32] In the Australian ARIA Albums chart, [33] it ranked at 1 and 63 at the end of the year. [34] The album was certified platinum in the UK,Switzerland and France. [35] [36] [37] In Japan,it had a quadruple platinum certification. [38] The album was certified gold in Germany,Belgium,the Netherlands,and Australia. [39] [40] [41] [42] It was Platinum in Europe by the IFPI denoting sales of 1,000,000 copies. [43] The album overall sold 3,000,000 copies worldwide. [4]
"Deeper Underground" was the first single released from the album when Japan issued it on 20 May 1998. [44] That July,it was released in the UK and topped the UK Singles Chart;it remains as their only single to do so. [45] [46] "Canned Heat" was released on 24 May 1999 and was the group's second number one on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart. [47] [48] It also ranked at number 4 in the UK. [49] "Supersonic",released 13 September 1999,is the group's third US Dance Club number 1,also ranking at number 22 in the UK. [48] [50] [51] "Black Capricorn Day" was released only in Japan on 3 November 1999. [52] "King for a Day" is the last song to be released on 29 November 1999,where it peaked at number 20 in the UK. [53] [54]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B− [57] |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 6/10 [59] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 6/10 [61] |
The Village Voice | C− [62] |
The album received positive reviews from critics. According to John Bush of AllMusic,"Kay [continues his] fascination with club-bound music of the 1970s -- from disco to jazz-funk to rare groove to later Motown -- but also shows signs of maturity." [55] Tony Farsides of The Guardian remarked that Synkronized's "hard and nervy uptempo disco feel reflects the frantic atmosphere surrounding its creation." Farsides called it "Jamiroquai's best record to date. It is more consistent than its three predecessors. [63] Both critics have noted the band's new use of electronic textures. [55] [63] Rolling Stone gave the album 3 out of five stars,claiming "Synkronized is fifty minutes of sleek,sexy fun;a party album delivered with something like conviction. It's not exactly irresistible,but,really,what's the point of resisting it?" [60] Spin gave the album the same rating,claiming "...redirects the band's British tendency toward smoothed-out old black jams....soaring strings,gyrating congas,hell-bent wah-wah's,and an undeniably live rhythm section that'll hustle your muscles and make you freak to the beat..." [61] Entertainment Weekly claimed "Imagine if [Stevie] Wonder had made a disco album in 1977!....Synkronized is a hat trick done with the sharpest chapeau in the store." [57] College Music Journal claimed "This incessantly upbeat expedition travels into the regions of Travolta-era disco...feverish funk...and instrumental iridescence...keeping your ears tuned to their funktastic audio adventures." [15] Troy Carpenter of Nude as the News called the track "King for a Day","the band's best-ever album closer". [2] Q magazine claimed the album was one of the "50 Best Albums of 1999". [64]
David Kendrick of Hartford Courant wrote that "Kay and Co. walk a tightrope between homage and derivation. They stay aloft with songs that are light and breezy",and that its lyrics "hold a carefree optimism". [65] Prasad Bidaye of Exclaim! called the album,"Jamiroquai's most sophisticated production…The songs don't come anywhere close to the smooth balance of funk and environmentalism in their earlier material,but their philosophy of pre-millennial escapism makes this one of the most energetic recordings Jamiroquai has released in years." [66] Edna Gundersen of USA Today wrote that "while the band's fourth album does boast a few jamming grooves,especially the brassy Black Capricorn Day,most of the tracks are to funk what Pop Tarts are to soul food." [67] Writing for Las Vegas Review-Journal ,Tom Moon wrote that "the liquid,slippery grooves are paramount,though they're sometimes buried under mountains of strings and arrangements that are a tad too busy." He also said that "Canned Heat" and several other tracks are "thinly veiled rewrites of 'Virtual Insanity' and the other radio songs from Traveling Without Moving ." [68] In his consumer guide for The Village Voice ,critic Robert Christgau gave the album a C−rating in his annual "Turkey Shoot", [62] indicating "a bad record of some general import". [69]
All tracks are written by Jay Kay and Toby Smith, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Canned Heat" | Kay | 5:31 |
2. | "Planet Home" | 4:44 | |
3. | "Black Capricorn Day" | Kay | 5:41 |
4. | "Soul Education" | 4:15 | |
5. | "Falling" | 3:45 | |
6. | "Destitute Illusions" (instrumental) | Kay, Smith, Derrick McKenzie | 5:40 |
7. | "Supersonic" | 5:15 | |
8. | "Butterfly" | 4:28 | |
9. | "Where Do We Go from Here?" | Kay | 5:13 |
10. | "King for a Day" | 3:40 | |
Total length: | 48:12 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Deeper Underground" | 4:46 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Getinfunky" (instrumental) | Kay, Wallis Buchanan | 5:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Deeper Underground" | 4:46 | |
2. | "Getinfunky" (instrumental) | Kay, Buchanan | 5:35 |
3. | "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" (instrumental) | Kay, Buchanan | 4:00 |
Total length: | 14:21 |
Credits for Synkronized adapted from album liner notes. [73]
Jamiroquai
Additional musicians
Production
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [42] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Belgium (BEA) [40] | Gold | 25,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [83] | Gold | 50,000^ |
France (SNEP) [36] | Platinum | 300,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [39] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ) [38] | 4× Platinum | 800,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI) [41] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [84] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [85] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [37] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [35] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States | — | 310,000 [17] |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI) [43] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
Worldwide | — | 3,000,000 [4] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Jamiroquai are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in their early releases and later drew from rock, disco, electronic and Latin music genres. Lyrically, the group has addressed social and environmental justice. Kay has remained as the only original member through several line-up changes.
FanMail is the third studio album by American girl group TLC, released on February 23, 1999, by LaFace and Arista Records. The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans who sent them fan mail during their hiatus. FanMail debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 318,000 copies in its first week of release, and spent five weeks at number one.
A Funk Odyssey is the fifth studio album by English funk band Jamiroquai. The album was released on 3 September 2001 in the United Kingdom by Sony Soho Square and 11 September 2001 by Epic Records in the United States.
Emergency on Planet Earth is the debut studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 14 June 1993 under Sony Soho Square. Prior its release, the band debuted in 1992 with "When You Gonna Learn" under Acid Jazz Records, and front-man Jay Kay was given a major-label deal with Sony Music. The album was produced as Kay formed the band and is characterised by its acid jazz foundations, layers of instrumentation and socially charged lyrics.
The Return of the Space Cowboy is the second album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai. The album was released on 17 October 1994 under Sony Soho Square. The album continues the musical direction of their debut, Emergency on Planet Earth (1993), and is characterised by its complex songwriting as a result of Jay Kay's creative block mid-production. Its lyrics addressed street life, hope, loss, Kay's drug use, and social matters regarding Native Americans and youth protests.
Travelling Without Moving is the third studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 28 August 1996 in Japan, then on 9 September 1996 in the United Kingdom under Sony Soho Square. Front-man Jay Kay intended for the album to have a more universal style, revolving around "cars, life and love". Critics have generally praised the album for being more focused and refined than the band's previous work while others panned its lyrics and found the album too derivative. Kay also faced backlash from the press for his use of sports cars in this period despite his environmental beliefs.
Dynamite is the sixth studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai. It was released on 15 June 2005 in Japan, 20 June 2005 in the United Kingdom, 21 July 2005 in Australia and 20 September 2005 in the United States.
"Canned Heat" is the second single from British funk group Jamiroquai's fourth studio album, Synkronized (1999). Released on 24 May 1999, it became their second number-one single on the US Dance Club Songs chart and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.
"Virtual Insanity" is a song by British funk band Jamiroquai, released on 19 August 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song interpolates parts of Jocelyn Brown's post-disco hit "Somebody Else's Guy" (1984), and its award-winning music video was released in September 1996, garnering ten nominations and winning four, including for "Video of the Year", at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
French electronic music duo Daft Punk released four studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, one soundtrack album, five remix albums, two video albums, twenty-two singles and nineteen music videos. Group members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met in 1987 while studying at the Lycée Carnot secondary school. They subsequently recorded several demo tracks together, forming Daft Punk in 1993. Their debut single "The New Wave" was released the following year on the Soma Quality Recordings label. Daft Punk first found commercial success with the release of their second single "Da Funk", which peaked at number seven in France and topped the United States Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Invincible is the second studio album released by English boy band Five. The album was released in the United Kingdom by RCA Records on 8 November 1999, and was later released in the United States on 16 May 2000. Four singles were released from Invincible, including the UK chart-toppers "Keep on Movin'" and "We Will Rock You". The album was executively produced by Simon Cowell and Richard "Biff" Stannard. During their performance at Rock in Rio 2001, group member Scott Robinson stated that the title track "Invincible" was intended to be released as a single, but they decided against it as they were working on their third album.
High Times: Singles 1992–2006 is a compilation album by the British band Jamiroquai that was released on 6 November 2006 in the United Kingdom and 8 November 2006 in Japan.
"Little L" is the lead single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's fifth studio album, A Funk Odyssey (2001). The song was written by Jay Kay and Toby Smith and was inspired by the break-up between Kay and his former girlfriend Denise van Outen, which occurred due to conflicting work commitments and which led to Kay's cocaine problem. Kay quit his habit in 2003.
"King for a Day" is the fourth single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's fourth studio album, Synkronized (1999). The song was written by Jay Kay and is a "tribute" to bassist Stuart Zender, who left the band shortly before Synkronized was completed. Jay Kay subsequently rerecorded all the songs on the album without Zender, and added "King for a Day" as the final track on the album. Upon its release on 29 November 1999, the song reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The video features Jay Kay walking around an old mansion, where each room has a member of the band.
Jamiroquai are a British funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Fronted by lead singer Jay Kay, Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement. Subsequent albums have explored other musical directions such as pop, rock, disco and electronica. Their best-known track is "Virtual Insanity", which won four awards at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Jamiroquai have sold more than 26 million albums worldwide and won a Grammy Award in 1998.
"Supersonic" is the third single from British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai's fourth studio album, Synkronized (1999). The song was written by Jay Kay, Toby Smith, Derrick McKenzie, Sola Akingbola, Wallis Buchanan, and Simon Katz while Jay Kay and Al Stone produced it. The track peaked at No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart and became Jamiroquai's third No. 1 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Rock Dust Light Star is the seventh studio album by English band Jamiroquai. It was released on 1 November 2010 in the United Kingdom by Universal Music/Mercury Records and on 24 April 2012 in the United States by Executive Music Group.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on 20 November 2001. It was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore, and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the London Voices, London Oratory School Schola choir and multiple featured instrumental and vocal soloists.
Automaton is the eighth studio album by English funk band Jamiroquai, released on 31 March 2017 through Virgin EMI. It is the band's first album in seven years, following Rock Dust Light Star (2010). It was a number-one album in Italy and peaked at number two in Switzerland, number three in France and number four in the UK.
Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 is the fifth studio album by Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris. It was released on 30 June 2017 by Columbia Records. The album features guest vocals by Frank Ocean, Migos, Schoolboy Q, PartyNextDoor, DRAM, Young Thug, Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande, Future, Khalid, Travis Scott, Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Big Sean, Kehlani, Lil Yachty, and Jessie Reyez, as well as prominent writing contributions from Starrah. It is also Harris' first album not to feature his vocals.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite AV media}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)